Dan Trachtenberg has already made three Predator movies in three years. That’s pretty wild, but also, it says a lot about the reaction to everything he’s done since breathing new life in the franchise with 2022’s Prey. That was followed up earlier this year with the animated anthology Predator: Killer of Killers, and continues this week with Predator: Badlands, the first movie in theaters in seven years.
While we expect that movie sequels are supposed to deliver more of the same, just bigger, Trachtenberg has instead given us three wildly different experiences. Predator: Badlands is a PG-13 action two-hander that puts the Predator, in this case a Yautja runt named Dek, into the role of protagonist. He’s joined by a Weyland-Yutani droid, Thia, who accompanies him on a dangerous quest to kill the deadliest prey on the deadliest planet.
Elle Fanning stars as Thia and her more militaristic “sister” synth, Tessa, while New Zealander Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi makes an impression in his first major role as Dek.
I had a blast talking with Trachtenberg, Fanning, and Schuster-Koloamatangi about Predator: Badlands! Trachtenberg talked about tackling Predator from the standpoint of an underdog story, the possibility of future crossovers with Alien, and more.
The two stars spoke about playing characters that bridge the gap between two epic sci-fi franchises, their picks for the coolest Predator weapons, and which weapon they might have taken home with them!
Predator: Badlands is in theaters now. You can find my review here, and the interviews below!
