Update: Dan Trachtenberg has revealed that the hero of the upcoming Predator: Badlands will be none other than the titular alien. Elle Fanning will also be playing more than one role.

Sequels to Predator range in quality from decent to exhausting, which is why it was a pleasant surprise that Prey, the prequel film that streamed on Hulu, was so awesome. Many fans consider it to be the second-best in the franchise, so it was no surprise that 20th Century Studios wanted to continue working with that film’s director, Dan Trachtenberg. But the director didn’t just want to do “Prey 2” and repeat himself, which is why we have Predator: Badlands coming out in 2025, starring Elle Fanning. But, plot twist, that’s not the only Predator film we’ll be getting next year.

First, let’s talk about what we do know. On November 7th, 2025, Predator: Badlands will hit the big screen (thank goodness) and will follow the story of two sisters travelling a barren wasteland in a futuristic sci-fi setting. The only cast member to be revealed to date, Elle Fanning, will lead the film. Production took place in New Zealand, so here’s hoping for some great vistas, contrary to the title of the film.

But before we get that film, 20th Century Studios president Steve Asbell revealed in a juicy interview with The Hollywood Reporter that Dan Trachtenberg actually will have two Predator films coming out next year. This secret film will be released before Badlands and will be a streaming film, much like Prey was. When asked if the next Predator film [Badlands] would be getting a theatrical treatment, here’s what he had to say:

“Yes, a Predator movie will have a theatrical. I’ll tell you very simply. After Prey became a success, Dan [Trachtenberg] came back and said he didn’t want to do Prey 2. And we’re like, “What do you want to do?” And he rattled off a bunch of ideas that were really crazy but really cool. We’ve actually done two of them. Two are coming out next year. One I can’t talk about yet, but the other one is the live-action Predator film with Elle Fanning that just wrapped in New Zealand. That’ll be out theatrically sometime next year.”

So that’s exciting. I’m very curious as to what this one will be about and just how on earth that information didn’t leak. Internet rumours suggested Trachenberg was working on a World War II-centric Predator film, while the director, studio and Prey lead Amber Midthunder all expressed interest in continuing that story, so we could very well be getting Prey 2, contrary to Trachenberg’s statement above. Aside from saying the studio will probably do Alien vs. Predator at some point, Asbell also revealed that a sequel to Alien: Romulus is in the works (hopefully titled “Remus“), and that they’re trying very hard to get a new Master and Commander film off the ground, despite making that announcement in 2021. He said the script is done, they’re just hunting for a director at the moment to take on the task. The first Master and Commander film, starring Russell Crowe, was a big contender at the 76th Academy Awards, raking in ten nominations, so expectations would be high for this movie. Stay tuned for more updates!