James Cameron Didn’t Think Predator: Badlands Would Work — Here’s Why

Dan Trachtenberg gives James Cameron a special thanks in the Predator: Badlands credits, and no, Cameron did not secretly produce the movie from a submarine. What he did do was exactly the kind of boost only James Cameron can give: a well-timed pep talk that stuck.

How Cameron got involved (and why Trachtenberg thanked him)

Badlands shot in New Zealand, and while Trachtenberg was down there prepping, he got an invite to drop by Cameron’s operation in Wellington. The two already knew each other a bit — Cameron saw Prey, really liked it, and they share a bunch of the same 20th Century collaborators — so Trachtenberg took the day trip.

He spent time with Cameron on the stage and in the edit bay for Avatar: Fire and Ash, where he laid out the big swing he was taking with Badlands. New approach to a Predator movie, new for the franchise, new for him. That night they drove separately to dinner, and Cameron sat down and basically told him, yeah, this could work. That little shove of confidence sent Trachtenberg back up to Auckland to rally the crew. Coming from a guy who routinely stares down impossible odds and somehow wins, it meant a lot.

The follow-up, months later

Here’s the funny part. After Cameron eventually saw the finished film, he admitted his first reaction to Trachtenberg’s plan wasn’t exactly supportive. Trachtenberg says Cameron told him:

"I have to be honest with you. When I first heard what you were doing, I did not think it was going to work. But holy crap, you pulled it off."

Either Cameron forgot that earlier confidence boost or he just knows exactly what a director needs to hear at the right moment. Trachtenberg is betting on the latter, which is why Cameron earned that special thanks.

So what is Predator: Badlands?

It is set in the future on a remote planet and follows Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi), a young Predator cast out by his clan. He teams up with Thia (Elle Fanning), and the two set off on a dangerous journey hunting the ultimate adversary. Yes, that pairing is as intriguing as it sounds, and yes, it is a new angle for the series.

Early reaction and the rating conversation

Reviews have been largely positive, and our own Chris Bumbray had a blast with it. His caveat: the PG-13 rating makes it feel a little out of step with the older Predator entries. Some critics argue it still "feels" R thanks to all the alien carnage; Bumbray disagrees. He thinks it was clearly engineered to be more accessible — there is even a cute sidekick creature, Bud, tagging along with Dek and Thia — and while it is a strong PG-13, it is not aimed squarely at the older Predator crowd the way Prey was, which got pretty gnarly.