Entertainment
Where To Start Watching Predator, All 9 Films Ranked
By TeeJay Small
| Published
Action movie fans have been tuning in to see the Predator tear through television tough-guys like wet tissue paper since 1987. In that time, we’ve gotten nine films ranging from genre-defining classics to embarrassing missteps. Along the way, we’ve seen crossover specials, graphic novels, fan-films, and more, highlighting the unstoppable killing power of the Yautja hunters.
With so many films to choose from, it might be dizzying for new fans looking to find a point of entry. I’m here to solve that. These are the Predator films, ranked worst to best.
9. The Predator (2018)
Shane Black’s The Predator offers a bold new take on the franchise. The film asks such questions as “what if the Predator were 11 feet tall and fully made of bad CGI,” and “wouldn’t it be hilarious if the Predator acted like Bugs Bunny?” The answer to that last question is… I guess? But only if you don’t mind watching Shane Black spit in the face of each previous Predator movie.
The Predator feels more like a Scary Movie version of the 1987 classic than an earnest attempt at a sci-fi slasher. It features bizarre gags such as a Yautja dog that owes its loyalty to anyone who shoots it in the head with a shotgun, a man blowing his own head off with a shoulder cannon because he glanced 90 degrees to the side, and an Iron Man suit that was meant to take this franchise into borderline anime territory, if further explored. At one point the Predator rips off a man’s arm, fashions the hand into a thumbs up, and angles it through an open window.
To give Black some credit, The Predator experienced massive studio interference, and suffered from numerous reshoots. If he had received full creative control, we probably wouldn’t have gotten such a tonal disaster. Still, as it currently stands, this is the most embarrassing film in the entire franchise.
8. Aliens Vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)
Clocking in with a paltry 12 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes, we’ve got 2007’s Aliens Vs. Predator: Requiem. This is a sequel to the critically panned crossover event which brought the Yautja hunter face to face with alien Xenomorphs on the big screen for the very first time. It’s by far the darkest film in the series, as evidenced by scenes where the movie monsters tear through a maternity ward, killing a bunch of infants and pregnant women. It’s also the darkest movie in the franchise, literally, so you’ll have to crank the brightness settings on your TV to enjoy even a fraction of it.
The filmmaking duo behind this one had a background exclusively in VFX before helming the would-be blockbuster, so they didn’t handle things like scripting or budgeting with the grace they required. The result is a film that’s been artificially darkened and smothered with movie rain to hide imperfections in the Alien and Predator CGI. The humans are also Degrassi characters, for all intents and purposes, and completely insufferable to watch. I give this one style points for the Alien/Predator hybrid, but I really wouldn’t recommend watching it unless you’ve exhausted every other film on this list, and then some.
7. Prey (2022)
Now we’re getting into some controversial ranking. Some people swear by Prey, and cite it as the best that the franchise has to offer. While I obviously don’t share this opinion, I can certainly understand the appeal. This is the first film in the franchise directed by Dan Trachtenberg, and highlights a Native American woman attempting to prove herself to her patriarchal tribe by taking down a massive murderous space alien.
Trachtenberg did such an amazing job with this film that it was nominated for two Academy Awards, and he’s been effectively running the franchise ever since. The best sequence in the movie sees the Predator fighting a grizzly bear in one of the rawest and most intense fight scenes ever committed to film. The only reason this movie isn’t higher on my list is because there’s some seriously stiff competition elsewhere in the franchise. Plus, admittedly, a few of the following entries will be getting bonus points for nostalgia, and Prey didn’t come out until I was already 25 years old.
6. AVP: Alien Vs. Predator (2004)
This is the point in the list where you tell me I’m an idiot with bad taste, and I tell you to shut up and give Alien Vs. Predator another chance. This film was panned by critics as a mindless action flick, and shunned for abandoning the horror roots of the original 1987 outing. While those critiques are accurate, they don’t detract from the fact that Alien Vs. Predator is about as badass as an action movie can be.
This one follows a group of archaeologists exploring an underground pyramid in Antarctica, where they accidentally awaken a Xenomorph queen. Doing so causes a Yautja ship to send down a trio of Predator hunters, who hack and slash their way through the dig site. Also, the pyramid walls shift to create new rooms and trap explorers every ten minutes. Paul W. S. Anderson might not be lauded by snooty critics for his silly action outings, but he was channeling something in Alien Vs. Predator that I want injected directly into my veins.
5. Predator: Badlands (2025)
Predator: Badlands is the latest film in the franchise, and the third outing from Dan Trachtenberg. This one does the most to expand on the Predator lore, taking the action off-planet and onto a pair of distant alien locales, complete with sentient plant life and giant monsters. People had mixed reactions to the trailer, especially since this is the first Predator movie to center a Yautja hunter as the main protagonist. Luckily, once Badlands arrived in theaters, audiences quickly changed their tune.
Today, this film touts an impressive 86 percent critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, with a 95 percent audience score to match. It also features a crossover plot with the Alien franchise that blends much more cleanly than either of the AVP movies, so we might have a shot at rebooting that element of the franchise if Trachtenberg sets his mind to it. More importantly, Predator: Badlands features no human characters (save for a set of Weyland-Yutani droids), so there’s no need to suffer through any teen drama or rom-com elements. Just good old-fashioned science fiction, and a few Baby Yoda-inspired alien critters.
4. Predator 2 (1990)
Critics hate Predator 2 because they are dumb and annoying. If you watch this film with a fresh set of eyes, you’ll see that it actually rules. It’s a big departure from the rumble in the jungle we experience in the first movie, but transporting the Predator to an urban environment and setting it loose in the midst of a gang war is absolutely brilliant. Danny Glover spends over an hour chasing, fighting, and sweating like a stuck pig as a lone Yautja parades through the streets, stringing up gangsters and terrifying old ladies.
This film is also the first to legitimize the concept of a crossover with the Alien franchise, since it features a giant Xenomorph skull in the background for a single scene. While 1987’s Predator can be credited with kickstarting this whole series, Predator 2 set the tone for everything that would come later by daring to reinvent its premise. In another timeline, we could be stuck with a Rambo-style rehash, where we get six Predator films that serve as needless retreads of the same played-out story. Maybe I’m letting a bit of nostalgia take the wheel, but I could never be convinced that Predator 2 isn’t at least a 4 out of 5 star movie.
3. Predator: Killer Of Killers (2025)
When I first heard that Dan Trachtenberg was making an animated Predator film, I thought it was a bizarre choice. The entire franchise up to this point had been shot in live action, and the best entries have all relied heavily on practical effects. Taking things into animated territory seemed like an ill-advised venture that would only serve to separate the action from the realistic brutality we’d all like to see.
Then, when I fired up Hulu and watched Killer Of Killers, I quickly realized the true reason the film is animated: making this movie in live action would require a production budget of $500 billion. This movie seamlessly leaps from Viking times to feudal Japan to World War 2 to a futuristic Predator home planet without giving you whiplash, and it does so while being absolutely badass at every turn. The ending also ties the entire franchise together in an Avengers: Endgame style crossover, which made me nerd out for hours while breaking it down with my fellow Predator fanatics. There’s a real argument to be made that this is the best that the franchise has to offer, but I personally have the following films tied for my all-time favorite.
2. Predators (2010)
Long before Trachtenberg was taking the Predator franchise to bold new places, we had 2010’s Predators. This movie is still one of the most ambitious outings in the series, centering on a group of ultra-dangerous killers from across the globe who wake up disoriented in a Yautja game preserve somewhere among the stars. Everyone brings their A-game performance-wise; the environments feel uncannily real, and the ever-present threat of Yautja hunters is more terrifying than ever when the humans are away from their home turf.
If ever there were a Predator outing that demanded a follow-up, it’s this one. I’ve even written for this very site about the cliffhanger ending, and how fans deserve a proper resolution. Now that Trachtenberg is doing big things with the Predator lore, maybe we’ll finally get some closure in the coming years. For now, be sure to give Predators a spin, and enjoy some of the most innovative and interesting ideas in the entire franchise.
1. Predator (1987)
Finally, closing out our list, we’ve got the one, the only, the original 1987 Predator. It might be a little anticlimactic, but sometimes you just cannot beat a classic. This film has everything, from bodybuilder commandos with belt-fed Gatling guns to realistic jungle environments and practical effects to silly accents screaming “get to da choppah!” Arnold Schwarzenegger is the perfect cigar-chomping, war-paint-clad action hero to face off against the unseen alien hunter, and he puts on a career-best performance doing so.
Since 1987, Schwarzenegger has loomed over this franchise like a ghost. He has reprised his role in video games, and his character has returned in other mixed media, but we’ve never seen Dutch in any of the other eight films. That’s not for lack of trying, either. Schwarzenegger has been slated to appear in numerous Predator sequels, but each time it’s fallen through due to his other commitments, which included a stint as governor of California.
Where To Start Watching Predator
For my viewing pleasure, 1987’s Predator is a perfect movie. It blends action, science fiction, and horror into one harmonious masterpiece, accented by one of the most iconic movie soundtracks I’ve ever heard. I would watch this movie every day if I could. If you’re looking to get into this franchise for the first time, you can’t go wrong by diving in right at the very beginning.
Entertainment
Wordle today: Answer, hints for May 30, 2026
Today’s Wordle answer should be easy to solve if you’re always in a good mood.
If you just want to be told today’s word, you can jump to the bottom of this article for today’s Wordle solution revealed. But if you’d rather solve it yourself, keep reading for some clues, tips, and strategies to assist you.
Where did Wordle come from?
Originally created by engineer Josh Wardle as a gift for his partner, Wordle rapidly spread to become an international phenomenon, with thousands of people around the globe playing every day. Alternate Wordle versions created by fans also sprang up, including battle royale Squabble, music identification game Heardle, and variations like Dordle and Quordle that make you guess multiple words at once.
Wordle eventually became so popular that it was purchased by the New York Times, and TikTok creators even livestream themselves playing.
What’s the best Wordle starting word?
The best Wordle starting word is the one that speaks to you. But if you prefer to be strategic in your approach, we have a few ideas to help you pick a word that might help you find the solution faster. One tip is to select a word that includes at least two different vowels, plus some common consonants like S, T, R, or N.
What happened to the Wordle archive?
The entire archive of past Wordle puzzles was originally available for anyone to enjoy whenever they felt like it, but it was later taken down, with the website’s creator stating it was done at the request of the New York Times. However, the New York Times then rolled out its own Wordle Archive, available only to NYT Games subscribers.
Is Wordle getting harder?
It might feel like Wordle is getting harder, but it actually isn’t any more difficult than when it first began. You can turn on Wordle‘s Hard Mode if you’re after more of a challenge, though.
Here’s a subtle hint for today’s Wordle answer:
To grin.
Mashable Top Stories
Does today’s Wordle answer have a double letter?
There are no recurring letters.
Today’s Wordle is a 5-letter word that starts with…
Today’s Wordle starts with the letter S.
The Wordle answer today is…
Get your last guesses in now, because it’s your final chance to solve today’s Wordle before we reveal the solution.
Drumroll please!
The solution to today’s Wordle is…
SMILE
Don’t feel down if you didn’t manage to guess it this time. There will be a new Wordle for you to stretch your brain with tomorrow, and we’ll be back again to guide you with more helpful hints. Are you also playing NYT Strands? See hints and answers for today’s Strands.
Reporting by Chance Townsend, Caitlin Welsh, Sam Haysom, Amanda Yeo, Shannon Connellan, Cecily Mauran, Mike Pearl, and Adam Rosenberg contributed to this article.
If you’re looking for more puzzles, Mashable’s got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
Not the day you’re after? Here’s the solution to yesterday’s Wordle.
Entertainment
The One Time Batman Ruined Frasier’s Life
By Robert Scucci
| Published
Here’s a rhetorical question for you: Who’s the best Batman? That’s right, Michael Keaton. I’ll bet you’re wondering what an article about Frasier has to do with Batman, which forces me to direct your attention to the Season 9 episode, “Wheels of Fortune,” in which we learn that Frasier’s ex-wife Lilith has a disgraced half-brother, Blaine Sternin, portrayed by the best Batman himself. Most conflicts in Frasier come down to an epic battle of the wits, and our favorite titular gasbag certainly meets his match here.
Normally, Frasier and Niles spend their days looking down their noses at everybody else through a lens of self-righteous, tongue-in-cheek pomposity, including their retired cop dad Marty, Frasier’s radio producer Roz Doyle, sports shock jock Bulldog, and just about anybody else who crosses their paths. In “Wheels of Fortune,” however, Frasier comes to intellectual and spiritual blows with Blaine Sternin, a con artist of the highest order who’s working yet another scheme that Frasier sees through immediately while everybody else falls for it hook, line, and sinker.
It’s Michael Keaton at his scummiest, and he’s truly in his element, making for one of the more entertaining episodes this late in the series’ run.
Charm Is The Viscous Grease With Which He Lubricates His Flim-Flam Machine!
Up to this point in Frasier’s run, we’ve never even heard of Blaine Sternin, and rightfully so. Frasier’s divorce from Lilith before the events of the series has him living on the other side of the country, only seeing his son Frederick during holidays or school breaks. Once Frasier realizes that a run-in with Blaine is imminent, however, we quickly learn why he’s avoided any form of contact with the man for the sake of his own mental health and personal finances.
The episode kicks off with Frasier wrapping up his call-in show at KACL when Roz steps into the booth to let him know that Blaine, who he hasn’t heard from in years, is looking for him. Frasier immediately assumes that his ex-half-brother-in-law is back to his usual tricks, the most egregious involving Blaine stealing his antique salt server years ago. All signs suggest that Blaine wants to reconcile with Frasier, but Frasier wants no part of it because he assumes the worst is about to happen.
Back at his apartment, Frasier warns Niles, Marty, and Daphne about Blaine just before hearing a knock at the door. It’s Blaine, but now he’s confined to a wheelchair and supposedly a Born-Again Christian. He quotes scripture, encourages everybody to say grace before dinner, and reveals his true intentions: he’s starting a career as a preacher and will be speaking in town the following day. He also alludes to being $1,000 short on the room deposit needed to make that happen, though he assures Frasier he’s not asking for a handout.
Frasier, neither impressed nor willing to believe that Blaine is actually paraplegic, remains on high alert while the rest of the group slowly warms up to him. He’s right to be wary because the last time he fell for Blaine’s tricks, he lost a significant amount of money on “Kelp Futures.”
As you would expect, Frasier gets humbled in the worst possible way when he tips Blaine out of his wheelchair during the event before receiving confirmation from the doctor that Blaine is actually crippled. Publicly humiliated, Frasier makes a sizable donation to save face, only to later learn that Blaine was faking the whole thing after all. It’s one of those rare instances where Frasier becomes so obsessive in sizing somebody up that he comes off as irrational and absurd, only to be completely vindicated in the end because you never mess with Batman.
This Isn’t The Only Batman To Frasier Pipeline
“Wheels of Fortune” is a top-tier Frasier episode that would never have landed nearly as well without Keaton’s legendary performance. Going back to his stand-up days, when he made esoteric jokes about Bazooka Joe comics, Keaton has always carried this wry smile and borderline sleazy energy without ever feeling outright sleazy. Something about his smirk always suggests he’s up to something, and he fully leans into that energy in “Wheels of Fortune.”
But the Batman-to-Frasier pipeline doesn’t stop there. In the 2005 sports dramedy Game 6, Keaton’s Nicky Rogan has an extramarital affair with one of his investors, Joanna Bourne, portrayed by Bebe Neuwirth, who of course portrays Lilith in Frasier. In other words, Lilith and her half-brother Blaine are romantically involved in this context, which would absolutely make Frasier’s blood boil if he ever walked in on them getting down to business. Fortunately for the world-weary psychiatrist, these two fictional worlds will never collide because if they did, I don’t think the man would ever recover from it.
Frasier is streaming on Paramount+.
Entertainment
All The Comics You Need To Read Before X-Men ‘97 Season 2
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
It seems that Disney has finally figured out the secret to getting fans to care about Marvel again: throw in the X-Men, baby! Hype for Avengers: Doomsday didn’t reach its zenith until the trailer, which brought back Cyclops, Magneto, and Professor X from the 20th Century Fox films. Before that, a third Deadpool movie seemed pretty “meh” until the reveal that he’d be fighting alongside Wolverine, everyone’s favorite canucklehead. Meanwhile, fans who couldn’t remember the last time they watched anything on Disney+ flocked to the streamer to watch X-Men ‘97, arguably the best thing this franchise has given us in at least a decade.
Now, the trailer for X-Men ‘97 Season 2 show just dropped, and you don’t need Cerebro to detect fan excitement all around the world. One reason to be excited is that the second season, like the first, is going to incorporate some of the most important storylines from the X-Men comics. By reading (or re-reading) those comics, you can get a solid idea of what will be happening in Season 2, which premieres on July 1, and be better able to appreciate every little Easter egg. Based on the trailer, which comics should you thumb through before the new season hits? Keep reading, true believer, and I’ll tell you!
Adventures Of Cyclops And Phoenix
In the ‘90s X-Men comics, Cyclops and Jean Grey finally got married. The miniseries Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix revealed that, not too long after they got hitched, these newlyweds were transported to an Apocalypse-ruled far future by Rachel Summers, their daughter from a different alternate future (it’s complicated). There, they are reunited with Nathan Summers, Cyclops’ son from a previous relationship, who grows up to be Cable, the time-traveling hero. Cyclops and Jean Grey spend 12 years raising Nathan and training him in his powers, but they are eventually brought back to their present day, where no time has actually passed.
Why should you re-read this comic before X-Men ‘97 Season 2? Cyclops and Jean Grey were transported into the future at the end of Season 1, and the new trailer shows them walking through a field of corpses in a world ruled by Apocalypse. It looks like the show will be doing its own homage to Adventures of Cyclops and Phoenix, and it’s a pretty solid bet we’ll see young Nathan Summers in Season 2. That will also give us some important background information and character-building for Cable, who (thanks to his time-travel abilities) remains one of the show’s most important characters.
The Twelve
“The Twelve” (sometimes written as “Apocalypse: The Twelve”) was a crossover comic event in which a weakened Apocalypse hatched a crazy plan to achieve supreme power. He captured 12 very specific mutants with the intent of basically stealing their powers and becoming omnipotent. However, his battered body couldn’t withstand all this extra juice, so he had a backup plan: to give it all to Nate Gray (an alternate universe Cable) and then put his own mind in the young man’s body. Our heroes stop the villain, but he goes on to rewrite reality in a later arc, and he’s only stopped when the X-Men defeat him in both the past and the present.
Why read this crossover before X-Men ‘97 Season 2? The trailer shows an interesting cave etching where several X-Men are seemingly looking up at a mysterious floating figure. This implies we may be getting a version of “The Twelve” storyline where Apocalypse is hoping to steal some very specific powers, putting them into a new body along with his own mind. This is the story where Wolverine gets his adamantium back, which would build on the hero’s story from Season 1. Plus, the overarching plot of Season 2, where X-Men fight Apocalypse in the past and the present, is reminiscent of what happened in “Ages of Apocalypse,” a comic story that happened soon after “The Twelve.”
Bonus Reading
So, based on the trailer for X-Men ‘97 Season 2, those are the big comic storylines we can expect to be adapted for the show. With that said, there’s some bonus reading that you may want to do. For example, you should consider reading “Blood of Apocalypse,” a story in which the titular villain transforms Gambit into one of his Horsemen. The end of Season 1 highly implied that Apocalypse intended to bring the ragin’ Cajun back to life, and the Season 2 trailer further implies that there’s a resurrection in the cards for Gambit. By reading this comic, you may get a better idea of how the hero’s return will be handled in the show.
Additionally, you should consider reading Grant Morrison’s New X-Men run for several reasons, including the fact that it’s the best run in the entire history of the comics (I said what I said!). Additionally, the trailer gave us glimpses of Quentin Quire and maybe Xorn, two characters introduced to the franchise by Morrison. The trailer also briefly showed Emma Frost, who first joins the team in New X-Men. Finally, the show has already adapted one major storyline from Morrison’s run (namely, the brutal attack on Genosha), and it wouldn’t be surprising if we get other arcs. As a bonus, this comic also introduces Cassandra Nova, who was the Big Bad of Deadpool & Wolverine.
Bust Out Those Longboxes, Boys
Obviously, you don’t have to read these classic comics to enjoy the show. One of the best things about X-Men ‘97 is that it is remarkably accessible to new fans of the franchise. However, Season 1 was filled with amazing homages and Easter eggs from the comics, and noticing them is a great way to enhance your appreciation for the best show Marvel ever made. Now, you have a chance to brush up on some classic comic reading and maybe get a better idea of what to expect from Season 2.
Of course, the show never does a straight adaptation of comic events, and it’s also rewarding to see how the writers have modified classic storylines and woven them into something new. If nothing else, the imminent arrival of X-Men ‘97 Season 2 gives you a chance to read New X-Men, the most important comic in the history of the franchise. In the immortal words of Bob Belcher, “I don’t want to oversell it. But if changes you forever.”
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