How/Where did the Yautjas (Predators) get the Xenomorphs?

Question

The Yautjas (or more commonly known simply as Predators) are an extra-terrestrial race of warriors who hunt for sport and honor. Their hunts included humans and several species (judging from the trophy room in the picture below) and most prominently the Xenomorphs XX121 (or simply Xenomorphs).

In the movie Prometheus (2012) and Alien Covenant (2017), we see that the Engineers developed the crude version of Xenomorphs (to apparently send them to Earth and destroy all life on it) which was finally perfected by David (as per the movie Alien: Covenant as mentioned by the answer here).

So the question is, how did the Predators get the Xenomorphs? Did they steal the technology from the Engineers? Or were they advanced enough to create an actual species for hunting purposes and it coincidently is the exact same as the one created by the Engineers?

Answer 1

Currently there is no canonical answer to this and it is unlikely the films will provide one. The main reason for this is that the AvP universe is not part of the Ridley Scott Alien franchise as defined by him.

Alien vs Predator started out as a comic book franchise and was one of a series of comic themes that ran at the time with cross overs with various titles. There are also Alien vs Batman, Superman and Predator vs Batman and Superman comics.

Later the AvP stories became novels and from this eventually the AvP films where created.

The canon right through this for the creation of the alien creature in no way matched what Scott has now written. Aliens were in the universe but no-one knew where they came from. Predators hunted them seeing them as the ultimate prey.

Now while there is no canon here it is possible to consider 2 ideas,neither of which have anything to back them up.

1. Predators came across the Aliens later on, this makes the historical aspect of AvP obsolete and means these films are now non-canon.

2. The Alien created by David is not as unique as he thinks and the genetic soup the Engineers created will inevitably create this creature. This then means that Xenomorphs exist through the universe but humans just don’t know it yet and David isn’t as clever as he thinks he is.

3. We treat the AvP storyline as we do the old Expanded universe for Star Wars; an alternate timeline where Prometheus and Covenant never happened.

I vote for #3.

Answer 2

Hmmm. I came here looking for a reason for the exact answer. I can't make sense of it.... but We know from 'Prey' the predators have contact with human civilization since, the 17th century. Given the Yautja in the Predator movies had: kidnaping humans for sport on their world, earlier contact in AvP when humans saw them as gods sacrificing themselves to create the xenomorph to hunt, then being over whelmed and nuking the proximity of their hunting grounds... Which would contradict David in 'Prometheus' as being the robot that created the xenomorphs, eleven years later in Alien: Covenant. I found this timeline article online: https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a844657/alien-timeline-chronology-prometheus/

I think maybe, the simplest answer is. A Yautja stole a sample of the Internecivus raptus before the events of Prometheus but have been testing their skills in secret. And they've been using it as a test of skill since. Getting rid of any evidence. In The Predator we see more about the Yautja how they've grown more advance. While also knowing the M.C. was going to be sent away for having contact. Gives us a picture that the government doesn't want it known about alien life forms. The private companies of the francizes universe seem to know more. https://www.avclub.com/predator-prey-franchise-timeline-predators-alien-vs-1849345710 Maybe the next film will piece it all together for us with a mega xenomorph from both the Predator, and Alien gene to give us all a shocking conclusion.