This article was originally published on SFFGazette.com.
The first screenings for Predator: Badlands took place yesterday evening, and while full-blown spoilers have yet to surface online, we now know whether the movie features an appearance from any Xenomorphs.
There's good reason to believe it might; Predator: Killer of Killers included a couple of visual nods to the Alien franchise's iconic leads, and this movie is, of course, set to feature a Weyland-Yutani android in a lead role.
We've already told you whether it's worth sticking around for a post-credits scene, but should you expect to see a Xenomorph at any point in Predator: Badlands?
Unfortunately, the movie doesn't feature any Xenomorphs and, based on what we've been told, it also doesn't have anything that directly sets up a possible Alien vs. Predator movie.
This isn't hugely surprising, as filmmaker Dan Trachtenberg recently said, "There’s no Xenomorph in this movie. But to me, that makes it more exciting. We’re not involving [the Alien franchise] just to smush the action figures together. There are great, organic story reasons for Weyland-Yutani to be in this film."
Explaining how the android Thea factors into this story, he added, "Thia has been on Genna a while, seeing things she wouldn’t normally see. She’s absorbing all this new information, and she’s broken too, so she’s become very different from the other synths."
Predator: Badlands being a largely standalone tale isn't the worst idea, and it appears Trachtenberg will continue telling stories in this world that, despite having some level of connectivity, aren't necessarily all part of one big story arc.
Predator: Killer of Killers teased an eventual crossover with characters from the franchise, and while Alien vs. Predator seems like a strong possibility for somewhere down the line, both of those could be a ways off yet.
The movie, which stars Elle Fanning and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, is set in the future on a remote planet, where a young Predator (Schuster-Koloamatangi), outcast from his clan, finds an unlikely ally in Thia (Fanning) and embarks on a treacherous journey in search of the ultimate adversary.
Dan Trachtenberg directs and produces Predator: Badlands alongside John Davis, Marc Toberoff, Ben Rosenblatt, and Brent O’Connor.
Predator: Badlands opens exclusively in movie theaters on November 7 in IMAX, Dolby Cinema, Cinemark XD, 4DX, ScreenX, and premium screens everywhere.