When the Walt Disney Company merged with Fox, there were many franchises that fans believed would be badly handled by the House of Mouse, including sci-fi classics Alien and Predator. However, several years later, the Alien saga has delivered one of its best movies ever in Alien: Romulus and dominated the small screen with Alien: Earth. As for Predator, it has delivered two near-perfect movies and a fantastic animated series, Killer of Killers, and now both 2022’s Prey and last year’s Predator: Badlands are both dominating the streaming charts.
Predator: Badlands has recently been released on VOD services after its huge box office win in 2025. At the time of writing, the movie is at number one on the Apple TV Store, number two on Amazon Store, and at the top of the Vudu chart among others. Alongside this, Prey is riding high on free streaming after joining Tubi, continuing the success of both movies as fans eagerly await what comes next.
Under the direction of Dan Trachtenberg, Prey was a secret Predator movie that was made without anyone even knowing that Disney were working on reviving the Predator franchise. Having already worked in secret when creating 10 Cloverfield Lane, Trachtenberg pulled the rug on everyone by delivering a prequel movie to the saga that was criminally released straight to streaming on Disney+/Hulu and delivered the best critics score of the entire franchise.
Starring Amber Midthunder in a true career-changing role, Trachtenberg did not simply rehash the old tropes of the Predator movies of the past, but delivered a fresh piece of mythology that instantly reinvigorated the franchise, which had been languishing behind several ill-fated sequels in the previous two decades. This resulted in a 94% Tomatometer score, and very decent 74% from audiences. As the synopsis for the movie says:
“Set in the Comanche Nation 300 years ago, “Prey” is the story of a young woman, Naru, a fierce and highly skilled warrior. She has been raised in the shadow of some of the most legendary hunters who roam the Great Plains, so when danger threatens her camp, she sets out to protect her people. The prey she stalks, and ultimately confronts, turns out to be a highly evolved alien predator with a technically advanced arsenal, resulting in a vicious and terrifying showdown between the two adversaries.”
‘Predator: Badlands’ Continues the Franchise’s Revival
If there is one thing Dan Trachtenberg clearly doesn’t like, it is to follow the rules and stick to the same old script. That was very apparent with Predator: Badlands, when he surprised everyone again by making the titular creature into the film’s hero, and also tying in a satisfying connection to the Alien franchise by way of Elle Fanning’s Weyland-Yutani androids.
Predator: Badlands left behind the distant past of Prey and set its story in the future, where a young, exiled Yautja called Dek crash-lands on a hostile planet where he must prove his worth as a Predator. While attempting to take out one of the planet’s apex predators, he comes into contact with the android Thia, and forms the most unlikely alliance.
Like Prey, Predator: Badlands was a huge hit with fans and critics. While this time, the film was given a theatrical release, which resulted in a $184 million worldwide gross, it scored 86% with Rotten Tomatoes critics and 95% with audiences. Although it seemed certain that Trachtenberg was already planning on continuing the franchise with more installments, the huge success of Badlands ensured that this is not the last Predator movie we see even before its VOD release. Now, the only real question is how many more movies Trachtenberg has up his sleeves, and how long do we have to wait to see them?
Predator: Badlands is available on all VOD streaming services for purchase or rental, while Prey is available on Tubi for free, or on Hulu/Disney+ with a subscription. The other movies in the franchise are also streaming on Hulu/Disney+.
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