PREDATOR: BADLANDS Director Explains Why the Xenomorph Won’t Be Showing Up

Dan Trachtenberg is setting the record straight about Predator: Badlands and its connection to the Alien franchise. Ever since the trailer dropped and sharp-eyed fans noticed the infamous Weyland-Yutani logo through Elle Fanning’s character Thia, speculation has been running wild about whether the movie might bring in a Xenomorph.

Thia, a synthetic created by the shady corporation, instantly raised alarms for fans of Alien, sparking theories that we’d see the ultimate sci-fi showdown. But Trachtenberg isn’t playing that game. In a recent chat with Empire, the director made it clear that fans shouldn’t expect a Xenomorph appearance.

“There’s no Xenomorph in this movie. But to me, that makes it more exciting. We’re not involving [the Alien franchise] just to smush the action figures together. There are great, organic story reasons for Weyland-Yutani to be in this film.”

So while Weyland-Yutani will definitely play a role in the story, Badlands isn’t about mashing two franchises together for fan service. Trachtenberg and co-writer Patrick Aison are keeping the focus on their own story, which takes things in a fresh direction for the Predator universe.

The movie is set in the future on a remote planet, the film follows “a young Predator, outcast from his clan, who finds an unlikely ally in Thia and embarks on a treacherous journey in search of the ultimate adversary.”

Alongside Fanning, the film stars Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi as Dek. It’s produced by John Davis, Marc Toberoff, Ben Rosenblatt, and Brent O’Connor.

Trachtenberg, who last gave us the killer thriller Prey, seems determined to give fans a story that expands the Predator mythos without leaning too heavily on familiar Alien connections, which is fine! Maybe one day we’ll see a crossover, but it’s not going to be this movie.

Predator: Badlands hits theaters on November 7, 2025.