If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.
Predator mastermind Dan Trachtenberg has an idea for a fourth hunt after Prey, Killer of Killers, and Badlands
Look, we're gonna sound like a broken record here, but we have to ask - is Trachtenberg teasing a new Alien vs. Predator?

Popverse's top stories
- Summer 2026 is getting started already - we have the Florida Supercon 2026 dates!
- Why have a family vacation from hell when you could read one instead with Jennifer Thorne's Diavola? [If It Bleeds, We Read]
- Marvel Studios veterans are teaming up to bring 2000 AD icon Judge Dredd to the big screen one more time
Humanity's struggle against the Yautja is all about winning battles and losing wars. At least, so long as Predator frontman Dan Trachtenberg keeps coming up with ideas.
We're just a few days past the release date of Hulu's Predator: Killer of Killers, the first animated venture into the Predator franchise. And as of this writing, we're only a few short months away from the Predator's next big-screen outing, when he'll return to live action in Predator: Badlands. But according to Trachtenberg, who first entered the franchise with 2022 streaming hit Prey, there are even more stories to tell about the eponymous galactic hunter. In fact - he already has one in mind.
Speaking to SFX Magazine, Trachtenberg reveals that he had ideas for more Predator stories started coming to him pretty much as soon as he wrapped up his first.
"After Prey came out," says the director, "and I started thinking about sequel stuff, there were three ideas that I had. Killers is one, Badlands is two and the third one is something else."
Sorry, what? Care to elaborate on that, Dan?
"There's a lot of cool ideas out there and none of them are just like, 'Oh, we have to say the next part of this story because it was successful.' All of it is like, 'Whoa, no one has done that in sci-fi . No one has done that in Predator. No one's done that with the creature,' all of those ideas are generated from that instinct. So, yeah, there is definitely a third thing that I'd love to get to when Badlands is finished."
If you've been following recent online Predator discourse (oof, don't google that), you know that the next idea in the minds of fans, at least, is for the Predator to cross paths with its infamous enemy, the xenomorph from the Alien franchise. But we have to say - that sure doesn't seem like what Trachtenberg is teasing here. Alien vs. Predator has definitely been done before, and the idea of multiple extraterrestrials duking it out is definitely not new. So what idea that "no one has done [...] in sci-fi" is the director talking about?
Hopefully we'll find out more after Badlands.
Predator: Killer of Killers is on Hulu now. Predator: Badlands comes to theaters November 7.
In the immortal words of Danny Elfman, "Life's no fun without a good scare." Join Popverse's weekly explorations of the best opening moments of horror cinema in The Coldest Open, and then check out:
- The best horror movies of all time, according to horror aficionado Greg Silber
- The most underrated horror movies from the past couple years
- All the new and upcoming horror movies for 2025 and beyond
And much gore. Er, more. Much more.
Follow Popverse for upcoming event coverage and news
Find out how we conduct our review by reading our review policy
Let Popverse be your tour guide through the wilderness of pop culture
Sign in and let us help you find your new favorite thing.

Comments
Want to join the discussion? Please activate your account first.
Visit Reedpop ID if you need to resend the confirmation email.