Entertainment News

Home

Movies

Streaming

Music

Comic Books

Quizzes

Newsletter

(Right) Key art for Alien: Earth (Left) Dek from Predator: Badlands FX/Twentieth Century Studios

How 'Predator: Badlands' may connect to 'Alien: Earth'

Originally posted on Nerdist | By Eric Diaz | Last updated Nov 7, 2025 11:52 PM ET

One of the coolest parts of Predator: Badlands is how deeply it connects to the Alien universe. Although the AvP movies did this already, neither of those is considered canon to either the Alien or Predator film franchises. But Predator: Badlands certainly is, and the film’s co-star, Elle Fanning, plays the part of Thia, a Weyland-Yutani synthetic stuck on the hostile “death planet” Genna with Dek, our young Predator protagonist. But does this film stealthily connect to Noah Hawley’s Alien: Earth? We think one of the many alien species from the recent FX series might actually originate from the planet Genna.

In Alien: Earth, the Weyland-Yutani spaceship Maginot was on a 65-year journey to gather extraterrestrial lifeforms for the corrupt and ruthless company. One of those was the infamous Xenomorph. But of course, there was also the T. Ocellus, a.k.a. the “Sheep with the Eye,” and several bloodsucking insectoid aliens.

But there was also what seemed like a living plant, akin to a giant Venus flytrap. The nickname for this species was “the Orchid.” This lifeform eventually consumed several human beings when freed from captivity. But could this plant creature have originated from Badlands’ Genna?

The deadly plants of the planet Genna from Predator: Badlands Twentieth Century Studios

When Dek lands on Genna, the planet his people consider the most dangerous in the galaxy, one of the first things that try to kill him are several carnivorous plant-like creatures that live in the trees. Dek escapes, but by the skin of his (protruding) teeth. Although they are not identical to the plant creatures we see in Alien: Earth, they are very similar in behavior. And since we know that Weyland-Yutani sent a contingent of synths to collect the life forms on the planet for the bio-weapons division, could this be the same world the ones from Alien: Earth came from?

Dek the Predator on the planet Genna in Predator: Badlands Twentieth Century Studios

We know that Alien: Earth takes place two years before Ridley Scott’s original Alien. And although there is no given date on screen for the events of Predator: Badlands, director Dan Trachtenberg said in recent interviews it was “About 300 years from now.” So, roughly 200 years after Alien: Earth, but about 100 years from the events of Alien: Resurrection, where they reveal that Weyland-Yutani sold to Walmart (yes, really). But that doesn’t mean that Weyland-Yutani never attempted to exploit Genna before.

The Weyland-Yutani equipment from the planet Genna in Predator: Badlands Twentieth Century Studios

Alien: Earth never told us which planets they gathered their various specimens from. Or if they were even supposed to all be from the same planet. Could the crew of the Maginot have visited Genna, and gathered the plant-like species there? Badlands said that only synths can survive the many dangers of Genna. However, that doesn’t mean they never tried sending humans there before. And maybe the only Maginot crew member they sent to the surface was Mr. Morrow, a cyborg.

We may never get a solid answer as to where the various specimens from Alien: Earth actually came from. Although perhaps a second season will reveal that information. But it’s certainly not out of the question that at least some of them came from the planet Genna. And that would make both the Alien and Predator narratives that much richer.

This article first appeared on Nerdist and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: