Copyright Screen Rant
The Alien and Predator franchises come together like never before in Predator: Badlands. While the two classic sci-fi series have been linked since Predator 2 and officially crossed over with two Alien vs. Predator films, this new installment is a true mash-up of the intellectual properties. With Dek, the first Yautja protagonist, at the center, Predator: Badlands makes Alien a focal point with the presence of Weyland-Yutani on Gemma. The long-standing organization from the Alien series and its synths are focal points here, moving them well beyond simple Predator: Badlands Easter eggs. The prominent use of them means the Alien franchise looks a lot different after this film. For as much as Predator: Badlands' ending sets the stage for what comes next in Dan Trachtenberg's vision, everything that unfolds also has a ripple effect on 20th Century and Disney's other iconic sci-fi property. This changes a few major things for Alien's future. 5 Predator: Badlands Advances Alien's Future To The Furthest Point All of the changes that occur for Alien can be traced back to a single decision with this film. It's clear while watching Predator: Badlands that everything is more advanced and futuristic than in previous Predator and Alien movies. The Yautja weaponry is more advanced, as is Weyland-Yutani's. This is because of Predator: Badlands' timeline placement. Trachtenberg confirmed that the film is set further in the future than either property has gone. That was easy to do for Predator, which hadn't advanced beyond 2018 or so previously. Alien has always been set further in the future, with Alien: Resurrection going all the way until 2381. It's not specified how long after Resurrection that Badlands takes place. That point is even contentious since Resurrection revealed Weyland-Yutani was no more, and the company previously created synths so lifelike, known as Autons, that they rebelled against them. That potential plot hole aside, the filmmaker's intent is for this to be further than anything audiences have seen before in either franchise. That's a big deal for Alien, as Badlands becomes a window into the franchise's future. There is a whole new status quo for Weyland-Yutani, and a different makeup of the universe to explore. It's unclear when this will really come into play for a new Alien movie, though, as all confirmed upcoming projects are set before or during the time of the original two films. 4 Thia & Tessa Are The Most Advanced Weyland-Yutani Synths Ever The Alien movies have introduced some incredibly advanced synths over time. After getting David, Walter, Andy, Ash, Rook, Bishop, Walter, and Annalee Call previously, Badlands shows how Weyland-Yutani has taken their androids to another level with Thia and Tessa. Elle Fanning's synth "sisters" are said to be the most advanced models the company has ever produced. Not only are they both shown to be highly efficient in combat, but they also have higher sensitivities than other models. The reason for the latter is so they can emotionally connect with the beings they encounter and manipulate them. This gives them more skills to achieve their primary directives. They are special synths produced by the company, not the new standard. If we're still considering Resurrection as canon, which we've been given no reason not to, then Thia and Tessa seemingly represent the lessons Weyland-Yutani learned from the Autons. These synths have lots of personality, determination, and emotion. After pushing things too far in creating the Autons, the company may have found a better balance when building Thia and Tessa. This is notable for Alien's future based on what happens to Thia and Tessa. The latter is destroyed in the final fight, while the former fully rebels against MU/TH/UR and teams up with Dek. Weyland-Yutani is now without both of its advanced synths. Whether they create more like them (allowing Fanning to land another role) or come up with an entirely new model that's more advanced remains to be seen. 3 Weyland-Yutani Wants Regenerative DNA To Help Humanity Another big reveal for the Alien franchise, and all of humanity, comes with Weyland-Yutani's desire in Predator: Badlands. The company has had synths on Genna for two years trying to capture the Kalisk, the planet's native "unkillable" beast. It's not immediately clear why Weyland-Yutani wants the gian alien so badly until the creature's powers are revealed. The Kalisk possesses regenerative abilities, allowing it to heal from seemingly any injury or death, other than being frozen and exploding from within. This is why the company wants it so badly. The Alien bad guys want to harvest the Kalisk's DNA to try and replicate these abilities within humans. Weyland-Yutani's interest in aliens is not new, as they've long gone after the xenomorph to develop biological weapons and simply get rich. The latter is certainly another point of interest in the Kalisk's healing ability, as the company could put a practically unreachable price tag on immortality and still have people pay for it. The company fails to acquire the full DNA of the Kalisk as far as we know in Badlands, so this is not yet a possibility for humans. But the pursuit of it will not end. There is at least one other Kalisk in existence with Bud, so the alien that's not-so-tiny by the very end could wind up being more important to the future of Alien. 2 Weyland-Yutani Has Had Previous Yautja Encounters For as much attention as Weyland-Yutani's synths get in Predator: Badlands, the movie's true stars are the Yautja. The film is immersed in the culture and traditions of Dek's clan, and we even get a glimpse into how well-known the alien race is across the universe. It's suggested that this is not Weyland-Yutani's first time encountering a Yautja. Thia's universal translator can understand the Yautja language, which could only be possible if there was some experience with it. Weyland-Yutani also shows no real interest in the Yautja once MU/TH/UR learns that one is on Genna. The focus remains on the Kalisk, but if the Yautja were a completely mysterious species to the company's supercomputer, it would be odd for the mission not to expand to learn more about them. This may seem like it makes some sense given the franchise's history of crossing over. Weyland-Yutani learned all about the Yautja in Alien vs. Predator, but that movie is firmly not considered canon. The Alien movies have never directly referenced a Yautja before either. As a result, there must be some other interaction between Weyland-Yutani and the Yautja that happened off-screen in the franchise's canon. Thia hints at these events when she mentions that other Yautja have come to Genna to kill the Kalisk and failed, but there could be other crossovers between the two that happened well before. 1 Xenomorphs Aren't The Most Feared Alien Species Anymore There might not be any Xenomorphs in Predator: Badlands, but their existence and standing in the universe still get a notable update. The Alien movies have spent a lot of time building up the terrifying creatures as the most frightening monsters in the universe, thanks to their design, acid blood, and chest-bursting births. While the Yautja put up a fight against the Xenomorphs when it comes to who is deadlier, the latter is still the king (or queen). That's a bit different now after Badlands thanks to the Kalisk's introduction. The giant, unkillable alien immediately rises to the top of the hypothetical leaderboard for the most dangerous alien species in the universe. Badlands makes an effort to show the softer side of these creatures through Bud, but we also see the sheer magnitude of the mother's power. Their size, strength, and regenerative ability put it above the Xenomorph and Yautja without much debate.
