Predator: Badlands director Dan Trachtenberg is on the record saying there are “no xenomorphs” in his new movie, which hits theaters November 7. Whether or not he’s telling the truth, we don’t know, but a new clip from the film not only ties directly into Alien, the xenomorph franchise, but also borrows the plot from the original 1979 Ridley Scott film. So, xenomorphs or not, Alien is a part of this.
Before we explain what we mean by all that, why not check out the clip? It features Elle Fanning as Tessa, one of two roles Fanning plays in the film. The other is Thia, and both of them are synthetics created by the Weyland-Yutani corporation. Yes, the same Weyland-Yutani corporation Ripley and the crew of the Nostromo work for in Alien, and the same company that had several bio-weapons stolen from them in Alien: Earth. Here’s the clip.
So what we see here is that Tessa is told by the voice of the corporation MU/TH/UR (which is the same codename used in the Alien franchise) that she has, thus far, been unsuccessful in her mission, which is acquiring a bioweapon designated as XX0522. What the heck is XX0522? Could it be a xenomorph? Could it be another creature we’ve seen in a trailer? That’s unclear.
What’s clear, though, is that Weyland-Yutani is using synthetics to acquire a dangerous alien species, just like in Alien, Aliens (if you pretend Burke is half-human), Alien 3, Alien: Earth, and more. That’s the biggest connection. But the corporation is also, tying back into this film, aware of the Yautja species, better known to us as “the Predator.” And it seems to want to set Tessa up against it.
How that plays out, we’ll find out when the film hits theaters. But either way, Predator: Badlands will see members of the Weyland-Yutani corporation hunting for deadly bio-weapons in a Predator movie. Whether or not the xenomorph shows up, it sure seems like there’s potential for crossover at some point.
We’ll have much more Predator next week when the film hits theaters on November 7.
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