Predator: Badlands director reveals the surprising and "devastating" PS2 game that inspired his upcoming movie

Dan Trachtenberg says the key relationship in Predator: Badlands was inspired by the 2005 PS2 game Shadow of the Colossus.

"As inspired as I am by movies, I’ve been very inspired by video games [like] Shadow of the Colossus, where you have a protagonist paired with someone else who provides color and connection," Trachtenberg told IGN.

Shadow of the Colossus is a 2005 PS5 action-adventure follows Wander, a young man who journeys on horseback through an isolated and abandoned realm with the corpse of a girl named Mono, with the mission to destroy the Colossi and bring Mono back to life. The game has been widely regarded as one of the most influential video games of all time.

"There’s a thing with a horse in Shadow of the Colossus that’s devastating when you play the game. And so [Predator: Badlands] was a little bit inspired by that in terms of wanting to see the Predator with someone else, this character who’s the opposite of him. He’s very laconic, [Elle Fanning] is not. She’s capable in ways that he is not. Physically, she’s got a real thing that I’m so excited for you guys to see. But I want to let eventually some of that speak for itself."

Predator: Badlands, written and directed by directed by Trachtenberg from a screenplay by Patrick Aison, takes place sometime in the future on a remote planet, and sees a young Predator named Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatang), outcast from his clan, form an unlikely relationship with a Weyland-Yutani android named Thia (Fanning). The film marks the sixth edition in the Predator franchise, though it serves as its own standalone installment.

Predator: Badlands is set to hit theaters on November 7. For more, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies in 2025 and beyond, or, check out our list of movie release dates.