Predator: Badlands Teaser Drops — Predator Universe Expands

You don’t see new live-action Predator movies every day, let alone ones that center the franchise’s titular alien killing machine as its main protagonist. So it was with some interest that 20th Century Studios released the first official teaser trailer for Predator: Badlands this morning, a short film that promised a whole new take on the long-running monster movie staple.

The latest installment in the series stars Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi as Dek, a Predator cast out of his clan as a youngling. He is set to take center stage alongside Thia, a Weyland-Yutani android (played by Elle Fanning) who is also an outsider. The duo, though underdogs, will be “throwing down” against “the ultimate adversary”, a monster that “can’t be killed.” Only a few seconds of the creature can be seen in the teaser, but from what is shown, it is massive and unprecedented.

From the trailer, it also appears that the film will expand on the Predator universe we know and love, at least from the standpoint of its titular monster. We have heard rumors that Badlands will delve into worldbuilding a bit, and that at least some of the action takes place on the Predator home planet — something that has only been insinuated in previous movies. There are brief shots of otherworldly jungles and a Predator city (complete with many other Predators) in the new trailer as well.

Dan Trachtenberg

These glimpses into the Predator culture will likely be more than that, though, and Badlands will flesh out much more of their way of life. Director/co-writer Dan Trachtenberg (who most recently directed 2022’s Prey) expressed an interest in deepening the lore of the monster when he first signed on to the project, so it seems likely fans can expect a few new tidbits on Yautja culture in the film, like their language and customs, and even politics. If Trachtenberg has his way, the film will give much more of a sense of the Yautja “way of honor,” and we’ll see much more of the exquisite hardware.

Related to the expanded Predator lore is the casting of Fanning as the Weyland-Yutani android Thia. Her character is mostly seen moving with jerky fluidity and speaking with detached cool in the trailer, but flashes of curiosity and even emotion peek through. Fanning and Trachtenberg first worked together on Prey, and though the trailer hints at a “mutual distrust” between Dek and Thia, the former’s presence should be of particular interest to fans of the Alien franchise who enjoy Easter egg hunting.

20th Century Studios brought Trachtenberg back to work on Badlands due to the critical and fan acclaim of his 2022 work Prey, a gritty throwback to the hunter-versus-prey films that focused on Prey protagonist Naru and her fight for survival in the 18th-century American Great Plains (you can read my full recap of that movie right here on Bestpick Reviews). His decision to move the film to a character focus with a rather sparse setting was a risk, but one that paid off and brought a large audience to the Predator film on Hulu, and his subsequent continued following suggests he may have a true grasp on the franchise mythos.

Also exciting: Trachtenberg is behind another Predator project, an animated anthology series, Predator: Killer of Killers. The series is set to premiere on Hulu, the same streaming service as Prey, on June 6 and will feature multiple timelines and stories of Predators hunting in new settings.

Closing Thoughts on Predator: Badlands Teaser Trailer

At the end of the day, the teaser trailer didn’t offer too many “spoilers” for fans. We get to see Predators shooting laser beams at each other in shiny armor (fighting each other? ), Dek wandering through the world as an outcast, and Thia firing some high-tech weaponry. There’s also a brief look at the final “unkillable” foe Dek and Thia will face. The alien landscapes are breathtaking and give an idea of the large-scale set pieces we can expect from the film.

More importantly, the film has already made it clear this time around that the Predator movie will not be a carbon copy of its predecessors. Putting the perspective on an outcast from a previously villainous species will certainly open up more room for character work, and the moral ambiguity the narrative can take with such a character may open up the field for a movie about these creatures in ways past flicks have not.

Release Date

Predator: Badlands will be in theaters on November 7. Be sure to check back soon for more trailers and information about the film, including full plot synopses, a better look at the film’s larger set pieces, and maybe even the “unkillable” monster.