Predator: Badlands director reveals that there was a Xenomorph cameo in the original draft of the script

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Predator: Badlands is undoubtedly an Alien and Predator crossover movie, thanks to Elle Fanning's Weyland-Yutani synth Thia taking center stage with outcast Yautja Dek. However, the movie keeps it pretty light when it comes to Easter eggs and references – but that wasn't always the case.

In a new interview with Screen Rant, Trachtenberg revealed that the original draft of the script and temporary visual effects included Arnold Schwarzenegger's Dutch, a Xenomorph, and "the backbiter creature from Killer of Killers."

These cameos would have appeared in one of the movie's earlier scenes, when runt of the pack Dek is still on his home planet of Yautja Prime. In order to earn his stripes, he must pick an intergalactic hunting ground to showcase his Predator skills, and he eventually settles on Genna, the so-called death planet. Several different holograms demonstrate his choices, and it seems these were initially packed with more Easter eggs.

"They had a longer conversation, or they said the same idea of 'Pick Your Planet,' and all that stuff, but it was a little bit longer," Trachtenberg told the publication. "So there were more holograms to be in the background. And what we have now is more soft focus in the foreground, you kind of see it and all that."

"It just felt, to me, like there was a way to include things in cinematic universes that are already spiritually connected, and involve them in one story, in one movie. That's cooler than it being like, 'It's the big thing versus the big thing from the franchise!'" Trachtenberg previously told GamesRadar+.

Predator: Badlands is now streaming on Hulu and Disney Plus. For more on what to watch, check out our guide to the best upcoming movies in 2026 to add to your watchlist.