What is the best viewing and rewatch order for the Predator franchise? The ’80s was a particularly busy era when it came to the creation of horror and sci-fi icons. The decade alone saw the introduction of the Terminator, Jason Voorhees, Freddy Krueger and the Predator, in the movie of the same name. Predator was a brilliant twist on The Most Dangerous Game, where an elite team of soldiers – led by Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch – are hunted and picked off by an alien hunter. The titular beast famously underwent a huge redesign during production, when after the original design – played by a then unknown Jean-Claude Van Damme – turned out to be disastrous.
The Predator itself became an iconic monster, returning for multiple sequels, video games and comics. The original Predator movie was such a tightly constructed and oddly elegant piece of filmmaking that the various follow-ups have struggled to match its critical reception. That said, the sequels have greatly expanded upon the lore and backstory of the hunter and its culture, and even in the lesser outings, the Predator movies can be relied upon for b-movie thrills.
The latest entry Prey is set to bring the Predator saga back to its roots after some disappointing outings. A storytelling issue with the saga is that the premise is fundamentally quite simple, so when the fourth entry The Predator attempted to further expand on the lore and set up further sequels, which included adding a subplot involving hybrid aliens and a Predator civil war, it didn’t work. All this extra business just confused the story, so the original Predator third act was scrapped and a new finale reshot, which again featured another hunt through a forest. Those planning a rewatch of the films have a couple of options available when it comes to the viewing order.
The Predator Movies In Release Order
The release order of the Predator movies can be broken into different eras that all reflect the state of action cinema at the time. The first two entries arrived in the late ’80s and ’90s and were riffing on the muscle-bound, R-rated blockbusters of the era. The films offered a unique subversion of the one-man army trope, however, since all the firepower in the world proved next to useless, and the heroes had to rely on more primitive instincts to win. Alien Vs Predator brought the series back after a 14-year gap and combined the hunter with his nearest rival. The crossover and its sequel Requiem were both successful, though they’re often considered the nadir of both series. Standalone follow-up Predators – considered the best sequel by some – came after in 2010 and was intended as a soft reboot; despite receiving solid box-office, a sequel didn’t follow. Shane Black’s The Predator was a highly-anticipated legacy sequel designed to spawn sequels, but its critical and commercial reception quickly nixed that. Prey is a further soft reboot taking the saga back to 1719, where a young Comanche warrior battles an advanced alien hunter.
Predator (1987)
Predator 2 (1990)
Alien Vs Predator (2004)
Alien Vs Predator: Requiem (2007)
Predators (2010)
The Predator (2018)
Prey (2022)
The Predator Movies In Chronological Order
The Predator movies are relatively simple to track in terms of timeline. Prey automatically comes first, taking place in the 18th Century. From there, the series mostly takes place during the year a given sequel was released. The original takes place in 1987, though Predator 2 – released in 1990 – jumped ahead a decade and is set in 1997. The Alien Vs Predator – which deleted its best scene – duology both take happen in 2004, with the events of the first crossover directly setting up Requiem. Predators is set in 2010 while The Predator rounds out the movie timeline and take place in 2018.
Prey (2022)
Predator (1987)
Predator 2 (1990)
Alien Vs Predator (2004)
Alien Vs Predator: Requiem (2007)
Predators (2010)
The Predator (2018)
