Two new Predator movies are coming in 2025 and an Alien: Romulus sequel is in the works

It's truly a great time to be a fan of classic sci-fi creature horror films. Last year, the Predator franchise got a huge shot of adrenaline in the form of Prey, which saw the alien hunter face off against the Comanche warrior Naru (Amber Midthunder) on the Great Plains in the early 1700s. Directed by Dan Trachtenberg, Prey revitalized the franchise in a huge way; if you ask me, it's arguably the best Predator movie in the entire series, and I say this as someone who grew up obsessed with the first two films starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny Glover, respectively.

Then, this year, we got two more big sci-fi sequels from 20th Century: Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and Alien: Romulus. And similar to Prey, both were huge hits that have the studio keen to capitalize on the momentum and make sequels.

That's no longer just conjecture. In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, longtime 20th Century head Steve Asbell opened up about the status of Alien, Predator, Apes and more. We're going to see a lot more of these franchises in the future, and I'm here for it. After being acquired by Disney in 2019, a huge hurdle that 20th Century had to clear was figuring out the correct balance between its franchise tentpoles and new original stories. According to Asbell, it sounds like they've finally nailed it.

"Right now it’s looking like next year, half the slate," Asbell said when asked about the balance between original movies and established franchises. "Job one was figuring out these franchise movies first and coming up with the right cadence of Avatar, Apes, Alien and Predator specifically. Getting those right was the first part, which we’ve done now. And so that idea is to be able to say, 'Okay, we know when the Avatar movies are coming. We know now about Predator. There’ll be another Apes in ‘27, let’s just say.' So knowing where we can plan those franchises, it helps us look to see and ask what kinds of original movies in terms of genre do we want to test the marketplace with?"

Before you lose your mind with excitement like I did reading that paragraph, Asbell's 2027 release date for a new Planet of the Apes is a hypothetical. But it's a hypothetical he's comfortable giving, which means it's something the studio could very well have in mind. After Wes Ball's Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes film brought in nearly $400 million at the global box office, hopes are high that there will be a sequel. Hearing that 20th Century is positioning Avatar, Apes, Alien and Predator as its four major sci-fi tentpole franchises means that sequel is all but certain to happen; here's hoping Ball can make it work around his other big upcoming film, The Legend of Zelda.

Predator: Badlands has wrapped filming with Elle Fanning

Asbell didn't just tease the prospect of more movies in those big franchises; he got into some specifics. The most exciting was regarding Predator. When Prey came out in 2022, many fans were disappointed that it was a streaming-only release. Given its warm reception among critics and fans, it seemed like a huge missed opportunity that it never got a theatrical run. Earlier this week it was confirmed that Predator: Badlands will come out in theaters in November of 2025. But that isn't the only Predator film we'll be seeing in 2025. Asbell confirmed there's not one, but two Predator movies coming out next year!

"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," Asbell revealed. "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."

"It’s titled Badlands and it is an absolutely bonkers idea. It is a sci-fi thing, but it’s not what everybody thinks it is. And I mean, it’s awesome. It is so nuts. But in Dan, we trust."

- Steve Asbell

This might be the most information we've heard about Badlands from the studio itself. We heard rumbles in late August that Badlands was filming in New Zealand with Elle Fanning, but those were from on-the-ground sources vetted by AvP Galaxy, a popular Alien and Predator fansite. It sounds like those sources were right, and that filming has now finished.

As for what Badlands is about, it remains a mystery. But the leaked information AvP Galaxy dug up casts Fanning in dual roles as twin sisters with very different missions and personalities whose paths cross with the Predator. That could certainly qualify as "bonkers," and would be a very interesting departure from any of the previous Predator movies. But considering how good Prey was, I'm more than willing to give Trachtenberg the benefit of the doubt. As Asbell said, in Dan we trust.

Two Predator movies will release in 2025! What's the second "secret" film?

That brings us to the second Predator movie, which was also directed by Trachtenberg. Asbell says the studio has "different plans" for that film than for Badlands. "There's a secret Predator movie that will come out before the theatrical one but I can't say anything about [it] yet," he explained.

Earlier, Asbell referenced Badlands as a "live-action" Predator movie. That makes me wonder if this other film might be an animated movie for Hulu. We know it won't be a theatrical release, since Asbell is talking about only one of them going to theaters.

But what will this "secret" Predator movie be about? That remains a huge question, and so far no answer has been made public. Asbell said that Trachtenberg wasn't gunning to do a sequel to Prey, and offered up a bunch of other Predator ideas instead. He also said the studio had done two of those ideas, so I think we can say, somewhat safely, that the secret film is not a direct sequel to Prey. But perhaps it references those events in order to bridge the film with Badlands, which is reportedly set sometime in the near future as opposed to the 1700s like Prey? Or perhaps it's something totally different. Considering Badlands' November 2025 release window, we'll probably hear more about the secret Predator movie next year during the lead-up to its release.

Fede Álvarez is in talks to direct an Alien: Romulus sequel

Now let's swing over to the Predator's most famous nemesis, the Alien franchise. Like Prey, 2024's Alien: Romulus brought new life to the series by introducing a whole new cast of characters who had to contend with the titular monster. Instead of Sigourney Weaver or Michael Fassbender, this time it was Cailee Spaeny and David Jonsson who had to survive the xenomorph's terrifying pursuit. Romulus racked up over $350 million at the worldwide box office against an $80 million budget, so it's no surprise that 20th Century is looking forward to future Alien films. And it sounds like they're close to locking in a deal with director Fede Álvarez to helm the next one, too.

"We’re working on a sequel idea now," Asbell said. "We haven’t quite closed our deal with Fede [Álvarez], but we are going to, and he has an idea that we’re working on. The two survivors, Rain and Andy, played by Cailee Spaeny and David Jonsson, were real highlights of the film. And so I always think of it like, 'Wow, where do people want to see them go next?' We know there’s going to be aliens. We know there’s going to be great horror set pieces. But I fell in love with both of them and I want to see what their story is."

I assumed the studio would be courting Álvarez for an Alien: Romulus sequel given the film's success, but it's pretty exciting to hear that they're also hoping to bring back Spaeny and Jonsson. Like the Predator films, the Alien movies rarely feature returning cast members, outside of one or two specific roles like Sigourney Weaver's Ellen Ripley. I also fell in love with Rain and Andy in Alien: Romulus, so I'd be really curious to see what happens to them after the traumatic events of the film. Maybe it could even tie in somehow to Ridley Scott's Alien: Covenant sequel that never got made? There are lots of possibilities to keep us entertained while we wait to hear more.

There will "probably" be another Alien vs Predator movie

Last, and let's be honest, least, Asbell also weighed in on the possibility of another Alien vs Predator movie. Following the success of both the Alien and Predator franchises and some tie-in media like comics in the late '80s which pitted the iconic sci-fi creatures against each other, 20th Century made a few crossover movies. Alien vs Predator (2004) and Alien vs Predator: Requiem (2007) didn't go over especially well with fans, and are widely considered some of the worst films in either franchise.

But there's just something about these two aliens duking it out that continues to capture the imagination — which means it also has the potential to capture the hard-earned cash of moviegoers. Asbell thinks there will "probably" be another Alien vs Predator movie down the line at some point.

"It wouldn’t be in the way you think," he added. "That’s the thing. Not in the way that it will just be called Alien vs. Predator or anything like the original movies. If we do this, they’ll be organically created out of these two franchises that we’ve continued with characters that we fall in love with and those characters will combine…perhaps. But we haven’t gotten to that point. And we’re not just going to bang it out."

Any time a studio exec mentions Alien vs Predator, I get nervous. But the idea of finding a way to combine the stories of not just the creatures, but the humans involved in the separate franchises, could be an interesting way to make it work. I'm not saying it would work, but it's different enough that it's worth pondering the possibilities. What if Rain and Andy ended up on another planet with Aliens, and then Predators showed up to wipe them all out? What if two Elle Fannings fled from Earth and ended up trapped somewhere with a xenomorph? There are a lot of ways for an Alien vs Predator movie to go wrong, but the fact that 20th Century isn't rushing into it is encouraging. Hopefully they find just the right formula to make it all work if they do decide to take the leap on a new AvP movie.

But that's getting ahead of ourselves. For now, we have two new Predator movies coming next year to get excited about, as well as the Alien: Earth television show. What a time to be alive!

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