Predator: Badlands director Dan Trachtenberg got honest about potentially creating an Alien vs. Predator 3 movie. Trachtenberg made his Predator franchise debut with Prey and then moved to the animated space with Predator: Killer of Killers before returning to the big screen with Badlands. Some would argue that Trachtenberg's extensive knowledge of the Yautja, combined with delivering three successful Predator movies, makes him a perfect candidate to direct a future Alien vs. Predator crossover.
It is a tall order, especially after fans of both franchises considered the first two Alien vs. Predator movies as the low points for both sci-fi series. Amid the clamor for a proper Alien vs. Predator movie, Trachtenberg has a perfect plan laid out for what needs to happen for the crossover to be a worthy entry in the franchise.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with The Direct, Predator: Badlands director Dan Trachtenberg addressed whether there have been any conversations about making Alien vs. Predator 3, noting that "the coolest part of it would be grabbing these elements and letting them cook," indicating that he wants the shared universe to develop organically before finally pulling the trigger on a crossover movie:
The Direct: "Recently, Fede Álvarez joked that he was like, 'Oh yeah, I have to co-direct an 'Alien vs. Predator' film with Dan Trachtenberg. Have there been any conversations about doing a proper 'Alien vs. Predator' at some point with Disney or 20th Century?"
Dan Trachtenberg: "...For me, the coolest part of it would be grabbing these elements and letting them cook. You know, once again, we don't want to pull it out of the oven too quickly and have it all just be raw. We really want things to simmer and boil and get up to the perfect temperature. I don't know. I don't cook. Too many, too many terms now!"
Predator: Badlands prominently featured a synthetic from Weyland-Yutani working together with a Yautja warrior, but a Xenomorph was nowhere to be found.
Trachtenberg explained the decision not to include the perfect organism, admitting that he wanted Badlands to mainly focus on the unexpected "relationship" between a synth and a Yautja:
The Direct: "Given that this movie does star a Weyland-Yutani Synthetic, this is basically like an Alien crossover film without the Xenomorphs. Can you talk about why you chose to make an Alien crossover film without a Xenomorph?"
Dan Trachtenberg: "Idea number one was... Because 'Prey' was such a solo survival tale, I wanted this to be a relationship movie. Especially because we were going to have this Predator speaking in a different language and wanted to see it have a dynamic with something and interact, to get more of a window into its insides. Because it wasn't certainly going to voice them out loud. I wanted to pair him with something, and I knew if we put a human in the movie, then it becomes the human's movie, and he's just in it. And T2 already exists, you know? And it was really like, 'No, we've got to make sure that whatever else I put him in there with, he's still the protagonist.' And so I thought, a monster and a robot, there's something that's really fun about that."
The Badlands director continued by explaining how Weyland-Yutani factored in the movie's plot, pointing out that it was "cooler" to take an element from one franchise and "fuse that to another:"
"And then thought, 'Well, I know a company that makes robots that is under the same technical... I can use them because they're owned by Fox and Disney, by 20th and Disney.' And also, these franchises, I've touched before. And I just thought, it's so much cooler. Rather than just grabbing the action figures and smashing them together, it's so much cooler to take an element from one franchise and fuse that to another. That's something we hadn't quite seen before. So that's how it all kind of came to be."
Predator: Badlands ended with a promise of seeing more stories between Dek and Thia due to the unexpected arrival of Dek's mother, who is seemingly out for revenge after his father's death.
When The Direct asked about a possible continuation of Badlands and the other Predator movies under his belt, Trachtenberg confirmed that he would "love to make more" and there are "plenty more ideas" for those stories:
The Direct: "'Prey,' 'Killer of Killers,' and 'Badlands' promises that there's a little bit more to be told. Can we hope for a continuation at some point for those three films?"
Dan Trachtenberg: "I think this movie just has to do well, and hopefully it will. But should it? Should it, I would certainly love to make more. There's plenty more ideas in the hopper, for sure."
Predator: Badlands stars Elle Fanning as a Weyland-Yutani synth stuck on the dangerous planet and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamantangi as the titular young Yautja seeking to slay an unkillable beast to prove his worth to his clan. The movie premiered in theaters on November 7, 2025.
Why Dan Trachtenberg Is the Perfect Director for an Alien vs. Predator Movie
Dan Trachtenberg's already impressive resume, which includes handling three Predator movies (read more on how to watch the Predator films chronologically here), makes him a fitting candidate to potentially direct a future Alien vs. Predator movie.
Based on his latest comments shared with The Direct, Trachtenberg also has a firm grasp of the formula needed for the crossover movie to succeed. Not rushing it is the way to go, so that it will not feel forced whenever the big event happens.
While Predator: Badlands is not a full-blown crossover, the fact that Trachtenberg managed to integrate the Weyland-Yutani elements into the film seamlessly is a preview of how a proper Alien vs. Predator movie would work in the future.
Given that previous Alien vs. Predator movies prioritized spectacle over story, giving Trachtenberg the keys to the next crossover would be ideal, especially after he managed to persuade fans to root for a young Yautja warrior in Predator: Badlands. If he ends up helming the crossover, then the filmmaker could find ways to humanize both the Xenomorphs and the Yautjas, which could then make a third Alien vs. Predator a more compelling entry than the first two movies.
