Predator movies: where the franchise stands today as a new chapter hits theaters

The Predator movies are having a moment again. A brand-new installment has just opened in cinemas, bringing the iconic hunter back to the big screen and reigniting interest across the entire saga—from the 1987 original to recent reinventions. With fresh story threads, timeline questions, and talk of what might come next after Prey, here’s a clean guide to the state of play.

Predator: Badlands arrives—what’s new this time?

The latest film lands with a sharper focus on tension, terrain, and character pairing. Rather than stacking a squad of commandos, this entry locks two leads together and uses the isolation to ratchet suspense. Early reactions highlight practical stunt work, creature-on-human chess, and a few lore breadcrumbs that expand the hunter culture without over-explaining the mystery.

Tonally, it sits closer to the stripped-down intensity that powered Prey: smaller-scale survival with bursts of ferocious action. Expect a lean runtime, tactile mayhem, and the franchise’s familiar cat-and-mouse reversals—thermal vision, trap-setting, and the moment when the human quarry turns predator.

How the new Predator movie fits the timeline

Continuity in Predator movies has always been elastic—more a constellation than a straight line. The new feature positions itself as a standalone story that nods to wider canon without being beholden to it. In practical terms:

• It does not require viewing the prior films to follow the plot.

• It threads subtle references to hunter codes, trophies, and off-world hierarchies.

• It leaves doors open for adjacent tales—past, present, or future—rather than a direct cliffhanger.

Fans tracking the chronology with Prey will find that the new film complements the “hunter across eras” approach the series has embraced in recent years.

Will there be a Prey 2—and what form could it take?

Momentum for a direct continuation of Prey remains strong. Creative chatter in recent days again floated ideas that play with time and place—showdowns in different historical theaters, or a return to Naru’s story. Nothing here is locked in publicly, but the appetite is obvious, and the franchise’s current creative team has been candid about wanting to keep exploring. For now, the safest expectation is that the Prey thread stays very much alive while the mainline features continue experimenting with fresh settings.

Status note: plans around future installments can shift; treat everything beyond the film in theaters as “in development” rather than guaranteed.

The Predator filmography in release order

If the new movie has you in a binge mood, here’s the core lineup to date:

1. Predator (1987) — Jungle survival classic that launched the mythos.

2. Predator 2 (1990) — Urban hunt, bigger weaponry, first deep-dive into trophy lore.

3. Predators (2010) — Off-world game preserve; ensemble of human “alphas.”

4. The Predator (2018) — Modern-day escalation, hybridization subplot.

5. Prey (2022) — 18th-century frontier survival; back-to-basics intensity.

6. Predator: Badlands (2025) — New theatrical entry, character-driven and terrain-forward.

(Side stories and crossovers like the “AVP” films sit adjacent and aren’t required for the main arc. An animated anthology released this year also explored multiple time periods, further signaling the franchise’s appetite for era-hopping tales.)

Why Predator keeps working: the franchise playbook

• Simple core, infinite canvases. A perfect hunt story is portable—jungle, city, desert, snowfield, spaceship. The rules travel well.

• Iconography that scales. The mask, the click, the heat vision, the tri-laser—recognizable tools that writers can remix without losing identity.

• Human ingenuity > firepower. The best entries turn on grit, terrain mastery, and traps, keeping the hunter scary by forcing clever counters.

• Selective lore drops. Each film adds a sliver—rituals, trophies, rival clans—while preserving the aliens’ mystique.

Where Predator movies could go next

Recent interviews and teases point to three promising lanes:

• Era anthologies: Short, punchy hunts in distinct periods—conflicts, frontiers, or forgotten corners of history.

• Character continuations: Returning to breakout survivors (like Prey’s heroine) for a second duel with escalating stakes.

• Cosmic windows: Sparing glimpses of hunter society—just enough to widen the canvas without defanging the unknown.

How to watch and what to expect

The newest film is in theaters now with a wide rollout. If you’re catching up at home, most prior Predator movies are easily findable on major digital platforms; availability varies by region. For a tight two-night primer before you go:

• Night 1: Predator (1987) → Prey (2022).

• Night 2: Predators (2010) → the new theatrical release.

That sequence showcases the franchise’s two best modes—primal survival and ensemble chess—then sets you up for the fresh spin now on the big screen. Whether you come for the creature craft, the stripped-down suspense, or the evolving lore, the hunt is very much back on.