‘Predator: Badlands’ director teases return of Arnold Schwarzenegger and drops a 15-minute preview at Comic Con

Predator fans are eating well these days, and at San Diego Comic-Con, franchise creative head Dan Trachtenberg gave us even more reasons to be optimistic about the series’ future.

The first shock came when Trachtenberg, who directed and co-wrote both Prey and Predator: Killer of Killers before Badlands, unveiled a new, extended ending for the animated anthology movie.

Spoilers ahead for Prey and Predator: Killer of Killers.

Predator: Killer of Killers – Complete New Epilogue – YouTube

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In the original final seconds of the movie, Amber Midthunder’s Naru is revealed to be held captive and frozen by the interstellar hunters after defeating one of them, like the main trio of human warriors the four-part story focuses on.

In the new epilogue (which has also been added on Hulu/Disney+), the camera continues to pan right, revealing that Danny Glover’s Lt. Mike Harrigan and Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Alan ‘Dutch’ Schaefer are in the massive ‘warehouse’ too, presumably awaiting their turn to fight in the coliseum as part of the ‘Killer of Killers’ tournament.

Whether this clan of Predators with a penchant for gladiatorial battles has a connection to the original Yautja hunters defeated by the two original heroes remains to be seen, but it’s a huge development that sets up some exciting future possibilities (even if it does seemingly overwrite Predator: Hunting Grounds‘ admittedly thin narrative).

Trachtenberg was also quick to confirm that conversations with Schwarzenegger are already underway: “We talked a lot about the things we could make together, and he was very kind to approve his cameo in this. And we can now continue to cook up things that may be in store for that guy.”

Considering Dutch is shown as having barely aged since we last saw him in the 1987 movie, we’re inclined to think the potential follow-up to this would be animated as well, but Schwarzenegger is no stranger to de-aging CG trickery, so we wouldn’t rule out a live-action return.

As for Predator: Badlands, the main attraction of the show, the crowd was treated to a 15-minute preview of the movie’s opening. AvP Galaxy has the full description, but if you want a quick rundown, Dek (the Predator protagonist) fights his brother Kwei before their father, a clan chieftain, shows up and reprimands Kwei for not killing Dek, a runt who will only bring dishonor to the clan, according to him. Given the Predator’s main character status, the Yautja language will be subtitled so we actually get to understand them talking for the first time.

Unsurprisingly, things go sideways, and Kwei chooses to save his brother, who escapes in a ship to a planet where “a beast that even their father fears” lives. As seen in the official trailer released last week, the Predator must side with a Weyland-Yutani synthetic to survive a world of pain and regain his honor. Alongside this closed-doors preview, a new poster was shared:

While talking to IGN, Trachtenberg, along with stars Elle Fanning and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, went on to explain what separates Badlands from the rest of the series, including video game inspirations, those Alien universe connections, and how the story might be surprisingly emotional. If you’re excited about the movie, that interview is a must-watch.

About the teased future crossover, Trachtenberg said he wants to avoid “required homework” and doesn’t want to “smash action figures together” just because they can. Instead, he’d be interested in a more “elegant” approach. This lines up with past chatter about not rushing into it, but rather building up towards a more meaningful crossover.

Confirmed! Predator: Badlands Was Inspired By C-3PO & Chewbacca | SDCC 2025 – YouTube

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For now, however, both the Yautja and Xenomorphs are busy doing their own separate thing before a new Alien vs. Predator comes close to happening. On that front, we have Alien: Earth — the franchise’s first-ever TV series — to look forward to in August.

Predator: Badlands releases in cinemas on November 7, 2025. You can watch Prey (and the other Predator movies) on Hulu.