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Posted in: 20th Century Studios, Movies | Tagged: 20th century studios, predator, Predator: Badlands
Predator: Badlands Director on Revamping the Predator Formula
Predator: Badlands director Dan Trachtenberg explains how fan frustration inspired a new direction for the movie’s lead hunter.
Article Summary
- Predator: Badlands flips the franchise by making the Predator the main character for the first time.
- Director Dan Trachtenberg drew inspiration from fan frustration over the Predator always losing.
- The movie follows Dek, a runt Predator, proving himself on the deadly planet Genna.
- Elle Fanning stars as a Weyland-Yutani synthetic, tying Predator and Alien universes together.
The Predator franchise has been reinventing itself for nearly four decades, starting with 1987's original, which pitted Arnold Schwarzenegger's special forces team against an unseen alien hunter in the Central American jungle. Over the years, the series has bounced through urban warfare, off-world game preserves, messy (yet fun) crossovers with Alien, and more recently, a major comeback with 2022's Prey, a prequel about a Comanche warrior facing an early Yautja visitor.
Predator: Badlands is officially the newest chapter and a pretty big swing for the series. Directed by Prey's Dan Trachtenberg, it is the sixth live-action Predator film, and it flips the formula by making the Predator itself the lead character. The story follows Dek, a runt Yautja trying to earn his place in a brutal warrior clan, who is sent to the lethal planet Genna to hunt the legendary Kalisk and prove his worth. There, he forms an uneasy alliance with Thia, a damaged Weyland-Yutani synthetic played by Elle Fanning, pulling the Alien universe's infamous corporation directly into Predator canon.
Predator: Badlands Director on Finding a New Angle
Speaking with Screen Rant, Trachtenberg recently explained how that premise grew out of both fan frustration and franchise history. "It really was from trying to figure out what the franchise had done before. There was this fan-grown sentiment of 'Why does the Predator always get his ass kicked?' He's supposed to be the galaxy's greatest hunter, and we always see him lose!" He continues, "I tried to figure out a story that embraces, 'What if the Predator wins?' But I didn't want to just make a slasher movie where the bad guy wins in the end. At first, I was like, 'Well, maybe it could be him versus Nazis or something,' but none of it really clicked until I found my footing in making it about a Predator in an insanely intense, brutal clan that's trying to prove its worth."
With Prey's breakout success on Hulu and Trachtenberg's focus on flipping expectations through a new theatrical Predator-led story, it feels like fans are in for another strong chapter in this sci-fi universe. But what do you think? Are you looking forward to the shift in perspective?
Predator: Badlands premiered in late October in the UK and was released in US and UK theaters on November 7, 2025.
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