Predator: Badlands (2025) set a new record for the highest-opening week of the entire franchise, earning $80 million worldwide. With the addition of an A- CinemaScore, which is also the highest grade given to the franchise by general audiences, the success of Badlands cannot be taken for granted. Writer-director Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane) has brought the series back to the big screen after a 7-year break. In those seven years, Disney acquired 20th Century Fox, and the filmmaker shepherded two bold, yet extremely different Predator movies under the studio’s new management. Trachtenberg’s standalone sequel, Prey (2022), and his animated anthology movie, Predator: Killer of Killers (2025), received immense critical praise but were released directly to streaming on Hulu.
However, now that the Predator series has found rejuvenated life in theaters, it seems that Trachtenberg’s work is far from over. Predator: Badlands makes a risky pivot and follows a Yaujta warrior as the protagonist. There is another twist in this setup, as this is a runt Predator. Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) embarks on an ancestral hunt to prove himself worthy of joining his family’s ruthless clan. The young and smaller Yaujta is too naive for his own good as he chooses to track a terrifying beast known as the unkillable Kalisk on the death planet Genna. Luckily, he comes across Thia (Elle Fanning), a damaged Weyland-Yutani synthetic who just might be able to lead Dek to his treasure.
Predator: Badlands Faced an Uphill Technical Battle Like No Other
While the premise of Predator: Badlands sounds like a surefire hit on paper, many technical elements could have seen it crumble under its own weight. Having an alien protagonist who doesn’t speak English or cannot even physically convey the majority of human facial expressions was one major hurdle to overcome. For the former, the answer came from linguist Britton Watkins, who created a fully functional Yaujta language specifically for this movie. As for the creature design, Studio Gillis created a new practical suit and detailed props that enabled actor Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi to embody Dek, while also allowing the filmmakers to record his face using performance capture.
For the VFX, Wētā was the first to figure out how to digitally translate Dimitrius’ facial nuances and human expressions into those of a Yautja. It took an entire village of daring, creative voices to visualize Predator: Badlands to its fullest potential, something that almost seemed impossible to Dan Trachtenberg when he originally conceived of the project. As we learned from Trachtenberg himself during a recent exclusive interview, there was another major director who shared the same disbelief about whether ot not these technical challenges could be bested. It was none other than Oscar-winning filmmaker James Cameron, best known for creating the Avatar and Terminator franchises, as well as other classics such as Titanic (1997) and Aliens (1986).
James Cameron Gave Dan Trachtenberg an Early Confidence Boost
According to Trachtenberg, James Cameron reached out to him in the early days of filming Predator: Badlands in New Zealand. “Thanks to being at the same studio and having some of the same collaborators, he saw and loved Prey, and then eventually Killer of Killers as well,” says Trachtenberg. This invitation led him to visit Cameron in person at his editing bay, where he received a special peek at the upcoming, highly anticipated sequel, Avatar: Fire and Ash. This is where Trachtenberg got the chance to open up to Cameron in private and ask him for advice, specifically about bringing a Yautja protagonist to life without the traditional prosthetics that had famously become synonymous with the franchise.
Dan Trachtenberg: “I told him what we were doing [with Badlands]. This was early in our development, so I was terrified of this due process, where we wouldn’t have the traditional prosthetics. I was saying, ‘I think this look should work. This is what I’m going for.’ Then we took separate cars and met at dinner. When he sat down, he said, ‘I got to tell you, I was thinking about what you’re doing on the way over here. I think it’s going to work.’ That was like wind blowing in my head! I went all the way back to [the set in] Auckland, and was like, ‘Guys, Jim Cameron thinks it’s going to work, so we’re good.'”
Cameron’s Original Reaction to Predator: Badlands is Priceless
The story continues as Dan Trachtenberg later sent James Cameron an early cut of Predator: Badlands to solicit additional feedback during post-production. “It was nearly complete, but not quite finished yet,” and “some last-minute notes” were of top priority, Trachtenberg explains. Cameron ended up responding with the most incredible last-minute confidence boost to get Tratchnberg’s team across the finish line. Coming from the brilliant mind who birthed The Terminator (1984) and then reinvented it with its sequel, Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), wherein the iconic villain became the hero (just like in Badlands), Cameron’s words would end up staying with Trachtenberg forever. As a result, fans will notice that Cameron is the first name thanked in the Badlands credits.
Dan Trachtenberg: “He watched the cut and then shot me a note that said, ‘I got to tell you, when I first heard about what you’re doing, I didn’t think it was going to work. But now that I’ve seen it. I can’t believe it. You made it work.’ He knew exactly when we needed wind in our sails from the very beginning, and also when we needed that final push to get us across the finish line. Of course, T2 was a huge inspiration for this movie as well. He was incredibly inspiring personally, and has been someone whom I’ve admired for a very long time.”
Predator: Badlands is now playing in theaters!
Release Date: November 7, 2025.
Directed by Dan Trachtenberg.
Screenplay by Patrick Aison & Brian Duffield.
Story by Dan Trachtenberg & Patrick Aison.
Based on characters created by Jim Thomas & John Thomas.
Produced by Dan Trachtenberg, Ben Rosenblatt, Brent O’Connor, Marc Toberoff, & John Davis.
Executive Producers: Lawrence Gordon & Stefan Grube.
Main Cast: Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, Elle Fanning, & Mike Homik.
Cinematographer: Jeff Cutter.
Composers: Sarah Schachner & Benjamin Wallfisch.
Production Companies: Lawrence Gordon Productions, Davis Entertainment, & Toberoff Entertainment.
Distributor: 20th Century Studios.
Runtime: 107 minutes.
Rated PG-13.
