Predator: Badlands Brings an Unlikely Hero to the Big Screen

A new Predator film is a rare event these days — rarer still, one that casts the franchise’s murderous extraterrestrial for the lead role. That changed this morning, as 20th Century Studios released the first teaser trailer for Predator: Badlands. The 17-second clip hints at a new take on the sci-fi series favorite — a big, stomping alien monster — while also promising a unique twist on the most recent installment.

Predator: Badlands follows the film’s title character, a young Predator named Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi), who has been exiled from his species’ society. Instead of coming at the series’ classic monster from the viewpoint of the human prey it hunts, this time we’ll be in Dek’s boots, teaming up with a literal wildcard: a Weyland-Yutani android named Thia (Elle Fanning). The two will face what the trailer calls “the ultimate opponent” — a fearsome monster that can’t be killed.” Brief glimpses in the trailer suggest it’s a huge monster of an unknown design, distinct from the species depicted in the Alien films.

Badlands Worldbuilding Promised

Badlands will count as a standalone film set in the shared universe of Predator and Alien films. Early indications are that it will also do some significant worldbuilding within that universe, however. Insider reports indicate that at least part of the film will be set on the Predator home world, which has been long-established as a location within the films but never directly depicted on screen until now. In line with that, the teaser trailer features brief glimpses of strange flora and swarming Predator colonies, as well as multiple Predators engaged in some tense moments or outright violence.

Director/co-writer Dan Trachtenberg has also indicated that he wants to lean into exploring the Predator’s culture in this new installment. The most recent Predator film to delve into Yautja life was 2022’s Prey, which Trachtenberg also directed. Shot in a stripped-down 18th-century American Great Plains setting, that film was more about an inverted slasher story than a celebration of Predator mythology. Badlands, in contrast, looks to expand on the Yautja language, lore, society, and politics. The teaser trailer also features several shots of Predators with unfamiliar ceremonial armor and body paint, as well as several foreign-sounding words (including the eponymous “badlands”). In addition to building on the aliens’ history, the premise of the movie also sets up an opportunity to expand on the franchise’s established arsenal and to find new tensions in conflicts built out of more than just sci-fi human violence.

Character Actor Elle Fanning, as the android Thia, is a similarly big draw. Seen moving with jerky mechanical precision and speaking with a flat affect, Fanning’s character is a calculated android with flashes of intrigue and sympathy. The first Predator film to feature an android so centrally paired with the extraterrestrial hunters, Weyland-Yutani’s involvement with the character will surely delight Alien franchise fans who like to keep score on those lore Easter eggs.

The Pred Behind the Scenes

Trachtenberg’s return is probably the biggest reason for optimism about Badlands. Prey was not only well-reviewed but found an audience on Hulu and, with solid critical reviews and viewer recommendations, became the most-watched Predator film of all time on the platform. In other words, it was a massive success for 20th Century Studios’ first foray into the series since turning around The Predator on the fly. Bringing Trachtenberg back for another installment not only suggests that he has a real grasp on the established lore but also that he has a clear, interesting vision for what’s next in this universe.

Trachtenberg has two Predator projects coming in quick succession. In addition to Badlands, Trachtenberg has been developing a new animated anthology series titled Predator: Killer of Killers, which will premiere on Hulu (the same service that made Prey a hit) on June 6. The series will depict multiple Predator hunts in different eras and environments.

What’s in the Teaser

Without giving away potential spoilers, there’s not much in the way of story information in this first 17-second trailer. The film features several glimpses of Predators outfitted in ceremonial armor in open conflict with one another, Dek moving through an alien environment, Thia with a sidearm and charging into battle, and shadowy glimpses of the “unkillable” monster. Shots of an insect-like insectoid on the alien home world seem to promise a larger scale for at least some of the set pieces.

The clear standout is the indication that this film won’t be recycling old dynamics of previous Predator films. Casting a Predator as the lead character allows Badlands to deviate from the more traditional formula that has made up most films in the series. Seeing a creature that we have been conditioned to think of as a villain cast as the “hero” — even in the unconventional sense of “protagonist” — shakes up the formula and sets the stage for more complex character work and moral dilemmas.

When is Predator: Badlands Coming Out?

Predator: Badlands will be hitting theaters on November 7. In the interim, the trailer gives the green light to expect a few more before then, likely detailing more of the story, the scope of the larger set pieces, and (potentially) more on the eponymous monster.

The short of it, however, is that the first teaser trailer does just enough. It whets the appetite of long-time franchise fans and casts enough intrigue that new audiences will want to know more as the November release date approaches. With an interesting set of leads and at least some basis for returning to the series to get to know more about the creatures that we’ve only ever seen in broad strokes, Predator: Badlands has a chance to be just the jolt the franchise needs.

You can and should hunt down all of the trailers, whether you decide to take a side in this upcoming fight or not.