Exciting new rumours about the Predator franchise have emerged, hinting at the possibility of an upcoming animated film alongside the previously announced Predator: Badlands. According to Gizmodo, insider sources suggest that this secret project will be an animated anthology exploring three distinct storylines, with potential fights between Predators, pirates, and samurai.
While the information remains speculative, the proposed narratives suggest a creative expansion of the Predator universe. Dan Trachtenberg, who directed the franchise’s earlier entry, Prey, is set to helm both Predator: Badlands and this animated feature. Despite fans’ hopes for a direct sequel to Prey, Trachtenberg has chosen to explore new directions within the Predator lore.

Steve Asbell, a 20th Century Fox Studio executive, confirmed Trachtenberg’s involvement and the development of these two projects. Asbell shared in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter that after the success of Prey, Trachtenberg decided against a sequel in favour of pursuing fresh, albeit ambitious, ideas.
“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,” Asbell told THR.

Predator: Badlands is slated for a 7 November 2025 release. Details about the release strategy for the untitled animated feature remain unclear, including whether it will receive a theatrical release or debut directly on streaming platforms like Disney+. Questions also linger about the animation studio involved and how these new stories will integrate with the existing Predator mythology.
Despite the lack of concrete details from official sources, the anticipation for these projects continues to build. Fans of the Predator series are eager to see how these new films will contribute to this beloved sci-fi franchise.