Dan Trachtenberg Wanted PREDATOR: BADLANDS’ Alien Connection to Be “More Elegant”, but Could Still Grow into Something Bigger
Director Dan Trachtenberg isn’t interested in just mashing cinematic toys together. When it comes to Predator: Badlands, he wanted its ties to the Alien universe to feel organic, less like a fan-service brawl, and more like a story that naturally exists within a shared sci-fi world.
The film’s trailers have kept the plot mostly under wraps, focusing instead on the stunning visuals and intense atmosphere. But one key reveal got fans excited and it involves Elle Fanning’s character, Thia. She is a Weyland-Yutani synthetic, and it got fans wondering what this means for the film and the future of the franchise.
Trachtenberg cleared the air in an interview with GamesRadar+, explaining that while there are definitely connective threads, he approached them differently than previous crossovers.
“It was really just thinking of the VS movies; the Alien vs. Predators that came out very quickly around the same time, Freddy vs. Jason and whatever…
“It just felt, to me, like there was a way to include things in cinematic universes that are already spiritually connected, and involve them in one story, in one movie. That’s cooler than it being like, ‘It’s the big thing versus the big thing from the franchise!’”
The story centers on Dek, a Yautja “runt” played by Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, who travels to “the most dangerous planet in the universe” to hunt a Kalisk, which, the deadliest creature in the galaxy, and reclaim his clan’s respect.
Along the way, he meets Thia, a cheerful, legless android who becomes his unlikely ally. Their uneasy partnership challenges the Yautja code that declares the species “friend to none,” and their dynamic adds an unexpected layer of heart to the chaos.
When asked about incorporating Alien elements into Badlands, Trachtenberg explained that subtlety was key:
“We just took Weyland-Yutani, we just took the synths, and we thought there was just something a little bit more elegant about that. Maybe further down the line, it can grow into a bigger thing.
“But it’s cooler, to me, that it’s just these little different touch points that make it all feel like a connected universe. And if all of it is new to you, you don’t need to have done any homework. It could just be a rad movie that makes sense on its own.”
I really liked how they incorporated Weyland-Yutani in the story, and the idea that the connection could “grow into a bigger thing” is exciting, especially given what Trachtenberg has hinted about his long-term plans for the Predator saga.
Speaking to SFX Magazine, he revealed that Badlands was just one piece of a larger vision.
“After Prey came out, and I started thinking about sequel stuff, there were three ideas that I had. [Predator: Killer of] Killers is one, Badlands is two and the third one is something else.
“The reason why I felt possessed to make them and sort of why I rushed – I did two at once because I could do, I could multitask with animation – was because I was so eager to get to the third thing.”
So while Predator: Badlands may not be an all-out Alien vs. Predator showdown, Trachtenberg is planting seeds and laying the groundwork for something that could evolve into a much larger cinematic tapestry.
If this “more elegant” approach means a smarter, deeper, and still action-packed expansion of these legendary sci-fi universes, then bring it on.