Copyright Screen Rant
The Alien and Predator franchises have been united like never before in Predator: Badlands. The standalone futuristic chapter in the Yautja-led sci-fi series directly infuses core concepts from the Alien movies, even without incorporating Xenomorphs. This comes through the role of Elle Fanning's dual roles as Weyland-Yutani synthetics named Thia and Tessa. Predator: Badlands' protagonist Dek encounters them both while on Genna in pursuit of the Kalisk, as director Dan Trachtenberg effortlessly blends the two worlds in a fresh way. Despite the core crossover element, the film does not spend much time explaining the state of the larger universe and becoming overly connected to past installments of both franchises. One explanation for this comes from when Predator: Badlands takes place in the timeline. It's been confirmed to be the furthest set chapter in the Alien and Predator canons. And while that works incredibly well for the film creatively, it does expose a plot hole that arises from the expansion of the Alien series. Weyland-Yutani Shouldn't Exist When Predator: Badlands Takes Place Even though no specific year setting has been revealed, Trachtenberg and others involved with Predator: Badlands have said that it takes place after all previous movies in both franchises. Previously, Alien: Resurrection was the furthest set installment, taking place in 2381. And if this new film takes place after, the use of Alien's Weyland-Yutani becomes a problem. Weyland-Yutani is the prominent company from the Alien movies responsible for creating synthetics, the MU/TH/UR supercomputer, and various advancements in human technology and transportation. It's featured in every single installment of the franchise. Yet, the issue for Predator: Badlands comes with Alien: Resurrection, which included the revelation that Weyland-Yutani was no longer in operation. This came after losing a contract with the United Systems Military and all megacorporations becoming outlawed in 2349. If Weyland-Yutani was no longer around when Alien: Resurrection took place, then its role in Predator: Badlands being presented so nonchalantly is surprising. The corporation's mere existence becomes a plot hole for this growing universe that presently has been left unexplained. It's unlikely this is a total oversight done without putting some thought into the decision and how Predator: Badlands changes the Alien franchise. Trachtenberg explicitly confirmed the movie takes place after Resurrection, suggesting there must be some general idea for how Weyland-Yutani is back. How The Alien Franchise Can Make Sense Of Weyland-Yutani's Predator: Badlands Role The good news for Predator and Alien is that several potential options exist to explain the corporation's return by the time Badlands takes place. One that could prove divisive is making Alien: Resurrection non-canon to these franchises. Alien toyed with this idea previously when Neill Blomkamp's Alien 5 was in development. This movie was going to erase Alien 3 and Resurrection from the universe, establishing a new status quo for the series with considerable retcons. While Blomkamp's movie didn't come to fruition, those in charge of overseeing these franchises may have still decided that Resurrection is not canon. This would be an extreme way to explain this plot hole, but it could make sense depending on what plans for future Alien movies look like. If they don't want to erase Resurrection, the franchise could also explain that Badlands takes place relatively close to it. This would allow remnants of Weyland-Yutani to still be active in the galaxy, mirroring ideas explored in some books with unclear canon statuses. The crew Thia is part of has been on Genna for two years, so perhaps they were sent out right before the corporation collapsed. These synthetics could be carrying out the last primary directive Weyland-Yutani gave prior to its shutdown. Similarly, the franchise could explore the idea that while the company ceased all legitimate operations, it still continued some of its work in secret. With a reach as big as Weyland-Yutani and the power it had, it would not be far-fetched to reveal that the corporation wasn't as defunct as civilization was led to believe. And even if Weyland-Yutani was completely shut down, there's no reason why it could not be reborn years later. This is the easiest path forward for the franchise, as it just involves undoing a decision that most Alien fans didn't agree with. The megacorporation is a huge part of the franchise's mythos and never should've been lost in the first place. If the state of humanity continued to crumble, Weyland-Yutani could've been reinstated in the years after Resurrection. The films could even borrow from James A. Moore's book Alien: Sea of Sorrows and position the organization as one that helped save humanity and Earth. Of course, Badlands already makes it clear that Weyland-Yutani's intentions are not pure, no matter what form it is currently in. They are after the Kalisk to try and recreate its regenerative DNA within humans. The company is searching for immortality and is doing so by any means necessary.
