News Predator: Badlands Predator: Badlands Director Explains Why the Movie Features a Weyland-Yutani Android Fans hoping that Predator: Badlands is a secret Alien vs. Predator movie may want to start managing their expectations. By Matthew Byrd | Published on July 22, 2025 Screenshot: 20th Century Studios Comment 0 Share New Share Screenshot: 20th Century Studios While it was rumored that Predator: Badlands would feature some references to the Alien universe, the first full trailer for director Dan Trachtenberg’s follow-up to Prey often felt like as much of a preview for an Alien movie as a Predator film. The trailer even confirms that co-lead Thia (Elle Fanning) is a synth manufactured by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation: the evil tech conglomerate featured throughout the Alien franchise. Naturally, that got fans wondering if Badlands is actually the “stealth” Alien vs. Predator movie that Trachtenberg has previously expressed interest in. However, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Trachtenberg downplayed that connection by saying that he simply did not want Badlands to feature a human co-lead because he worried that audiences would “start to get tempted by that human and their story.” Eventually, he decided to make the character a robot instead. That pivot triggered a lightbulb moment for the Badlands director. “The next thought was, wait a minute, I know a company that makes robots. And that led to the Weyland-Yutani synth of it all,” Trachtenberg reveals. However, fans hoping to see an Alien vs. Predator film that actually lives up to the promise of that premise shouldn’t give up hope just yet. Trachtenberg says he is still very much interested in that idea but wants to make sure it is done in the right way. “It’s important to me — I am sure people anticipate a much bigger thing, and maybe other movies and other cinematic universes would be more aggressive — but I really didn’t want to take all the action figures and smush them together,” Trachtenberg says. “I really wanted to tell a cool story.” Offhand references to the MCU (presumably) aside, that approach makes a lot of sense when you consider that Prey was a thoughtful, measured approach to the Predator franchise. Rather than rush to replicate, or even strongly reference, the original films, Trachtenberg got back to the heart of what made the Predator concept so fascinating while telling a compelling original story. It’s easy enough to believe he would prefer to take a similar approach with an eventual AvP movie. At the same time, it’s hard not to wonder if this is all a way to pull the wool over our eyes and ensure that we’re not looking for whatever deeper Alien references Badlands may contain. In any case, this is all the more reason to watch for the Predator: Badlands panel at SDCC 2025, one of our most anticipated presentations at this year’s show.[end-mark] The post <i>Predator: Badlands</i> Director Explains Why the Movie Features a Weyland-Yutani Android appeared first on Reactor.