Since it’s inception in 1987, the Predator has been one of the most popular and iconic movie monsters ever. We’ve had indifferent, noble, and outright villainous Predators on screen but never as a protagonist. The most recent film in the series Prey, saw Amber Midthunder take on a Predator as a Native American in the Great Plains. Dan Trachtenberg directed that film and he’s returning to the franchise with the upcoming Predator: Badlands.
Here’s what he had to say to Empire Magazine about the film.
“The creature is front and centre, leading the charge. He’s still badass, but there’s something there that touches you emotionally, too. Creating a character you connect with, but are also super-intimidated by, has been challenging. But exciting.” The idea, he says, came from a desire to “find another essential piece of cinema that does what Prey did spiritually — pushing the franchise’s boundaries, letting us root for a hero we rarely get to root for — but in a different way. And that transformed into this big idea of rooting for the Predator.”
In addition to the Predator, there’ll still be human characters too, like Elle Fanning. She’s playing more than one character and here’s what Trachtenberg had to say.
“She faced intense challenges on this movie — dramatically, physically, logistically,”
Our Take On The Predator: Badlands News
It’s surprising that we haven’t had a Predator movie where the creature is front and center like this. All of them have left the monster shadows or in the background and instead focused on the human element. Like Godzilla, people might just want to see the inner workings of the Predator and its tribe. We’ll have to see how it all turns out when Predator: Badlands releases in theaters in 2025. There’s also the other secret Predator film that Dan Trachtenberg filmed that should also see a release in 2025 sometime. But we don’t have any information about that film at this time.
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