Early Reactions Hail Predator: Badlands as a Ferocious Sci-Fi Thrill Ride

Dan Trachtenberg is quietly becoming the Predator guy. After Prey, he went and made an animated anthology, and now he is back with a second live-action feature. The UK just got the first look at Predator: Badlands, and early reactions say it rips. Also: it is not the Predator movie you think it is.

So, what has Trachtenberg actually made here?

Back in February 2024, 20th Century announced Trachtenberg would be the first filmmaker to direct two Predator films. Badlands is the new one, written by Prey screenwriter Patrick Aison from a story Trachtenberg came up with. But here is the curveball: while building Badlands, Trachtenberg also cooked up an animated anthology movie called Predator: Killer of Killers. He wrote that with Micho Robert Rutare and co-directed it with Josh Wassung from the animation house The Third Floor. Killer of Killers dropped on Hulu earlier this year. So yes, he is technically three-deep in Predator projects now.

Predator: Badlands hits theaters on November 7, 2025. The UK premiere just happened, and the social buzz is already spinning up.

What is Badlands about?

The official line: in the future, on a remote planet, a young Predator who has been exiled from his clan teams up with Thia (Elle Fanning) and sets off on a dangerous hunt for the ultimate adversary. That buddy-quest angle is new territory for this series, and it sounds like Trachtenberg is leaning into it.

Digging deeper, a casting breakdown for the movie teased two intersecting storylines anchored to twin sisters whose relationship gets stress-tested by competing missions. The production looked for someone to play both roles; the character could identify as female or non-binary, any ethnicity, mid-20s to mid-40s. Here is the split:

• Thia: Raised in a lab, stepping into the world for the first time. Brilliant, witty, enthusiastic, cool under pressure. She does not recognize danger so much as breeze past it because she is naive. Comedy chops required.
• Tessa: Laser-focused on the family mission, militaristic intensity, and not above steamrolling her own twin to get it done.

Elle Fanning plays both sisters. One very nerdy detail: Thia literally has the Weyland-Yutani logo printed on her eyeballs, which is a not-at-all-subtle wink to that other Fox sci-fi universe.

Behind the scenes, John Davis, Dan Trachtenberg, Marc Toberoff, Ben Rosenblatt, and Brent O'Connor are producing. Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi suits up as the lead Predator.

First reactions: big swing, big sci-fi, still bloody

The early chatter out of the UK premiere paints Badlands as a maximalist, crowd-pleasing pivot from survival-horror to straight-up sci-fi adventure. There is a lot of enthusiasm, along with a warning that franchise purists might need a minute to adjust. Highlights from attendees:

"One hell of an action ride... some of the best hand-to-hand combat I have seen in ages. Do not miss this one on the big screen."

Beyond that, here is the consensus I am hearing: it is the most action-heavy Predator film to date; the violence is still there (gory enough to keep folks squirming), but the tone leans more epic than grim. Multiple people praised the 'found family' angle, called it a cosmic buddy road movie, and said the comedy actually feels earned. Others loved the deep dive into Yautja lore. A few caveats popped up too: some of the big swings do not land, and at least one viewer said this might be Trachtenberg's weakest in his Predator run so far — still good, just not his top gear. There is also talk that the gore hits differently this time (less traditional splatter, more spectacle), which is likely where die-hards will split.

Bottom line

Trachtenberg is not repeating Prey; he is expanding the sandbox. If you are open to the franchise going full sci-fi adventure — with an outcast Predator partnering up with a lab-raised twin who may or may not have corporate logos in her eyes — Badlands sounds like a big-screen must. If you want the series to stay pure survival-horror, brace yourself for a tonal shift.

Predator: Badlands opens November 7, 2025.