The upcoming Predator: Badlands may be the latest installment in the iconic sci-fi franchise, but it promises to be different from its predecessors while staying true to its core by introducing aa new Yautja protagonist, a synth ally, and Alien crossover details.
Known for being the “predators” themselves since Arnold Schwarzenegger’s 1987 Predator, the most feared Yautja will now become the protagonist, while a Weyland-Yutani synth will serve as an ally.
So, what do you need to know about Badlands?
What are the New Characters in Predator: Badlands?
Badlands will introduce a new character, Dek, a young Predator played by Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi.
Unlike other Predators, Dek is an outcast and embarks on a journey across the hostile alien planet Genna to find the ultimate adversary and prove his worth.
This time, director Dan Trachtenberg aims to humanize Predators more than ever as Dek goes on a mission to kill the Kalisk, an “unkillable beast.”
Compared to previous Predator movies, where a Yautja hunts humans, a crew of Weyland-Yutani synths will now hunt Dek.
“The big idea is that we are trying to do a Predator movie where the Predator is the hero, the protagonist of the movie. So our story follows an undersized Predator,” producer Ben Rosenblatt told ScreenRant.
But Dek won’t be alone on this journey. Eventually, he meets an ally in the synth Thia (Elle Fanning). Together, the two embark on a journey reminiscent of a “road trip buddy movie” that bends the franchise’s original genre.
The legless Thia bribes Dek to carry her across the planet. In return, she promises to show him the Kalisk if he brings her back to her ship.
What is the Alien Crossover Details in Predator: Badlands?
With the new bond that forms between Dek and Thia in Badlands, Trachtenberg revealed that he was inspired by The Empire Strikes Back, pitching the film as Chewbacca and C-3PO: The Movie.
In addition to the Star Wars influence, the filmmaker also incorporated elements of Alien into the story.
Fanning’s dual role as a newly created Yautja language interpreter and far-future Weyland-Yutani synth expands the franchise’s Alien connection, even without the Xenomorphs.
“On this journey, he [Dek] meets… a Weyland-Yutani synth who has been severed in half and stuck in a nest on the planet, waiting for some way to get out of there,” Rosenblatt explained. “The backstory is that Weyland-Yutani has sent an all-synth mission onto this planet to pursue the very same beast for their own purposes.”
However, Rosenblatt clarified that Badlands is not another Alien vs. Predator film. Instead, the goal was to give Dek a non-human companion who wouldn’t take the spotlight away from the Predator as the protagonist.
After conceptualizing Dek’s sidekick as a robot, the idea evolved into adding Alien’s Weyland-Yutani synthetics.
Fanning also plays Thia’s sister synth, Tessa, one of Weyland-Yutani’s latest models, which makes the synths both heroes and adversaries.
Tessa is part of a group of militaristic and research synths sent to study the planet and capture the Kalisk for their own purposes.
Predator: Badlands is set to release in theaters on November 7.
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