Since the first Predator movie was released back in 1987, every installment in the franchise has been defined by roughly the same formula. Our human protagonists come up against the unstoppable might of a Predator, and have to use some combination of skill, strength, and ingenuity to defeat it.
The next installment, though, is departing from that tradition in a major way. Predator: Badlands, which is being directed by Dan Trachtenberg, the man behind Prey, will feature a Predator as the film’s protagonist. “The creature is front and center, leading the charge,” Trachtenberg said in an interview with Empire. “He’s still badass, but something there touches you emotionally, too. Creating a character you connect with, but are also super-intimidated by, has been challenging. But exciting.”
The idea to mix things up in this way came from the director’s desire to keep pushing the boundaries of what the franchise can be. Trachtenberg wanted to “find another essential piece of cinema that does what Prey did spiritually — pushing the franchise’s boundaries, letting us root for a hero we rarely get to root for — but in a different way. And that transformed into this big idea of rooting for the Predator.”
Elle Fanning plays the main human character in the story, although it’s unclear what kind of balance the movie will strike between her and the predator. Empire is also reporting that Trachtenberg simultaneously shot a second Predator movie set in the future on the Predator planet, but the details around that movie are still under wraps. Predator: Badlands is set to actually hit theaters in November of 2025.
