Elle Fanning explains why she was "more nervous" to play villainous synth Tessa than "big personality" droid Thia in new sci-fi Predator: Badlands: "You can fall into a cliché"

Elle Fanning as Tessa in Predator: Badlands

(Image credit: 20th Century Studios)

Actors often say that playing a villain is more fun than playing the hero, but it's not often that they get to test that theory out in the same movie. In Predator: Badlands, Elle Fanning gets the rare opportunity, as she brings both chatty, optimistic synth Thia and colder, company-loyal droid Tessa to life.

"I played Thia day-to-day on set. I was her most of the time, so then Tessa would dip in and out. It'd be like, 'Ooh, it's a Tessa day,' but I was more nervous to play Tessa," Fanning recalls to GamesRadar+. "Thia, I could fully understand; Tessa is a little more closed off with her emotions and more scientific and a little more, traditionally, robotic, just because of her history as opposed to her sister. We call them sisters but they've had a different journey, and that's why their personalities are so different."

Directed by Prey's Dan Trachtenberg, Predator: Badlands follows Yautja "runt" Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi), who travels to Genna, otherwise known as 'the Death Planet', to take down the galaxy's most feared foe: the Kalisk. Many Yautja have died trying to make it their trophy but Dek is determined; not only to prove himself a worthy hunter but avenge his brother Kwei, who was executed by their ruthless, clan-leader father for saving Dek from a similar fate.

Elle Fanning in Predator: Badlands — (Image credit: 20th Century Studios)

During his hunt, he crosses paths with Thia, a Weyland-Yutani synth who's encountered the Kalisk once before – and lost her legs in the process. At first, Thia's perky personality rubs Dek up the wrong way, but when he realizes how knowledgeable she is about Genna's flora and fauna, she agrees to let her tag along as his "tool".

Turns out, though, Thia isn't the only one looking for the Kalisk. Her twin Tessa is hellbent on capturing the creature for Weyland-Yutani; a mission that inadvertently puts her on an action-packed collision course with Dek and her bisected sibling.

"For me, it was the pressure of wanting to differentiate the two – and I had a soft spot for Tessa. I don't think she's just a straight villain. You could fall into a cliche there of just playing the bad. But I also wanted to show her humanity, in the way; that she's working for the company and in her mind, she's just trying to get the task done. So that's kind of how I approached it. But I was definitely more nervous for those scenes to make her stand out and really make her different from Thia, who has a very big personality and is much more like me."

Predator: Badlands is in cinemas now. For more, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies in 2025 and beyond.