Predator: Badlands

• Directed by Dan Trachtenberg
• November 3, 2025 (TCL Chinese Theatre) / November 7, 2025 (US)
• Based on characters created by Jim Thomas and John Thomas

A young exiled Yautja (Predator) crash-lands on a hostile planet to prove himself worthy of the hunt by killing an apex predator leading him to form an alliance with an android. That is about as succinct as I can get.

In full openness Predator: Badlands was not high on my watch list. I consider myself a bit of a Predator purist where the, well, Predator must be an inhuman killing machine other cutting through all comers until they come against the one they cannot. I also was not thrilled with Prey or the animated Predator: Killer of Killers since they deviated in multiple ways from the formula of the first two films that caused me to love them. Yet despite issues here I did find more to enjoy than hate.

The story centers around a runt predator named Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) who despite having a loving brother is looked upon by his father as weak because he is not tall and bulky like other Yautja. Considering his father Njohrr (Reuben de Jong) is leader of the clan and eventually decides to kill him why did he not off the boy when he first saw the weakness of him being a runt rather than wait until adulthood?

Badlands opens in a dark cave in a battle that reminds me of AVP: Requiem. Not because it’s a battle like one from that but because it’s so hard to see! An important thing with showing any battle is allowing the audience to see enough of what is going on while also maintaining whatever aesthetic the director is aiming for. With the shadows and heavy CGI, you have trouble following the action. This is a training scene really for Dek’s first hunt so he can get his active camouflage (cloak). We do not need a deeper understanding of Predator culture! Sometimes less is more because what the very can create in their head is better than anything concrete authored by a writer.

I will say that the CGI is good. I just am not happy with the current Predator design and how the face is animated. This is by far the weakest take on the creature so far. He may be a runt but he still needs to look good. The body is a suit while the face is CGI for more nuanced expression necessary for an actual character. They blend well but the face looks more silly than threatening and alien.

Dek partners with Thia (Elle Fanning), a damaged Weyland-Yutani Corporation android, who states she is there to study the planet, but we all know better. We even get a cute little alien sidekick added to the mix which almost caused be to turn it off and binge a crime show.

The alien biology we get on this planet occasionally is…questionable. An exploding bug sounds cool but how does that actually make sense? I’m saying it necessarily needs to follow rules of real biology but what is seen needs to be initially logical in some way yet also filling the needs of the story. What might the general purpose be in this world’s nature? Is it similar to a bee sting?

Often the story in Badlands veers into a humorous action-oriented buddy story. Dek is the ridiculously serious hardheaded character while Thia is the casual, humorous one whose nature allows Dek to grow. His old ways do not work, and it is Thia’s job to get him to loosen up.

Fanning also portrays the android Tessa who is the villain out to enact Weyland-Yutani’s will. In reality the company is there to capture a super regenerative creature on the planet for either medical or weapon’s research. Despite being the same actress, there are distinct differences between Tessa and Thia. Thia is warm and friendly while Tessa is cold and manipulative. Two extremes and two distinct characters played by the same actress. Not a major acting achieve but a very good one that’s normally not done for a movie like this.

If there is a message to be had or something to center Predator: Badlands around it is that the collective is better than the individual. Our heroic Predator can only succeed with the help of those that he meets along the way. A very 80s cartoon message right there.

It’s also well structured. Though I figured the exploding bugs would come in to play I didn’t realize just how much of what was encountered as they trekked along would come into play. Dek in the climax finds himself without advanced hunting technology and must use the resources at hand to stop the villain and get a trophy. Much of what looked like random danger to stretch out the movie was for the finale.

Despite being a purist, I found the film exciting and thrilling. I went in fully prepared to not like this. I do you have issues with the humanization of the Predator by making him a hero rather than a villainous other, but as an action-adventure story it gets all the right notes. And that tease at the end for a sequel made me WANT a sequel.

Predator: Badlands was a pleasant surprise for me. Not the greatest Predator movie, but a good entry into the series. The purist in me is bothered by some stuff they did but it is a very good science-fiction action film.