The biggest crossover franchise this side of Marvel, Alien and Predator feel like a match made on the Engineer homeworld. And even if the two Alien vs. Predator movies directed by Paul W.S. Anderson in the 2000s are widely regarded as some of the worst from both series, the concept of the high-tech yautja fighting hordes of acid-blooded xenomorphs remains a highly compelling one.
Indeed, even as the big screen both franchises tried to separate in the 2010s, with Ridley Scott’s Alien prequels retconning multiple elements of AvP away and Predator rebooting three times, the versus franchise still continued with books, comics and video games. Now, a new crossover seems possible.
Following the surprise hit of Prey, Dan Trachtenberg has become the franchise custodian and begun fleshing out a new canon – a vision that likely involves a two-mouthed alien. Predator: Badlands directly lifts the evil company Weyland-Yutani from Alien and pits them against a turncloak yautja, leaving the door open for a real crossover.
Before all that, it’s worth taking stock of the deeper connections between two franchises that have both embraced and attempted to distance themselves from each other.
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The Xenomorph Spear – The Predator
Shane Black’s The Predator was on the surface a clean reboot, but the script was full of references to the earlier movies, with the events of Predators 1 & 2 acknowledged and Jake Busey played the son of his father’s Predator 2 character.
Alien vs. Predator didn’t get missed either. When Olivia Munn’s Casey Brackett is first taken to the lab full of Predator tech, she first stops by a glass case containing the spear constructed from a xenomorph tail by the hero Predator for Alexa Woods in the first AvP.
It may be just a background wink, but it did serve as the first true connection between the two franchises in over a decade, letting eagle-eyed die-hards know future connections were still possible.
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Predator: Killer of Killers – The Grendel King’s Xenomorph Tails
Before Badlands, Dan Trachtenberg established much of his new Predator lore in Hulu movie Killer of Killers. It was here much of the Yautja Codex and surrounding concepts – themselves building upon decades of expanded material – were crystallized. This includes, albeit subtly, the series’ Alien connections.
In the third chapter, “The Battle”, the transplanted heroes meet the Grendel King, a hulking Predator clan leader. His armor appears to be made of – among other things – xenomorph tails.
Trachtenberg played coy when asked by ScreenRant, saying “we really wanted to leave it to the fans to imagine where each of those skeletons and pieces of various creatures that he clearly has conquered and where they might’ve come from.” The intention appears clear: xenomorphs exist in this new universe and the killing of them is something even a Warlord Predator takes as a point of pride.
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Alien: Romulus – The Predator/Facehugger Countdown
Alien: Romulus was more Easter egg than movie, with canon connections and winks towards all other movies in the main series. Although on the surface it seemed that Fede Alvarez was ignoring the Predator crossover elements, the director did confirm one reference.
When the facehuggers in the cryo-chamber begin to defrost, the digital temperature readings increase in a manner similar to the Predator’s wrist bomb countdown at the climax of the original movie. While this lift may at first seem tenuous, Alvarez confirmed on X it was a wink, responding to a fan who spotted the egg: “I’m a TAP guy, so everything I do is influenced by Terminator / Alien / Predator.”
Since Romulus’ release, Alvarez has been more galvanized, saying he would like to co-direct an AvP movie with Dan Trachtenberg.
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The Xenomorph Skull – Predator 2
OK, I will concede this is now very obvious. However, while this has ended up being a heavily screenshotted moment which forms the underpinning of a whole franchise, when it first appeared in 1990 the xenomorph skull in the Predator ship at the climax of Predator 2 was an obscure Easter egg. And it really was an Easter egg: the intention was tongue-in-cheek, with no idea of where it would lead.
The implication is simply that this Predator (or one of the clan) has successfully hunted a xenomorph. At the time, with only Alien and Aliens released, that was a very impressive feat – and spoke to the breadth of reach the yautja had.
The idea of a monster crossover was at the time very out-there, but it speaks to both franchises that it now feels incredibly obvious.
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Predator: Badlands – The Same Android Upgrade As Romulus
Weyland-Yutani are so prevalent in Predator: Badlands all their standard trappings – the androids, MU/TH/UR, the giant power suit – are less Easter eggs and more standard world affectations. However, there is one detail that forges a stronger connection than simply bringing the company into a new Predator movie.
When Thia, the Weyland-Yutani android played by Elle Fanning, is shut down, the W logo of the company appears in her eyes. This was first introduced as a concept in 2010’s Aliens vs. Predator game and made theatrical canon in Alien: Romulus with that movie’s android, Andy.
It’s a small detail, but one that exists to directly connect the two recent franchise entries, syncing up the presentation of the main technology.