Why The Next Predator Movie Breaks A Rule Every Other Has Followed For 40 Years

The film titled “Predator: Badlands” is shaking up the franchise with unique twists – for one, the lead character is a Predator, secondly, there are no human characters in the narrative, and thirdly, the connection to the “Alien “franchise has been confirmed as part of the storyline. Most of these surprises were unveiled with the trailer release in May, but director and co-writer Dan Trachtenberg recently provided more insights on these alterations during an interview with Empire Magazine. He explained that his initial concept was to create a “Predator “movie devoid of any human characters. This decision paved the way for Weyland-Yutani’s involvement, and while it doesn’t validate the “Alien vs. Predator“films, it does verify that both franchises take place in the same universe.

In his own words, director Shane Black stated, “I’ve always envisioned this movie without humans, so I thought it would be intriguing to introduce a robotic Predator.” He continued, “Given that I know a company that specializes in robotics, I thought it was worth exploring.” The film community has been buzzing for years about the possibility of a revival of the AvP franchise, and many believe Black could be laying the groundwork here. However, we’ll have to wait until the premiere of Predator: Badlands on November 7th to see exactly what he has planned.

The trailer for “Badlands” presents Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi), our protagonist and an outcast Predator, known as a Yautja, due to his small size at a young age. However, this doesn’t stop him from facing formidable opponents in the trailer, such as colossal alien creatures and adversaries of his own species. Additionally, Elle Fanning portrays Thia, a Weyland-Yutani android that seems to be allied with Dek.

In the film, as reported by Empire, actress Fanning is set to play two roles, one of which remains unannounced. If she portrays a human character, it suggests that Trachtenberg’s vision for a purely sci-fi epic without humans didn’t come to fruition. However, there’s a possibility that she could be another android with the same design, similar to Michael Fassbender’s characters in Prometheus and Alien: Covenant.

In essence, several fundamental aspects of the narrative’s world remain unanswered. Typically, the Predator films have been situated in modern times, spanning from the 1980s up until the 2020s. However, the exception is the recent release, Prey, which transports us to a Predator encounter during the 1800s. Yet, if Weyland-Yutani has advanced to the stage of producing and dispatching sophisticated androids across galaxies, it suggests we’re at least several centuries into the future. This timeline becomes even more plausible when considering consistency with the Alien series.

In the upcoming months, we can expect additional clues, yet it seems that many major mysteries will remain unresolved until the release of the film itself. The movie “Predator: Badlands” is set to premiere in cinemas on November 7th.

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2025-07-06 21:39