Predator: Badlands Just Broke the Franchise’s Golden Rule — And the Twist Might Win You Over

Predator: Badlands is shaking up the franchise in a couple of very specific, very nerdy ways. One: they actually built a functional Yautja language. Two: the team is aiming for PG-13. Yes, a mainline Predator movie that isn't R. Let's unpack why that might not be the disaster it sounds like.

The PG-13 play (and why it could work)

Producer Ben Rosenblatt told IGN the goal is to widen the audience without gutting the tone.

"Our hope for it is that it can be a PG-13 that feels like an R... and really, what that's about is just being able to broaden out the audience for a movie like this."

Important caveat: he said "hope" — so the rating isn't locked. But here's the clever workaround they're using either way: there are no humans in this movie. It's Predators and Synthetics only. And because the ratings board usually gets stricter when you're splashing human blood and guts, removing humans (and therefore "red") lets them push the violence a lot further under PG-13. Same vicious energy, different color palette.

Farther into the future than the series has ever gone

Badlands isn't weaving into the existing Alien/Predator/AVP timeline. Rosenblatt says it's set way out past everything we know — the farthest point the franchise has visited. That distance isn't just for lore; they want this to feel like an adventure movie with characters you actually connect to. And giving the Predator a voice — via that first-ever functional Yautja language — is a big part of that swing. Inside baseball, sure, but it's a meaningful shift for how these movies usually operate.

Why this approach makes sense right now

Box office reality check: a famous IP logo isn't a guarantee anymore. If they can keep the Predator nastiness while dialing down the human gore, that's a sensible way to get more people in the door without sanding off the edge. Prey in 2022 reminded a lot of folks why this universe still works; Badlands feels like it's aiming for that kind of refresh, with the added bonus of maybe setting the stage for that long-whispered Alien vs. Predator return.

• Title: Predator: Badlands
• Rating status: aiming for PG-13 that "feels like an R" (not final)
• Violence angle: no humans, no red blood; Predators vs. Synthetics lets them go hard without tripping an R
• Timeline: set far in the future, beyond Alien, Weyland-Yutani, Predator, and AVP events
• New wrinkle: first functional Yautja language to give the Predator an actual voice
• Creative pitch: more of an adventure vibe with characters you can latch onto
• Business logic: broaden the audience in a tougher box-office climate
• Release date: November 7, 2025 (theaters)

I get why "PG-13 Predator" makes some fans flinch, but the "no red blood" loophole is smart, and the future setting plus Yautja speak could give this thing its own identity. Curious where you land: deal-breaker or solid strategy?