The Predator Movies in Order – From 80s Action Classic to Sci-Fi Franchise

Some films arrive at exactly the right time in your life.

For me, Predator was one of them.

I didn’t first see it in the cinema. I didn’t rent it properly. I didn’t even watch it under ideal conditions.

I saw it on a VHS tape that had been recorded from a multichannel box many years ago by a school friend. He was the person who introduced me to a whole world of 18-rated action and sci-fi films well before my time.

Alien. Predator. Aliens. Die Hard. Terminator. And many more.

Predator also has one of the more obvious crossover paths in sci-fi horror, because sooner or later the series was always going to collide with Alien. The Alien vs Predator films are messy, uneven and nowhere near the best of either franchise, but I still have a soft spot for them. If you want to follow that side branch, I looked at it separately in my Alien vs Predator post.

Original sci-fi blog image showing an armored alien hunter silhouette across jungle, city and futuristic settings for a guide to the Predator movies in order.

Original sci-fi artwork created for a Phoenix DVD Blog guide to the Predator movies in order.

Looking back, I probably shouldn’t have been watching half of them at 12 or 13. But at the time, that was part of the thrill. It felt like a fabulous new age of discovery, with the added excitement of being bold and getting away with it.

The strange thing is, I understood the films.

Or at least I thought I did.

I’d like to say it was because I was unusually mature, but that probably isn’t accurate. The truth is simpler. These films grabbed me because they were exciting, atmospheric, violent, stylish and completely different from the films I was officially old enough to see in the cinema.

They felt important.

I’ve written before about how early cinema trips helped shape what movies meant to me in The Films That Defined My Love of Movies at 11–12 (And Still Hold Up Today), but films like Predator shaped me in a slightly different way.

These were the forbidden films.

The ones passed around, recorded, copied, watched quietly, and remembered forever.

And Predator may be one of the best examples of that entire era.

There is something about Predator that sits well beside other darker franchise films. Not every sequel works, and not every idea lands, but the world is strong enough to keep pulling you back. I get a similar feeling from the Underworld films, which have their own mix of monsters, mythology, action and style.

Predator Movies in Release Order

The Predator franchise is unusual because it has never followed one simple path.

It started as a stripped-down 1980s action film, became a sci-fi urban thriller, jumped into crossover horror, returned as a survival sequel, rebooted itself, went back into the past, moved into animation, and then pushed into the future.

That could have turned into a complete mess.

At times, it nearly did.

But the core idea is so strong that the franchise keeps finding new ways to survive.

An alien hunter.
A worthy opponent.
A brutal test of survival.

That is all Predator really needs.

Predator (1987)

The original Predator is still the film everything else in the franchise is measured against.

On the surface, it begins like a typical 1980s military action film. Arnold Schwarzenegger leads a team of heavily armed commandos into the jungle on what seems like a rescue mission. The cast is full of muscle, sweat, guns, one-liners and larger-than-life screen presence.

Then the film slowly changes.

What begins as a macho action movie becomes a survival horror film.

That is the genius of Predator.

The enemy is not another army. It is not a drug lord or a rogue general. It is something watching from the trees, learning, selecting, hunting and waiting.

The film works because it strips away the confidence of its own characters. These men are introduced as almost unbeatable, but by the end, brute force is useless. Dutch survives not because he is the strongest man in the jungle, but because he adapts.

That final battle, with mud, fire, traps and silence, is still one of the great action endings of the 1980s.

Predator is not just a great creature film. It is one of the best examples of 1980s action cinema turning into something darker and more imaginative.

My 2 Cents:
Still the best of the lot for me. It starts as pure 80s muscle action and slowly turns into survival horror. Arnold, the jungle, the creature design, the tension, everything just works.

Predator 2 (1990)

Predator 2 made a smart decision by not trying to simply repeat the jungle formula.

Instead, it moved the hunt into Los Angeles.

That change gives the film a very different flavour. It is hotter, grimier, more chaotic and more urban. Danny Glover replaces Schwarzenegger as the lead, and the film shifts from military survival to cop thriller with a sci-fi monster at the centre of it.

For years, Predator 2 was easy to underestimate. It did not have the clean perfection of the original, and it lacked Arnold’s screen presence. But it did expand the mythology in a way that became important later.

The trophy room.
The different weapons.
The sense that this alien hunter belongs to a wider culture.

It also gave fans one of the franchise’s most famous little surprises, with the Alien skull appearing among the Predator’s trophies. That small moment helped fuel years of fan discussion and eventually led to the AVP crossover films.

Predator 2 may not be as iconic as the original, but it has aged better than many people probably expected. It is rough, loud, violent and strange, but it understands that the Predator can work outside the jungle.

My 2 Cents:
I think this one has aged better than its reputation. It is messy and sweaty and very 90s, but moving the Predator into the city was a braver choice than just doing the jungle again.

Predators (2010)

Predators felt like the franchise trying to reconnect with the spirit of the first film without making a direct remake.

This time, a group of dangerous people wake up in a jungle, but not on Earth. They have been selected and dropped onto a game preserve planet where they are hunted for sport.

That idea is excellent.

Instead of trained commandos going into enemy territory, these characters are already the prey from the moment they arrive. Criminals, soldiers, killers and survivors are forced to work together, even though none of them are especially trustworthy.

Adrien Brody was an unexpected lead for a Predator film, but that is partly what makes the film interesting. He is not trying to be Schwarzenegger. The film has a colder, more suspicious tone, and the group dynamic gives it a survival thriller feeling.

Predators is not perfect, but it has a strong central concept and enough respect for the original to feel like a proper continuation. It also expands the idea of Predator hierarchy and conflict, showing that even among the hunters themselves, there are different types, rivalries and levels of brutality.

For me, it remains one of the better follow-ups.

My 2 Cents:
I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. The concept was interesting, it was carried out exceptionally well, and by the end it made me want more. That is always a good sign for a franchise sequel.

The Predator (2018)

The Predator is probably the most divisive film in the main series.

On paper, it had things going for it. Shane Black, who appeared in the original Predator, returned as director and co-writer. The film had a bigger scale, a modern cast, a faster pace and plenty of franchise references.

But it also feels messy.

There are ideas in The Predator that could have worked well, especially around genetic upgrading, Predator evolution and the idea that the hunters are changing. The problem is that the tone is all over the place. At times it wants to be violent and serious. At other times it wants to be a wisecracking action comedy. The result is a film that has moments, but never quite settles into the clean tension that made the original so effective.

That said, I don’t completely dismiss it.

I still think there is entertainment value in it, and I’d rather a franchise try something and stumble than simply repeat the same formula forever. But compared with Predator, Predator 2 and Predators, this one feels less controlled.

It is a Predator film with plenty happening, but not always enough weight behind it.

My 2 Cents:
I enjoyed this one more than a lot of people seemed to, but the huge upgraded Predator near the end spoiled it a little for me. The original Predator worked because so much of it felt close, tense and personal. This one needed bigger wide shots to show the scale of the creature, and for me, that took away some of the fear and mystery.

Prey (2022)

Prey was the film that reminded people how strong the Predator concept still was.

Instead of making everything bigger, louder and more complicated, Prey stripped the idea back again.

A young Comanche woman, Naru, faces a Predator during the early 1700s. That setting immediately gives the film freshness. There are no machine guns, no city streets, no spaceships full of exposition. It is once again about observation, intelligence, survival and adapting to something almost impossible to defeat.

That is why Prey works.

It understands the original film better than some of the sequels did. The Predator is frightening because it is superior, but not unbeatable. The human character survives by learning, watching and using the environment.

Prey also showed that the franchise did not need to be trapped in the 1980s or 1990s action style. The Predator can appear in different eras, different cultures and different types of survival story, as long as the hunt itself remains clear and gripping.

For many viewers, Prey became the best Predator film since the original.

I can understand why.

My 2 Cents:
I loved this movie from start to finish. It simplified the Predator idea again and placed the hunt in a past timeline that felt like a natural match for Naru’s world. Everything was stripped back to the basics: the hunt, the danger, and a hero digging deep to win the day. I can’t wait for a sequel.

Predator: Killer of Killers (2025)

Predator: Killer of Killers took the franchise into animation, which opened up a different kind of storytelling.

Rather than following one modern-day hunt, it uses an anthology structure, placing Predator encounters across different historical periods. That approach makes a lot of sense for this franchise.

The Predator has always been a hunter looking for worthy prey. So why limit that idea to modern soldiers or future settings?

Historical warriors are a natural fit.

The animated format also allows for scale and style that would be harder to do in live action without enormous cost. Different eras, different fighting styles and different visual tones can all sit under the same basic idea: what happens when some of the fiercest people in human history come up against something even deadlier?

For long-running franchises, animation can sometimes feel like a side project, but here it actually suits the mythology. Predator: Killer of Killers shows that this series does not have to stay locked into one formula.

The hunt can move anywhere.

My 2 Cents:
I don’t usually get on well with animated movies, and this one lost me after about 20 minutes. That probably says as much about my own taste as it does about the film. I can see why animation opens up new possibilities for the Predator franchise, but personally, it didn’t hold me.

Predator: Badlands (2025)

Predator: Badlands is another major shift because it changes the perspective.

Instead of focusing mainly on the human being hunted, it puts more attention on the Predator itself. That is a risky idea, because part of the power of the original film came from mystery. The less we knew, the more threatening the creature felt.

But after so many films, there is also a good argument for trying something different.

Badlands follows a young Predator who is outcast from his clan and searching for a worthy adversary. That immediately changes the emotional structure of the story. The Predator is no longer just the monster in the trees. He becomes part of the story in a more direct way.

Whether that works for every fan will probably depend on what they want from the franchise.

Some people want the Predator to remain unknowable and terrifying. Others are interested in the culture, code and hierarchy behind the hunters.

I can see both sides.

For me, the important thing is whether the film still respects the basic appeal of the series. Predator stories need danger, atmosphere, survival and a sense that the hunt matters. If those elements are present, the franchise can afford to experiment.

My 2 Cents:
When I heard the early reviews of this movie, I couldn’t wait to see it. I watched it on Disney Plus, but it felt more like a Disney adventure movie than a Predator movie. It was an interesting idea and I did enjoy parts of it, but it felt a bit too family-friendly for what I expect from this franchise. And yer wan, Thia, never seemed to stop talking either, which started to get to me after a while. I’d still give it another look though.

Where Do the Alien vs Predator Movies Fit?

The Alien vs Predator films sit in a slightly different place for me.

They are part of the wider Predator conversation, but I do not really see them as essential Predator films in the same way as Predator, Predator 2, Predators or Prey.

They are crossovers.

That means they have a different job.

Instead of simply asking, “What happens when humans are hunted by Predators?”, they ask, “What happens when two of cinema’s most famous alien species are thrown together?”

That is a different kind of fun.

The AVP films mix action, horror, creature battles and fan-service in a way that belongs almost to its own separate genre. I have already written about that side of things in Alien vs Predator Revisited – Why AVP and Requiem Deserve More Respect, where I look at why those films still have value even if they are often dismissed.

For this Predator post, I would treat AVP as a side branch.

Important to the wider franchise.
Fun to revisit.
But not the main spine of the Predator story.

Why 1980s Action Cinema Still Matters

The original Predator belongs to a very particular era of cinema.

The 1980s and early 1990s produced a type of action film that still feels different today. These films were physical. They had weight. They had sweat, explosions, practical effects, stunt work, big music and stars who seemed larger than life.

Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Bruce Willis.
Sylvester Stallone.
Mel Gibson.
Jean-Claude Van Damme.
Steven Seagal.

Not every film from that era was a masterpiece, but the best ones had a directness that is hard to fake. They knew exactly what they were selling.

Predator is one of the finest examples because it takes the action hero image and challenges it. Dutch starts the film as the ultimate 1980s action man. By the end, all the guns, muscles and confidence have been stripped away. He survives by becoming primitive, patient and clever.

That is why Predator still holds up.

It is not just nostalgia.
It is not just Arnold.
It is not just the creature.

It is a perfect collision of action, sci-fi and horror at a time when cinema was full of bold, muscular, memorable films.

Bruce Willis did something different in Die Hard, turning the action hero into a bruised, sarcastic survivor. Schwarzenegger represented something more mythic, almost superhuman. Predator sits right in the middle of that conversation because it shows the superhuman action hero finally meeting something stronger than himself.

That is powerful storytelling.

And for those of us who discovered these films a little too young, they became part of how we understood cinema itself.

Final Thoughts on the Predator Franchise

The Predator franchise has had highs, lows and strange turns, but the central idea remains brilliant.

A hunter from another world.
A human opponent who should not stand a chance.
A battle where survival depends on intelligence, courage and adaptation.

That idea worked in the jungle in 1987.
It worked in Los Angeles in 1990.
It worked on a game preserve planet.
It worked in the past with Prey.
And it may keep working as the franchise continues to experiment with new formats and new perspectives.

For me, Predator will always be tied to that early discovery of films I was probably too young to be watching.

A copied VHS.
A school friend with access to films I didn’t have.
A sense of getting away with something.
And a run of 18-rated action classics that felt every bit as important to me as the films I was old enough to see properly.

Predator was part of that education.

Not a formal one.
Not a sensible one.
But a memorable one.

And sometimes those are the films that stay with you the longest.

Thanks for Reading,

David

Affiliate Links – Own the Predator Movies on Disc

If, like me, you still enjoy owning the films you return to, the Predator series is well worth having on the shelf. Streaming is useful, but franchises like this can move around between platforms, disappear for a while, or appear in different versions depending on where you watch them.

Having the films on DVD, Blu-ray or 4K means you can watch them in order, revisit the stronger entries, and decide for yourself which direction the franchise took over time.

Affiliate links – I may earn a small commission if you buy, at no extra cost to you.

Predator – 4K Ultra HD / Blu-ray
Amazon UK | Amazon Ireland

Predator 2 – Blu-ray / DVD *IRL link to category as some options more expensive
Amazon UK | Amazon Ireland

Predators – Blu-ray / DVD
Amazon UK | Amazon Ireland

The Predator – Blu-ray / DVD
Amazon UK | Amazon Ireland

Prey – 4K Ultra HD / Blu-ray
Amazon UK | Amazon Ireland

You may also find box sets or multi-film collections depending on availability, but I would always check the format before buying. Some listings include DVD only, while others include Blu-ray or 4K editions.

Predator Movie Collection / Box Set
Amazon UK | Amazon Ireland

If you still enjoy owning classic television on DVD or Blu-ray rather than endlessly chasing streaming libraries, I’ve also started putting together some themed collections and recommendations on my Amazon UK Storefront, including older TV box sets, sci-fi favourites, and series that helped shape my love of movies and television.

Click the link here if you'd like to see my Amazon UK Storefront list for this post.

Affiliate links included – I may earn a small commission if you buy, at no extra cost to you.

💬 Have a thought on this? Please leave a comment below, I’d love to hear your take.

About the Author

I’m David Condon, a movie enthusiast from Tralee, Co. Kerry. I’ve been collecting DVDs and Blu-rays for years, and along the way my shelves have become a mix of favourites, hidden gems, and titles I occasionally decide to resell.

I’m not a professional critic, just someone who enjoys good films, well-made discs, and the odd rant about the quirks of collecting. This blog is where I share my thoughts, opinions, reviews, and experiences as a fan. You can read more on my About page.

💬 Note from the Author
This blog is a hobby project where I write about DVDs, Blu-rays, and the ups and downs of being a collector. If you enjoyed this post, you might also like my other writing:

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