The term “sequel trilogy” is enough to make any moviegoer nervous these days. But a brand-new one has officially landed. The term was first coined by Star Wars, long before Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens (2015) hit theaters as fans waited for George Lucas’ three-film follow-up to the prequel trilogy. But that never happened — instead, Disney purchased Lucasfilm in 2012, acquiring all the rights to the galaxy far, far away.
Directed by JJ Abrams and starring Daisy Ridley (Rey), John Boyega (Finn), Oscar Isaac (Poe Dameron), Adam Driver (Kylo Ren/Ben Solo), Carrie Fisher (Leia Organa), and Harrison Ford (Han Solo), The Force Awakens was the first installment in a brand-new Star Wars trilogy set to continue the Skywalker Saga, which started with the original trilogy.
Disney’s Star Wars Sequel Trilogy Was a Failure
The second film, Star Wars: Episode VIII — The Last Jedi (2017), brought back all the actors (except for Harrison Ford), but was directed by Rian Johnson. It also saw the long-awaited return of Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), but the film swiftly divided fans like a lightsaber through butter, not only for its depiction of the beloved character, but for countless other missteps, including the retconning of major storylines established by its own predecessor.
Abrams returned to helm Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker (2019), but the damage had already been done, and in the same way The Last Jedi ignored The Force Awakens, the trilogy-topper did away with the 2017 film’s setup. TROS was also a hot mess in its own right. Each entry might have been a financial juggernaut, but the last two changed the franchise forever, leaving longtime fans disenfranchised and disillusioned.
A New Sequel Trilogy Is Here
Star Wars hasn’t ever recovered. Though we’ve yet to see a new film in theaters (next year will mark the franchise’s return to the big screen with The Mandalorian & Grogu, followed by Starfighter in 2027), Disney+ has been pumping out animated and live-action shows since, further saturating the franchise with content that’s either been mediocre or divisive.
But its problems date back to the sequel trilogy. The Force Awakens offered a promising setup, but it was swiftly squandered by its follow-ups. Many fans wonder whether Abrams should have directed all three as opposed to bookending the trilogy, similar to how director Dan Trachtenberg has helmed all three films in Disney’s Predator sequel trilogy.
There Are Many Parallels With Star Wars
Yes, the Predator franchise, which resides under Disney following its acquisition of 20th Century Studios in 2019, now officially has a sequel trilogy of its own. There’s the prequel Prey (2022), the animated anthology film Predator: Killer of Killers (2025), and the latest theatrical release, Predator: Badlands (2025), all three of them directed by Trachtenberg.
Prey introduced a strong female lead similar to Star Wars‘ Rey (Daisy Ridley) in Naru (Amber Midthunder), a Comanche warrior who confronts a Predator. And, evidently, its massive streaming success clearly paved the way for more installments.
It’s Also Part of a Shared Universe
Its follow-up, Killer of Killers, was released earlier this year on Hulu/Disney+. The story splits across three eras — a Viking raid, feudal Japan, and World War II — each one following characters that face off against variations of the iconic alien hunter.
But what really got fans talking was a surprise extended ending that teased the return of Naru (Midthunder), alongside Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Mike Harrigan (Danny Glover), the lead characters from Predator (1987) and Predator 2 (1990), respectively.
Now, the third installment, Predator: Badlands, which hit cinemas on November 7, follows Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi), a young Yautja outcast, who crashes on a hostile planet and forms an alliance with Thia (Elle Fanning), a damaged android created by the Weyland–Yutani corporation as seen in the Alien franchise. So far, the film has grossed $136.3 million worldwide on a $105 million budget and has had mixed to positive reviews.
Predator: Badlands Has Also Divided Fans
Just like with the Star Wars sequels, not everyone is happy. Badlands has quickly developed a divisive reputation among Predator fans, with many criticizing its PG-13 rating and arguing that it “softens” the Yautja — stripping away the brutal, alien menace that defined the original films.
Overall, though, the Predator sequel trilogy has been well received, and while it’s unclear where Trachtenberg is headed (assuming he’ll be back for future projects), the three films have a more visible roadmap than the Star Wars sequels, with the inevitable return of Naru, Dutch, and Harrigan likely being the end result of this new era of Predator movies.
It’s Essentially a “Star Wars” Movie
But the comparisons with Star Wars don’t end with this three-film format. Trachtenberg himself has admitted that Dek and Thia’s pairing throughout the film (the Yautja carrying the broken droid on his back) is a visual that’s directly inspired by Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) hauling a shattered C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) in Star Wars: Episode V — The Empire Strikes Back (1980). Fans are even describing Badlands as a “Star Wars” film for a number of reasons: it’s a sci-fi adventure set on an alien planet, it’s a Disney movie, and it even features a cute sidekick who’s clearly only there to sell merchandise like Baby Yoda.
The film even opens with what looks like a lightsaber duel.
Exactly where things are heading remain to be seen, but at this point, it’s pretty obvious that Dek and Thia will end up joining forces with legacy characters Naru, Dutch, and Mike to take on an even greater threat — most probably Weyland-Yutani, in the same way the likes of Rey called upon the help of Star Wars legacy characters Han and Luke to battle the First Order. Let’s just hope Disney gets it right this time.
Have you seen Predator: Badlands? If you have, what do you think of this new Predator sequel trilogy? Let us know your thoughts in the comments down below!
