Predator: Badlands took priority over Prey 2 for a very simple reason, according to the film’s producer. In February 2024, it was revealed that Prey director Dan Trachtenberg would be moving forward with a new Predator film. Instead of following up on his successful revamp of the franchise, Prey, he opted to take the series in a new direction with the upcoming Predator: Badlands, which is set to open in theaters on Nov. 7, 2025. Fans are excited about Predator: Badlands, but this has also left many wondering what happened to the talks surrounding a follow-up for Prey, which would see Amber Midthunder reprise her role as Naru.
During the Predator: Badlands set visit, via Screen Rant, franchise producer Ben Rosenblatt explained why Predator: Badlands took priority over Prey 2. Prey 2 is still on the table, saying “not something we’re abandoning.” However, both Rosenblatt and director Dan Tractenberg wanted to bring the same unexpected twist to the Predator franchise that Prey did, which Predator: Badlands provided as opposed to Prey 2, which would be “a new version of the same thing.” Rosenblatt said:
“One of the things that was most important to Dan and to me, and what attracted me to Prey, is that it was something unexpected. It was something that people hadn’t done with the franchise before. So I think in thinking about what to do next, Dan was really set on, ‘How do we do the next thing and not make it expected?’ And I think it had been in the back of his mind, as he sort of searched for what that could be, is like, ‘Well, this is the kind of big swing that no one’s taken yet. You could have done a Prey where it’s, ‘Okay, here’s a different time period.’ But I think for us, we were like, ‘How do we move things forward?'”
How do ‘Predator: Badlands’ and ‘Prey’ Connect
While Prey 2 might have been the conventional method to go, Trachtenberg has opted to go in the opposite direction with Predator: Badlands. Where Prey featured the Predator at its most terrifying since the original 1987 film, Predator: Badlands introduces the first true “hero” Predator. Prey was set in the furthest point in the Predator franchise’s past, while Predator: Badlands is set in the far future, closer to the Alien films than any mainline Predator entry. Trachtenberg has been pushing the Predator franchise in unique directions, as seen in this summer’s animated anthology film, Predator: Killer of Killers.
In many ways, Predator: Killer of Killers was a spiritual successor to Prey. Like Prey, it dropped the Predator into other time periods to the original movie and also took a risk by making it an animated film. Predator: Killer of Killers even has a direct link to Prey as the film’s mid-credit scene reveals that the Predators have captured Naru and have her in stasis on their home planet, alongside Dutch Schaefer (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Detective Mike Harrigan (Donald Glover) from Predator and Predator 2, respectively. This opens the door for Naru’s story to continue in an animated follow-up, or even in a live-action film where Naru finds herself on the Predator homeworld.
Predator: Badlands not only has the potential to connect to elements from Predator: Killer of Killers and Prey, but it may also lay the groundwork for a new Alien vs. Predator film. Elle Fanning will play Thia, a synthetic created by the Weyland-Yutani corporation, the villainous corporation featured throughout the Alien franchise. Both the Predator and Alien franchises have been on a bit of a hot streak lately, thanks to entries like Prey, Alien: Romulus, Predator: Killer of Killers, and Alien: Earth. Predator: Badlands looks to keep that momentum going.