Susie Glass, the main hair and makeup artist for Predator Badlands, confirmed an unexpected Alien connection in the 2025 movie. The upcoming new entry to the Predator franchise will follow a completely unique story as it revolves around a newfound dynamic between a Weyland-Yutani synth (Elle Fanning) and a young Predator outcast named Dek. After the main crux of the plot is revealed to be Dek hunting down a dangerous creature on the planet of Genna, many came to believe that the alien species was none other than a Xenomorph, especially after the movie's trailer confirmed the inclusion of Colonial Marines and the P-5000 Powered Work Loader from 1986's Aliens.
However, it seemed that this wasn't the case after Predator: Badlands producer Ben Glass dismissed the idea of a Xenomorph showing up. Despite that, the movie still has a connection to the Alien franchise outside of the already confirmed ties to Ridley Scott's 1986 sequel.
Speaking with Collider during the outlet's set visit of Predator: Badlands, lead hair and makeup artist Susie Glass confirmed that the design of one of the "hero Synths" in the movie, named Abe, served as a nod to Michael Fassbender's David and Walter synths from the prequel movies, Prometheus and Alien: Covenant.
This unexpected connection to the Alien prequel movies is notable because of how significant David is to the lore of Ridley Scott's Alien universe.
For those unaware, Michael Fassbender's David is a Weyland-Yutani synthetic tasked to assist the human scientists and explorers aboard the exploratory vessel, Prometheus, who betrayed his own team to fulfill the company's goal of finding the answer to immortality. Some of his nefarious actions include killing Prometheus' protagonist, Elizabeth Shaw, experimenting with various alien species to create the perfect organism, and killing the engineers in Alien: Covenant.
Glass' confirmation that the new hero synth would pay homage to David could hint that the character would align with the side of good, but there's a chance that it could be a red herring and secretly become a villain in the end. This could hint that the character would endure a similar trajectory to Michael Fassbender's character in the prequels.
Based on what Glass said, it's possible that the design of the hero synth could have similar blonde hair as David, so that it could stand out from the rest of the androids present in the movie.
Another unexpected connection of Predator: Badlands is the confirmation that MU/TH/UR will appear in the movie, but there is a twist due to the software being a different model from the Alien movies.
20th Century Studios shared an official clip showing Elle Fanning's synthetic being repaired by MU/TH/UR after an encounter with the unkillable beast that Weyland-Yutani is trying to retrieve. This software, however, has a model number of 065278, indicating that it isn't the same model as the one Ellen Ripley used in 1979's Alien.
This new model of MU/TH/UR can also speak, which serves as a huge upgrade for the software. This upgrade makes sense, considering that Predator: Badlands is set years into the far future (read more about the Predator timeline here).
In the Alien franchise, MU/TH/UR 6000 was the main software aboard the Weyland-Yutani ships tasked to find the Xenomorph in LV-426.
Fans can watch the clip here:
Directed by Dan Trachtenberg, Predator: Badlands stars Elle Fanning as the Weyland-Yutani synth stuck on the dangerous planet and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamantangi as the titular predator. The movie will premiere in theaters on November 7, 2025.
Will There Be Anymore Alien Connections in Predator: Badlands?
At this stage, Predator: Badlands already has a plethora of connections to the Alien franchise, such as the Colonial Marines, the P-5000 Powered Work Loader from 1986's Aliens, the synthetics, and the Weyland-Yutani branding. The nod to Michael Fassbender’s David android design serves as the perfect finishing touch.
While the Predator: Badlands producers and crew explicitly told everyone that there would be no Xenomorphs in the movie, there is still a reason to be excited, and there may even be a chance that they are lying to preserve the movie's secrets.
The basic premise of Predator: Badlands is Dek's pursuit to kill an unkillable beast and bring it back home to his clan to prove his worth. Although the trailers confirmed that the beast is a giant behemoth creature that is seemingly the apex predator of the planet, a prevailing theory among fans is that the true superior creature hiding within the forest biome is none other than the Xenomorph.
In a way, this theory makes sense, mainly because of Weyland-Yutani's (aka the company) heavy involvement in the movie's story. It's worth noting that the company's true goal is to exploit and capture the Xenomorph, considering that they believe this perfect organism is the answer to immortality. This could also explain why the full might of the Colonial Marines is assigned to the planet, meaning that the company is doing whatever it takes to potentially bring the Xenomorph home.
At this point, this is a theory, but it wouldn't be surprising to learn that a Xenomorph or some version of it is hiding within the grand scheme of things in Predator: Badlands.
LATEST NEWS
