Predator: Badlands Teaser Hints at Alien Culture and New Monsters

A new live-action Predator movie is always a rare thing, and one that recasts the series’ best-known monster as the hero of the story is even more unusual. 20th Century Studios has just shared the first teaser trailer for Predator: Badlands, and it has already whetted appetites for a story with a decidedly unorthodox take on the fan-favorite extraterrestrial monster.

Predator: Badlands Trailer (2013)

Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi stars as a young Predator outcast named Dek, a new take on the monster as the film’s hero. He will be teaming up with Weyland-Yutani android Thia (Elle Fanning) to take down what the trailer refers to as “the ultimate adversary” — a monstrous creature that can’t be killed.” Though the creature is only glimpsed for a second, it appears to be a massive monster of some kind, unlike any that we’ve seen in either the Predator or Alien series before.

The world of the Predators (and Aliens, though this is not an Alien crossover story) is about to get a lot of expansion and worldbuilding in Badlands, which will tie into the series’ canon within its shared universe, even if it is its own contained story. While it’s only one piece of the overall puzzle, Badlands seems set to be at least partially located on the Predator home planet itself, an aspect of the franchise’s mythos which has only ever been teased by previous installments. In this new trailer, fans get a glimpse of the Predator home world’s scenery and a heavily populated Predator encampment, as well as multiple Predators that may or may not be standing off or fighting with one another.

Dan Trachtenberg, director of the 2022 thriller Prey, is on deck to make a more in-depth dive into Predator culture and history. The stripped-back 18th-century take on the Predator’s sentience seen in Prey is given new context by Badlands’ tale of a Predator youth (Dek) attempting to establish himself within his species’ society, not as a hunter but as someone who has been rejected by their fellow Predators. The teasers show glimpses of Yautja language, hunting rituals, armor, and weapons, as well as some details about Predator hierarchies, culture, and, possibly, religion.

The character of Elle Fanning’s android is a subject of particular interest. The trailer shows her with a fluid yet precise gait, delivering monologues with a blend of metal and a hint of emotion. Her robotic edges are softened by a touch of intrigue and empathy as she guides Dek into the fight against the “unkillable” creature. Predator: Badlands is the first time a Predator movie has so strongly paired the titular aliens with an android in the likeness of a human, and the Weyland-Yutani affiliation is sure to delight Alien fans who enjoy spotting universe connections.

While Trachtenberg is new to the franchise, his success with Prey has made him an easy choice to direct this new movie. Prey not only reinvigorated the film series with much critical praise but was a fan favorite with a wider audience as well once it was released on Hulu. The word of mouth on Prey remains strong among Predator fans, and having Trachtenberg involved on Badlands makes a lot of sense as a signal of faith from 20th Century Studios.

Trachtenberg is also involved in a Predator project beyond Badlands, working on Predator: Killer of Killers, a Hulu animated anthology set to be released June 6 that is connected to the cinematic universe. Predator: Killer of Killers will chronicle various Predator hunts set in different eras and locations.

The Teaser Breakdown

As with most first teasers for franchise installments, the video doesn’t spoil much about its story, but it does give us plenty to speculate about. The trailers feature shots of multiple Predators in ceremonial armor with claws extended, face-offs and vicious combat between Predator individuals, Dek stalking through exotic terrain and making his way across wide spaces of the Predator world, Thia gesturing at weapons and an ominous monologue, and a possible look at the creature that is “unkillable.” Alien fauna and flora fill the spaces between, in lush, richly detailed shots that establish the alien world’s scope and look.

Teaser trailers are as much about showing how a new movie will look as what its story is, and this teaser makes a statement with its change of perspective. Badlands isn’t another humans-versus-Predator story in the mold of previous entries in the series. With Dek as the focus, it will instead be an opportunity to see a side of the extraterrestrial monster rarely, if ever, seen in the franchise before, with the added excitement of fresh action. We know that Dek is some kind of outcast from the other Predators, and his struggles could well focus on something to do with honor, respect, or redemption from his species’ point of view. The very fact that he is struggling to fit in with or prove himself to his kind makes him a surprisingly compelling choice for a potential underdog story in an otherwise familiar Predator setting.

A Predator: Badlands release date of November 7 also places it as one of the biggest action and sci-fi films of the end of the year. Fans will be able to see more Predator: Badlands trailers in the coming months, which will likely reveal more details of its plot, give us a better look at its grander set pieces, and even shed more light on the “unkillable” creature that Dek and Thia are up against.

As long as the hunt is good, viewers are ready to place bets on who they’re rooting for: Dek or an all-out Yautja battle?