Spoilers follow.
In the world of genre fiction, you either die an alien monster, or you live long enough to see yourself become an alien monster hero. And since no franchise ever dies anymore, lest we waste some lingering blood from a valuable IP, the latter is becoming more common. In 2025, both the “Alien” and “Predator” franchises are taking the same unprecedented, yet fascinating, turn — turning their iconic, titular creatures from lethal dangers to protagonists you root for.
“Predator” fans will get their opportunity to root for the ultimate alien hunter when “Predator: Badlands” premieres in theaters later this year on November 7. Per Disney’s official synopsis, the film takes place “in the future on a remote planet, where a young Predator, outcast from his clan, finds an unlikely ally” — a synthetic android played by Elle Fanning — “and embarks on a treacherous journey in search of the ultimate adversary.” So, while many of us have sort of been rooting for the predators this whole time, especially in certain moments of Dan Trachtenberg’s last film in the franchise, “Prey,” everyone now has full permission to cheer on the Yautja.
The trailers for “Predator: Badlands” have given a good look at that, but the face-turn for the Xenomorph in “Alien: Earth” is one that fewer people likely saw coming. Over the course of this first season, there’s been a growing mystery around human-synthetic hybrid Wendy (Sydney Chandler) and her connection to the creatures. Unlike ordinary humans, androids, or her fellow hybrids, Wendy is able to hear and communicate with the Xenomorphs, even feeling their pain. And so, in episode 7, during her flight from the Neverland facility, she ends up calling on that connection, turning the Xenomorph born of her brother’s lung as her protector and weapon.
There are few things as exciting in cinema than when the cool villain goes good-guy for a short stretch. Think Magneto in the “X-Men” movies, or Kylo Ren in the throne room (a scene that all smart people agree is fantastic, argue with the wall). “Alien: Earth” gives the Xenomorph that moment, as Wendy, AKA Marcy, commands her new guardian with a series of subtle clicks and whistles. The speed and viciousness with which the alien dismantles entire squads of Prodigy and Weyland-Yutani soldiers is nothing less than you’d expect, but it’s such a fun and smart twist on the franchise to have us actively rooting for a specific Xenomorph that we’ve watched from (nonfatal) birth.
Throughout this season, the corporate overlords have been the real bad guys, with the various alien specimens kidnapped by Weyland-Yutani and stolen by Prodigy often portrayed as unwitting victims of that same unchecked corporate greed. Wendy certainly seems to view them that way, and it’s hard to argue against, say, the creepy eyeball alien trying to escape from captivity. After all, it didn’t ask to be there.
With one episode left, it should be interesting to see how far the Xenomorph’s loyalty to Wendy will go. Does it stop at this one creature, or could she have queen-like control over the entire species?
This 2025 trend of turning both Xenomorphs and Predators into “good guys” leads to an interesting question: How might that shift influence the possibility of a new “Alien vs. Predator” movie? While no such film has been formally announced, the two franchises have had increasing overlap since both coming under the same roof at Disney’s 20th Century Studios. Elle Fanning’s synthetic character in “Predator: Badlands” is a great example. And with nostalgia inevitably turning everything old and campy into a new money-making opportunity, the chances of a fresh “Alien vs. Predator” seem high.
That said, these latest stories open up some fun new possibilities. The old “AvP” movies already positioned the Predators in somewhat more agreeable roles alongside the human characters, with Xenomorphs as a common, non-sentient threat. That idea could be taken further with the new developments in the two franchises. Conversely, a human using Xenomorphs as soldiers fighting against a group of Yautja? Sounds pretty fun, and definitely goofy enough to earn the “AvP” name.
For now, we;re still waiting to see how exactly “Predator: Badlands” will position its main character and the larger Yautja culture, and “Alien: Earth” still has one episode — and hopefully, many more seasons — to explore this burgeoning bond between synthetic life and the Xenomorphs.