If we had a nickel for every time a sci-fi film franchise that originally starred Arnold Schwarzenegger turned the movie’s original villain into a hero in a later installment…. Well, let’s just say the Predator: Badlands teaser introduces a pretty surprising protagonist. According to the synopsis, the new movie is “set in the future on a remote planet, where a young Predator (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi), outcast from his clan, finds an unlikely ally in Thia (Elle Fanning) and embarks on a treacherous journey in search of the ultimate adversary.”
The Predator: Badlands teaser takes place in extremely hostile terrain, where a monster bigger and scarier than a Predator stalks the land. It’s a challenge even for an alien that has a trophy room of other creatures’ bones. “You’re hunting something that can’t be killed,” Thia tells the Predator. At one point, we see what looks like a crucified Thia as her eyes flicker and appear to show the Weyland-Yutani logo, suggesting she’s an android. This latest crossover with the Alien franchise may be connected to the tease in Empire Magazine that Fanning will be playing “more than one character” in the film.
Premiering in theaters and IMAX on November 7, Predator: Badlands is directed by Dan Trachtenberg (Prey) from a script co-written with Patrick Aison. He told Empire that the story was born out of a desire 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.” This Predator is “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.”
