Warning: SPOILERS for Alien: Romulus are in play. If you haven’t seen the film yet, you’ve been warned.
Dear friends and readers, you’re going to want to make some room on your calendar for some important upcoming 2025 movies, and then some. Thanks to a new interview with 20th Century Studios president Steve Asbell, the outlook is a bit clearer for both the Alien movie timeline, as well as the world of the Predator franchise.
Unfortunately, this good news comes at a cost, and that price may have been paid through the latest update that the Kingsman series has gotten; a development that has left me quite saddened. So let’s break this down one step at a time and try to ignore that there’s a Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes sequel floating around in the ether:
Alien Romulus Has A Sequel In The Works
Let’s start with the good news though, shall we? For those of you who rode it out with Alien: Romulus’ wild ending, your attachment to the survivors is about to be rewarded. During his discussion with THR about the state of 20th Century Studios’ slate, Mr. Asbell issued the following update on the status of a potential sequel:
We’re working on a sequel idea now. We haven’t quite closed our deal with Fede [Alvarez], but we are going to, and he has an idea that we’re working on. The two survivors, Rain and Andy, played by Cailee Spaeny and David Jonsson, were real highlights of the film. And so I always think of it like, “Wow, where do people want to see them go next?” We know there’s going to be aliens. We know there’s going to be great horror set pieces. But I fell in love with both of them and I want to see what their story is.
Steve Asbell - THR
Between Rain becoming another formidable entry into the history of Alien franchise female leads, and Andy landing his place as one of the best artificial people in this universe, that news is extremely promising. Not to mention, it’s good news to consider on top of Alien: Isolation’s recently announced sequel keeping things alive in the world of video games.
Predator fans, fear not! I promised you good news, and good news you have not once, but twice over.
A Secret Second Predator Film Is Coming In 2025
For a movie that started as a direct to streaming original, Prey has done quite well for itself. The Amber Midthunder-starring action/adventure epic pleased fans enough to clamor for a sequel, which pivoted to the upcoming follow-up known as Predator: Badlands.
While we knew that film was headed our way in 2025, Steve Asbell’s state of the slate at 20th Century came with a bit of a surprise reveal: another Predator sequel has secretly been filmed as well. Here's how that prospect evolved, through Asbell's continued remarks:
Yes, a Predator movie will have a theatrical. I’ll tell you very simply. After Prey became a success, Dan [Trachtenberg] came back and said he didn’t want to do Prey 2. And we’re like, “What do you want to do?” And he rattled off a bunch of ideas that were really crazy but really cool. We’ve actually done two of them. Two are coming out next year.
Steve Asbell - THR
The theatrical movie is Predator: Badlands starring Elle Fanning, and according to Steve Abell, it’s “an absolutely bonkers idea. It is a sci-fi thing, but it’s not what everybody thinks it is.” Continuing to talk up the works of Dan Trachtenberg on his duology of Predator sequels, Asbell teased out that mysterious other project thusly:
There’s a second Predator movie that we have different plans for. Dan has actually directed both. … There’s a secret Predator movie that will come out before the theatrical one but I can’t say anything about yet.
Steve Asbell - THR
So the way I’m reading this news is that while Predator: Badlands will be in theaters, this untitled Predator sequel will potentially be released for folks with a Hulu subscription. At least, that’s how I interpret Steve Asbell’s very carefully worded address towards the topic at hand. So again, fans of the Predator movies are winning in the same vein as the Alien fans are.
Leave it to Dan Trachtenberg to deliver a stealth sequel that’s not only reminiscent of how Ti West shot X and Pearl back to back, but also of Trachtenberg’s clandestine sequel 10 Cloverfield Lane. Not everyone can be a winner though, which brings me to something that truly upsets me to report. Fans of the Kingsman saga, you may want to read this next section at your own peril.
The Kingsman Franchise May Have Found Time To Die
Remember back in 2020 when Matthew Vaughn teased a bunch of Kingsman movies and TV shows? Well, if you didn’t, it’s probably for the best, as 20th Century Studios’ president put a simple, but firm update as to whether or not we should count on seeing the final chapter of Eggsy’s story, or any future chapters for that matter. The heartbreaking truth can be summed up with these words:
There’s no plans on doing them anytime soon.
Steve Asbell - THR
Now is this the end of the line for the franchise in general? Technically it's not, as that remark above isn't closing the door completely on 20th Century Studios' end of the deal. Also, seeing as as Vaughn’s MARV Productions owns Kingsman top to bottom, he might be able to find a new studio partner to help distribute his continued vision.
However, that’s still going to depend on finding a studio that is willing to fork over the cash to make such projects like Kingsman 3 or even The King’s Man 2 happen. And since Argylle’s less than impressive box office fate was probably an attempt for the Kick Ass director to pave the way for such a backup plan, you can see why I’m practically preparing for the funeral.
We’re still walking away with a net positive though, as both the Alien and Predator franchises are in much better shape than they’d previously been. Stellar new entries in both lines have given fans something to want more of, and that demand looks like it’s going to be met in the near future.
As it stands, you can catch Prey on physical release, or at its streaming home of Hulu. Also, you can buy or rent Alien: Romulus digitally, with the 4K UHD, Blu-ray, DVD, and VHS (yes, you read that right) being available on December 3rd.
