"What hasn't been done in the franchise before?" is a phrase filmmaker Dan Trachtenberg asks himself whenever he's trying to dream up a new Predator movie. With Predator: Badlands, the filmmaker, who won franchise fans' respect with his acclaimed 2022 entry Prey, wanted to make a sequel without humans. The result? An unexpectedly funny action-adventure centering a Yautja outcast and a Weyland-Yutani synth.
With its stars, Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi and Elle Fanning, sharing scenes with only four other actors, the cast list is almost comically short – especially when you're not counting the voice cameos from Alison Wright and Stranger Things' Matt and Ross Duffer. In a new interview with GamesRadar+, Fanning recalled how its streamlined ensemble made it feel like they were making "a small film" rather than a big-budget blockbuster.
"It was just you and me," Fanning says, as she turns to Schuster-Koloamatangi with a grin. "And Ravi [Narayan, who plays creature sidekick Bud] too, and yeah, Dan… It was nice because it was such a big production, obviously; all these sets that they built and we had these massive locations. But there was kind of a simplicity to it because it was such a tight-knit cast and crew that really cared about the story. The crew was so hard working and amazing. They were really invested, and it felt like we were all in it together. So in some ways, it felt like a small film, which is kind of a beautiful thing, because we just got to know each other super well.
"Dan cares just as much about the emotional scenes as the action. He's kind of a phenomenal director in that way, in that he can balance both. That's why I think he's really great at tackling these worlds, because he adds heart to it, so I enjoyed it."
Set further into the future than any Predator or Alien movies before it, Predator: Badlands opens on "runt" Dek (Schuster-Koloamatangi) brawling with his brother Kwei, as they debate whether he's worthy of a place in the family's clan. It's not Kwei who needs convincing, however, it's their fearsome father – who, unfortunately for Dek, would rather his son be six foot under than by his side on the battlefield.
In honor of Dek saving his life some years before, Kwei helps Dek slip through their murderous pops' clutches and escape to the treacherous planet Genna. There, Dek vows to take down a Kalisk, the galaxy's most formidable foe, and prove himself the ultimate hunter.
As antagonists in all of the previous movies, from 1987's Arnold Schwarzenegger-led original to this year's animated hit Predator: Killer of Killers, Yautja aren't known for being chatty. Trachtenberg knew Dek would have to talk more in Badlands – though, much to his dismay, it's Fanning's perky android Thia who does most of the nattering – so brought in voice actor and conlang specialist Britton Watkins to invent the titular species' language.
"[Dan] really allowed us to try things and ad-lib on this. He was so collaborative and not precious about the scenes. I'd be like, 'I don't know if I should do this.' He'd straight away be like 'Let's change it up.' He was always open to line changes and things like that, which, sorry to Dimitrius, because he had to learn it in Yautja," Fanning laughs. "Whenever there was a line that was changed, he had to learn how to say that in the language that they created for the film. But yeah, there was a lot of room to play."
Fortunately, Schuster-Koloamatangi didn't mind the extra work much. "It was cool because they were quite difficult locations and the days were very long, but with that smaller cast and crew, everyone had a relationship with everyone and it helped to get over the line. We just banded together and were like, 'Yeah, we're in it, let's get it done.'"
Predator: Badlands releases in UK and US cinemas on November 7. For more, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies in 2025 and beyond.
