PREDATOR: BADLANDS Director Teases Relationship Story and Says “He’s Still a Predator, but a Dick You Can Root For”
The Predator franchise keeps surprising fans by refusing to stay in one lane, and director Dan Trachtenberg is making sure of that.
While many are still hoping for a sequel to Prey, the next chapter, Predator: Badlands, is set to deliver something totally different with the franchise.
This year has already been busy for the Yautja, with the animated anthology Predator: Killer of Killers giving us a fresh spin on the mythos. But Badlands is aiming to push things even further by making the Predator himself the hero of the story, teaming up with a synthetic character from none other than Weyland-Yutani, played by Elle Fanning.
In a new interview with Empire, Trachtenberg explained that he wanted to explore something only this movie could do.
“In general, I’m always looking for: what could happen only in this movie?”
That unique approach leads to what he describes as “a kind of buddy-comedy” between Dek, the Predator, who for the first time has an actual name, and Fanning’s android, Thia.
As Trachtenberg puts it, “Prey was a solo survival tale; this is a relationship story.”
Of course, the film isn’t just about banter and bonding. Trachtenberg promises:
“It is also, of course, a crazy adventure against monsters and the elements—only this time it’s a badass Predator against those things.
“We wanted Dek to be relatable, but without turning him into Luke Skywalker. He’s still a Predator—we had to allow him to be a dick. But a dick you can root for.”
That’s a pretty cool direction for a franchise built on humans running for their lives from an unstoppable hunter.
But that’s exactly why Predator: Badlands feels so intriguing. It’s shaping up to be a mix of action, survival, and unexpected heart, with a Predator at the center who might just be more than a faceless hunter in the trees.
We’ll see how Dek and Thia’s unlikely partnership plays out when Predator: Badlands hits theaters on November 7.