Elle Fanning was daunted by the prospect of playing two android characters in her upcoming movie Predator: Badlands. In the latest instalment in the Predator franchise, The Great actress plays the dual roles of Thia and Tessa, two "synthetics" created by the Weyland-Yutani corporation, the company from the Alien movies. Fanning admitted to Empire magazine that it was a daunting prospect playing two synths and following in the footsteps of those who have played them before in the Alien franchise. "Luckily, I (rarely) had to play both the same day," Fanning quipped. "But it was daunting playing Weyland-Yutani synths. Think about the list of people who've played one!" A synthetic character is a staple in the Alien universe. Ian Holm played the first one, Ash, in Ridley Scott's 1979 film, and was followed by Lance Henriksen in Aliens, Michael Fassbender in Prometheus and Alien: Covenant, and David Jonsson in last year's Alien: Romulus. The Neon Demon actress was particularly inspired by Jonsson's performance as Andy, a synth who gets a software upgrade that completely changes his persona. "We went to see Alien: Romulus while we were shooting. (He) is such a great actor," she praised. "That was informative for me, to see him step outside of other synths and create his own version. It gave me confidence to create my own thing, too." The Alien and Predator films have crossed over on screen in the past, most recently with Aliens Vs. Predator: Requiem in 2007, and the existence of Weyland-Yutani synths in Badlands suggests another crossover. However, director Dan Trachtenberg has insisted there are no Xenomorphs - the main creature in the Alien franchise - in his Predator film. "We're not involving (the Alien franchise) just to smush the action figures together. There are great, organic story reasons for Weyland-Yutani to be in this film," he teased. Predator: Badlands will be released in cinemas on 7 November.