Humans like to consider themselves the top of the food chain, and while that idea might work for Earth, we barely scrape by when it comes to galactic gladiator competition. The Predator film franchise, which began in 1987, quickly spreading to both comics and video games as well, is all about the "Yautja" - towering trophy-seeking hunters from space who not only travel to different worlds for lethal competition but have also been known to kidnap various species from across the cosmos so that they can have hunts back on their own planet.
Dating back centuries, these Predators have been testing our mettle, pitting their tricks, traps and tech against ours. And since Xenomorphs are also a cinematic scourge for humanity it made perfect sense to create a shared universe in the Aughts with two Alien vs. Predator flicks, showcasing that the enemy of our enemy is indeed...still our enemy. "Whoever wins, we lose" was the tagline for the first crossover film and never had something rang with more truth.
The two initial films in 1987 and 1990 would create a baseline for other media to continue on the dream, until Alien vs. Predator landed in 2004. Then, in the following decade, directors such as Robert Rodriquez, Shane Black, and Dan Trachtenberg all put their spins on the franchise, with Trachtenberg's Predator prequel Prey, for Hulu, garnering the best, most hopeful reviews for a Predator movie in ages. As one of the best action movie franchises, it's a good time to be a fan.
If you want to watch every Predator movie in order, we've got you covered! Below you'll find the correct order to watch them in, timeline-wise, and where to find them.
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You can also check out our guide to the Alien movies in order to incorporate the whole timeline.
How Many Predator Movies Are There?
There are a total of seven movies in the Predator franchise — four in the mainline series of films, two Alien crossovers, and one prequel. Beyond this, following the success of Prey in 2022, there are now ongoing talks for more Predator films, though nothing concrete has been announced.
Predator Movies in (Chronological) Order
1. Prey (2022)
Where to Watch: Hulu
Prey is a prequel and therefore designed to be watched after everything else (especially Predator 2) but if one is truly looking to take in the Predator franchise in chronological order this is the place to begin. Set in 1719, across the the Great Plains, Prey follows a young Comanche woman, Naru (Amber Midthunder), who gets more than she bargains for when she accompanies her brother on a hunt and winds up in the crosshairs of a (more primitive) Predator. Determined to prove herself, Naru sets her sights on taking the alien stalker down in this fresh and thrilling take from the three-decade saga.
Read IGN's review of Prey here.
2. Predator (1987)
Where to Watch: Max, Amazon Prime Video
It all started with 1987's Predator, directed by Die Hard's John McTiernan and starring heyday Arnold Schwarzenegger, along with Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura, Bill Duke, and Shane Black (who would direct his own Predator film many years later). Predator is an awesome action classic where a near-unstoppable military rescue team gets their asses handed to them by a terrifying invisible force in the jungles of South America. When the attacker is revealed to be an alien hunter out on its own version of a sinister safari, Schwarzenegger's Dutch must figure out how to ambush and defeat a monster light years ahead of him in tech and tactics.
3. Predator 2 (1990)
Where to Watch: Max, Amazon Prime Video
A few years later, Predator returned to multiplexes for more massacres and mayhem, but this time with a complete change of cast and setting. Taking place amongst a near-future heatwave/crimewave -- 1997 Los Angeles -- Predator 2 follows cops played by Danny Glover, Bill Paxton, Ruben Blades, and María Conchita Alonso as they attempt to not only deal with a bloody Cartel war on the streets, but a badass alien Predator too, stalking the cityscape for victims.
4. AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004)
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
After 14 years -- with novels, comics, and video games keeping the franchise flames lit -- Predator came back in a huge way with a full crossover movie, merging with the Alien saga, which hadn't been dormant but definitely struggled to find its footing in the '90s. Alien vs. Predator, from Resident Evil/Event Horizon's Paul W. S. Anderson, was a big hit, injecting new life into both sci-fi/horror properties. Set in "present day" America, AVP introduced a nasty bit of history connecting the Yautja and Xenomorphs. Namely that Predators had been conducting hunts on Earth for centuries using humans as breeding bodies for Xenos, and then hunting down the Xeno swarm for "right of passage" sport. Sanaa Lathan, Lance Henriksen, Raoul Bova, and Ewen Bremner star.
Read IGN's review of AVP: Alien vs. Predator here.
5. Aliens vs Predator: Requiem (2007)
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
The sequel to AVP, Aliens vs Predator: Requiem, picks up right where AVP left off, so timeline-wise this is all the same battle. Not as successful as its predecessor (hence it being the final crossover film) Requiem delivered an Alien-Predator hybrid, known as the "Predalien," as it attacked a small Colorado town and a Predator "cleaner" being dispatched to take down this new monstrosity.
Read IGN's review of Alien vs. Predator: Requiem here.
6. Predators (2010)
Where to Watch: Hulu
The only Predator movie to not take place on Earth, Predators, from Robert Rodriguez, looked to shake up the formula a bit by bringing audiences to a distant planet, a Yautja game reserve. With a killer cast including Adrien Brody, Walton Goggins, Laurence Fishburne, Topher Grace, and Alice Braga, Predators showed fans how humans, specifically "established killers," are abducted and used for sport between two warring Yautja tribes. Time-wise, however, this is a tricky one. It's never clearly stated when this all happens. Meaning, the Earth year. But it's easy enough to just assume it's 2010, when the movie was released. Or, in the very least, based on the characters, the early 21st Century. So Predators can fit into your chronological viewing plans here, at number six, or you can save it for last.
Read IGN's review of Predators here.
7. The Predator (2018)
Where to Watch: Amazon Prime Video
Despite Predators being a modest hit it would still be eight years before a new Predator film hit the big screen and with 2018's The Predator, director/co-writers Shane Black (Iron Man 3, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) would take the franchise back to its original formula (which he himself starred in) by presenting a squad of unstable soldiers -- played by the likes of Boyd Holbrook, Trevante Rhodes, Keegan-Michael Key, Thomas Jane and Game of Thrones' Alfie Allen -- who take on a pair of rampaging Predators and thwart their Yautja schemes (which involve DNA splicing). The film ends with a tease for more, while alternate/unused endings featured time traveling versions of both Alien's Ellen Ripley and Rebecca "Newt" Jorden in a new grab for crossover gold.
Read IGN's review of The Predator here.
How to Watch the Predator Movies by Release Date
If you're looking to watch all the movies in theatrical release order, the correct list is below:
- Predator (1987)
- Predator 2 (1990)
- AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004)
- Aliens vs Predator: Requiem (2007)
- Predators (2010)
- The Predator (2018)
- Prey (2022)
The Future of the Predator Franchise
After Disney acquired Fox back in 2019, it took over the Alien, Predator, and Planet of the Apes franchises. We know that there is a new Alien movie in the works as well as another Planet of the Apes film, but we haven't heard anything about the Predator franchise since Prey in 2022. It's possible that Disney could greenlight a direct sequel to Prey or somehow connect to a new film to the Fede Alvarez Alien movie, but nothing as been confirmed just yet.
With the success of Prey last year, it seems highly likely that we will eventually get more Predator films, but it's still up in the air as of 2023.
Matt Fowler is a freelance entertainment writer/critic, covering TV news, reviews, interviews and features on IGN for 13+ years.
