Predator is one of the most iconic movie franchises of all time, with an equally iconic monster. An alien hunter who uses advanced weapons to hunt down other species for sport has captivated viewers’ imaginations since 1987. The character has been featured in various forms of other media, from comics, video games, and crossover series; audiences can’t get enough of the Predator.
Throughout the years, the creature has taken on many mantles, from a scary extraterrestrial movie monster to an antihero, an honorable warrior to a full-blown alien invader, and audiences still keep coming back after Prey was released on Hulu in 2022 to strong reviews from critics and fans.
In a franchise that spans seven films (and a rich mythology in comic books), the Predator movies explore a world where humanity comes face to face with a creature more technologically advanced than them, and they must fight to survive it. Yet, instead of a massive alien invasion, these conflicts are smaller-scale, more intimate, and more frightening, where humanity is often outgunned.
The human spirit keeps going in the face of impossible odds to make humanity a worthy competitor in the universe. Take a look at the Predator movies in chronological order and order of release, depending on one’s viewing pleasure.
‘Predator’ Movies by Release Date
Unlike a lot of franchises, the chronological order of the Predator movies also tends to line up with their order of release, except for Prey, which is a prequel.
‘Predator’ Films in Chronological Order
‘Predator: Killer of Killers’ (2025)
Predator: Killer of Killers is undeniably one of the most unique installments in the thrilling franchise, as it not only features vibrant animation but also takes place in three different time periods, all of which focus on protagonists who have successfully defeated a Yautja: Viking warrior Ursa in 841 B.C.; Japanese samurai Kenji in 1609; and World War II fighter pilot John J. Torres in 1942. The anthology film subsequently follows the fierce fighters after they are placed in suspended animation by the Predators and brought together in a gladiatorial arena to take on a colossal alien beast.
Famous Franchise Characters Make Their Shocking Return
Predator: Killer of Killers expands on the mysterious lore surrounding the Yautja and reveals how they have been visiting Earth throughout various points in history and abducting humans (and aliens in some instances) in order to force them to battle each other in a tournament for their own demented entertainment. The sequel is an exciting predecessor to Prey and helped set the stage for what’s to come in Predator: Badlands while also revealing that the Predators have other human captives in cryosleep chambers including Mike Harrigan, Dutch Schaefer, and Naru.
‘Prey’ (2022)
Prey takes the viewers back to the year 1719, set two centuries before the first Predator film. The story follows Naru (Amber Midthunder), a skilled Comanche warrior who is striving to prove herself as a hunter and finds herself coming face to face with the Predator, who has arrived on Earth looking for a worthy hunt. The film ends with Naru killing the Predator and proving herself a worthy hunter, but the end credits seem to tease the arrival of more Predators on Earth, signifying a long hunting season for the creatures has only just begun. It also features a flintlock pistol that will pay off in Predator 2.
‘Prey’ Becomes a Hit with Audiences
The original plan was to market the movie without any indication that it was a Predator film, leaving audiences surprised. Leaks spoiled the hook, and the marketing shifted to a Predator movie that audiences had never seen, and it worked. Prey received some of the best reviews for the franchise, was a hit with critics and audiences, and seems to indicate there will be more additions to this list for years to come, no matter what time period or genre the Predator is in.
‘Predator’ (1987)
The first film of the series released in 1987, Predator follows an elite paramilitary rescue team led by Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger) to save hostages in the guerrilla-held territory in a Central American rainforest. There, they encounter the Predator, an alien hunter, where Dutch’s entire team gets picked off one after another by the camouflaged killer alien, leaving Dutch to face the creature alone. Dutch manages to kill the monster, being the only survivor, but appears to be forever haunted by the incident.
The Start of a Thrilling Franchise
Dutch’s encounter with the Predator will inform the rest of the film series, as it appears that the government began taking classified account of the encounter. The movie also establishes key components of the Predator’s arsenal, like his camouflage, his ability to see in infrared, and his self-destruct bomb that allows the creatures to leave no trace of their existence.
‘Predator 2’ (1991)
While released in 1991, Predator 2 is actually set in 1997, placing it ten years after the events of the first Predator. The movie takes place in Los Angeles and follows Lieutenant Mike Harrigan (Danny Glover) during a massive heatwave and a turf war between rival gangs, where he discovers a Predator has arrived in the city and is on the hunt. Harrigan defeats the Predator, but is greeted by a group of Predators who bestow him a flintlock pistol from 1715 as a trophy, indicating how long they have been hunting on Earth and showing him a sign of respect. This pistol features the name Raphael Adolini, who was played by Bennett Taylor in Prey. The pistol was last seen in Prey in the hands of Naru, so it is unclear whether at one point the Predators took the pistol back from her.
An Exploration of the Predator Species
Predator 2 does a lot to establish the lore of the Predator species, even giving the in-universe name Yautja, explaining how their weapons work and their preferred methods of hunting. It also establishes a sense of honor that the Predators have, as they will not harm an unworthy target, like when they spare a pregnant woman. It also hints at how long the Predators have been coming to Earth and that they aren’t the only deadly creature in the galaxy, as the movie features a Xenomorph skull on the Predator ship, laying the groundwork for the next entry in the series.
‘Alien vs. Predator’ (2004)
A film that was years in the making (and allegedly responsible for Ripley’s death in Alien 3), the Predator finally has a crossover film with the titular aliens from the Alien film series. Set in 2004, seven years after the events of Predator 2, Alien vs. Predator sees a group of scientists in Antarctica discover an ancient pyramid that could be the link to the first civilization. When they go to investigate it, the humans find themselves caught in an ancient conflict between the Yautja and Xenomorphs.
An Electrifying Crossover Event
Alien vs. Predator expands on much of the Predator mythos laid out in Predator 2, with the movie establishing the Yautjas as the lesser of two evils, as main protagonist Lex (Sanaa Lathan) teams up with a Yautja to stop the alien forces. The movie also builds upon how long Predators have been traveling to Earth, revealing that they were worshiped as gods by the first civilization and that the ritual of hunting Xenomorphs is a rite of passage into adulthood for them.
The movie ends very similarly to Predator 2, with the Predator clan presenting Lex with a trophy as a sign of respect and bringing their fallen comrade aboard the ship. Yet bringing him aboard the ship will have disastrous consequences for the next film, as the Predator had an alien inside him, and bursting out of his chest is a new type of alien: the Predalien.
‘Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem’ (2007)
Set mere moments after Alien vs. Predator, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem sees the Yautja ship crash in the woods of Colorado as the Predalien has killed the entire crew and is now running amok in a small town. The ship sends out a distress signal, and a seasoned Yautja known in the credits as Wolf (a reference to Winston Wolf in Pulp Fiction, who also cleans up messes) is sent to dispatch the threat.
A Crossover Full of Intriguing Revelations
The Predator kills the aliens and battles the Predalien, but dies when the government nukes the town. However, the Predator’s shoulder cannon is confiscated and brought before Ms. Yutani of the Yutanti Corporation, which in the future will merge with the Weyland Corporation to create Weyland-Yutani and become the catalyst for the Alien film series.
The biggest revelation that Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem brings to the Predator mythos is in introducing the Predator’s home planet. While shown briefly, it does begin to show the franchise ever so briefly beginning to expand on the Yautjas as a species and tries to lay out a sense of their society in more detail, which the following films will expand upon.
‘Predators’ (2010)
Predators‘ timeline is a little unknown; it could theoretically take place after Alien vs. Predator or even after the next film on the list, The Predator, but the way Predators ends and the plot details in The Predator suggest the events in this film take place before it. The film features an ensemble of characters, some of the most deadly individuals on Earth, brought to a jungle planet that is revealed as a game reserve for the Predators to hunt humans. The movie ends with mercenary Royce (played by Adrien Brody) and IDF sniper Isabelle (Alice Braga) having defeated the Predators that were hunting them. However, they remain stranded on the planet, with them looking for a way back to Earth.
A Bloody & Brutal Feud Between Warring Predators
In the movie, Isabelle makes references to the events of the first Predator movie and Dutch’s squad’s encounter with the creature, which gives her a sense of knowledge about what they are up against. Predators introduces a lot of material into the franchise mythos, like the idea of Yautja hounds. The movie also introduces the concept that there are two types of Yautja, the classic one that audiences have seen in the previous films and a larger, more violent branch of the species. These two species have a blood feud going on. This idea of warring Predators becomes the central driving force of the following film.
‘The Predator’ (2018)
Set in 2018, The Predator attempts to expand the franchise to a much larger scale, as it features a group of PTSD-afflicted soldiers, a scientist, and a child with autism teaming up to fight off an invading pair of Yautja hunters who have plans for mankind that will determine the fate of Earth and many countless other worlds.
The Battle Rages on Between the Yautja Clans
The Predator expands upon the feud between the two Yautja clans in the previous film, which is now a full-scale war. The movie kicks off when a classic Predator crash-lands on Earth in hopes of giving humanity a fighting chance. It is established that the Predators have not been collecting skulls, spines, and other body parts from humans as trophies but as genetic material to strengthen themselves and create a new type of Yautja: one to be a stronger, better killer.
The movie also cements the Alien vs Predator films as canon due to the presence of the Xenomorph spear created in that film being on display in a lab. After the massive super Predator is defeated, the ship is studied, and it is revealed that the first Predator left behind a weapon for humanity to fight off more dangerous Predators with — a high-tech suit of armor called the Predator Killer (though some people, including the film’s co-writer, hate the super-suit ending).
‘Predator: Badlands’ (2025)
The latest installment in the enduring franchise, Predator: Badlands, takes place in an undisclosed time period in the far-off future and excitingly features the first-ever partnership between an outcast Yautja warrior and damaged Weyland-Yutani synthetic. They become surprising allies while on their daring quest to destroy an unkillable adversary on the remote planet known as the Badlands. The desperate and determined Dek sets out to prove his worth to his clan by defeating the lethal beast with the help of synthetic Thia.
The ‘Predator’ & ‘Alien’ Worlds Epically Collide Once Again
Predator: Badlands further connects the Alien and Predator universes and establishes direct links between the two sci-fi franchises, with director Dan Trachtenberg opting to try something completely new by making a Yautja hunter a protagonist instead of a deadly threat and shifting away from the previous human-centric storylines. The inclusion of the Colonial Marines from the Alien series also indicates that the film takes place far in the future and potentially in the same time period as Alien and Alien: Romulus, both of which featured the species xenomorphs as antagonists.
