How to Watch Every Predator Movie in Order

Placing Predator: Killer of Killers on a chronological timeline is difficult because the movie centers on three time periods; the Viking era, feudal Japan, and WWII. The animated movie follows the deadly alien species going up against human warriors from each historic era. Because this one hops around multiple eras, it's basically the franchise's first true anthology movie.

That alone makes it worth talking about. It's the sort of entry that fans of the comics or the more lore-heavy Predator stories will really appreciate, since it leans harder into the Yautja-as-mythology than any live-action film ever has. It's also a quick watch and the animation gives the whole thing a vibe that fans of graphic-novels will enjoy a lot.

Chronologically, the second movie in the series would be Prey, which is set back in 1719. In the film, a young Comanche woman (Amber Midthunder) wants to be a great hunter, but is not allowed since she's a woman. After encountering the Predator in the forest, she must not only become a hunter, but also survive being hunted.

Prey is brilliant because it's the first Predator movie in a long time that actually remembers what makes the creature scary. It strips away all the over-explaining from later sequels and brings the franchise back to something simple. If you're the kind of viewer who likes survival thrillers with gorgeous natural landscapes and a genuinely compelling protagonist, this is the one to watch.

Next up is the original movie which is set in the present day (1987 at the time). In the film, an elite military team is tasked with an extraction mission in a war torn Central American country. But escaping rebel forces in the jungle turns out to be the least of their worries once they find themselves stalked by the Predator.

There's no getting around it. Predator is still the gold standard for this whole franchise. It's one of those lightning-in-a-bottle movies where the atmosphere and the slow-burn horror all line up perfectly. Anyone who loves action cinema from the '80s should absolutely watch this. It's also a good reference point for how wildly the tone swings in later entries.

Taking Predator from the jungle to the city, Predator 2 stars Danny Glover as a Los Angeles detective who is investigating drug cartels. Also, somewhat randomly, the film is set in 1997 instead of 1990 - perhaps to give the movie more of a dystopian future vibe (which iit didn't). But the cartels soon find that they're not just warring against each other and the police, but also the Predator.

Predator 2 is one of the weirdest sequels ever made, but it's also the first movie that tried to expand the lore. Setting the Yautja loose in a grimy, over-the-top future L.A. gives it a comic-book energy that some fans absolutely love. If you enjoy chaotic action films, this one is genuine fun and serves as a fascinating time capsule of early '90s cinematic excess.

This iconic head-to-head movie, which is known to fans as simple AVP, was inspired by a crossover comic book from 1989. When Weyland Industries identify a pyramid hidden underneath an island in the Antarctic, the unfortunate team sent to investigate becomes entangled in an intergalactic war between the Xenomorphs and the Yauja warriors.

If you're watching these movies for creature fights and Predators teaming up with humans, then AVP delivers exactly what you want. Still, the AVP movies are generally considered to be canonical within the Predator franchise but not recognized within the Alien franchise's canon. However, if you want to watch all of the Alien movies in order, it would be a mistake to skip AVP and its sequel.

Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (or AVP 2) continues the ongoing fight between two of cinema's most recognizable alien species. The movie follows a Predator ship that leaves Earth with its captured Xenomorph face-huggers. But it's not long before there's a chest-burster aboard the ship, leading to the creation of an alien which has the characteristic traits of both species.

Requiem leans way harder into horror than the first AVP, sometimes to the point where you can barely see what's happening. But for fans who want the franchise at its grimiest, this one scratches the itch. It also introduces the Predalien, which is still one of the coolest (and grossest) creature mashups in the series, which makes it perfect for fans of a good scare.

Predators is highly debated because it never actually says when the story takes place. However, many fans believe its set between the first two movies. In the film, a group of humans awaken on an alien planet and learn that they're being used for hunting practice by the Predators. Even wilder, the Predator who was blown up in the first movie is somehow there and is being tortured by the other Predators.

Predators is a must-see because it feels like the franchise is trying to course-correct back toward the tone of the original. The alien planet setting is genuinely cool, and the idea of different Predator clans gives the universe a lot more depth. If you liked the jungle tension from the 1987 film but want something a little more sci-fi, this is the perfect middle ground.

Another oddity is The Predator, which follows a group of soldiers and a scientist who team up to fight off invading Predators. Speaking to HyeuGuys in 2016, director Shane Black claimed that the movie takes place before 2010's Predators but also added that, "Predator 2 has probably happened already," which means even he doesn't even know where and when the movie takes place.

Still, The Predator is worth acknowledging because it represents the moment the franchise completely lost the plot — literally. It tries to explain the Yautja way too much, turns the alien into some kind of gene-harvesting super-scientist, and piles on subplots like it's being paid per storyline. It's a must if you're a completionist, or you just want to see how wild the tonal whiplash gets.

Cast out from his clan, a young Predator finds an unlikely ally in a damaged android and embarks on a treacherous journey in search of the ultimate adversary.