Dan Trachtenberg’s Predator: Badlands promises to rewrite the rules of what a Predator film can be. More here.
Quick warning: strikes us there’s a mild-ish spoiler in here, that’s already all over the internet, but just in case you wanted to steer clear.
When Dan Trachtenberg released the Predator film Prey into the world in 2022, the film significantly broadened the horizons of what a Predator film could be. It wasn’t the first entry in the series to try such a thing (2010’s Predators made an admirable attempt) but it was probably the most successful.
With next year’s Predator: Badlands on the way, we’ve already been told to expect a film with ideas that are “really crazy but really cool” and it’s becoming increasingly clear that Trachtenberg isn’t content to simply repeat the trick of creating Predator sequels that jump around to interesting points in history.
As well as being set in the future, set on alien planet and starring Elle Fanning on double duty as twin sisters, it has now been suggested that the title creature will be playing something of a different role that we haven’t seen before. Fans of the swerve in 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day might appreciate the switcheroo that Trachtenberg is planning.
Chatting with Empire, the filmmaker said, “the creature is front and centre, leading the charge. He’s still badass, but there’s something there that touches you emotionally, too. Creating a character you connect with, but are also super-intimidated by, has been challenging. But exciting. The idea was 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.”
Exactly how Trachtenberg is planning to pull this off we don’t know (and we don’t want to know) but given that he’s normally a pretty secretive filmmaker, we’d imagine that there’s plenty of surprises and stings in the story yet to be revealed.
There’s also another Predator film on the way before then from Trachtenberg, with reports suggesting it will be an anime that pits the creature against a samurai.
We’ll bring you more on Predator: Badlands as we hear it.
