by Upcoming Predator Movie Will Finally Do The Story The Franchise Has Been Avoiding For The Last 37 Years
Following the runaway success of the legacy prequel Prey, Dan Trachtenberg’s Predator: Badlands is set to take on a seemingly obvious story angle that has never been attempted in the movie franchise. Set 300 years in the past in the Great Plains, Prey revitalized the entire Predator franchise and opened the door for several more projects to be put into development. While other movies, like the sequel to Prey itself, have only been announced, casting and plot details are already coming out about Predator: Badlands.
Predator: Badlands will be set on an alien planet in the future, which means the Predator franchise will continue a 37-year-old trend by not having any characters return from the previous film. While Elle Fanning has been revealed as one of the movie’s stars (who will be playing multiple characters), she will not be the primary focus of the movie. Trachtenberg intends to break new ground for the franchise by approaching a Predator hunt from an entirely new angle, which is the most exciting element of Predator: Badlands.
Predator: Badlands Will Be Told From The Perspective Of The Predator
Director Dan Trachtenberg Claims “The Creature Is Front And Center”
As Dan Trachtenberg told Empire, Predator: Badlands will be unique in the franchise because it will focus on the perspective of the Predator that’s at the center of its story. Each Predator movie has featured the human perspective of a Yautja’s journey across time and space; the human characters typically clash with a member of the Yautja species, fulfilling the honor-based hunt that is an essential part of their culture. They are on a quest to test themselves against the deadliest creatures they can find wherever they happen to hunt, which is what pits them against humans.
What sets the Yautja apart from other horror villains is that they aren’t inherently evil. Their desire to kill and collect trophies is done with a code of honor in most cases (there are exceptions), and they have on multiple occasions evened the odds if they find themselves at an unfair advantage. Therein lies a character complexity that Predator: Badlands will have the opportunity to explore as no Predator movie ever has, even though some movies have already provided more insight into the overall culture of the Yautja.
Apart From The Comics, Predator Has Never Had A Yautja Protagonist
The Aliens Vs. Predator Comics And Novelizations Expanded Upon Yautja Culture
No Predator movie has ever truly had a member of the Yautja as a protagonist, although some have changed the typical villainous formula a bit. The closest example is the original Alien vs. Predator, which featured a convoluted plot that ultimately led to its human characters teaming up with the Yautja to defeat the Xenomorphs, which the human characters deemed the greater threat to the Earth as a whole. Even in that example, Alien vs. Predator didn’t feature the Yautja’s perspective, as it was mostly just showcasing the showdown between the two famous creatures.
However, the Yautja perspective has been touched on in other media. The Aliens vs. Predator comic series that ran between 1989 and 2020 by Dark Horse Comics also featured spin-off novelizations, and periodically during its overarching run the narrative took the perspective of the Yautja. The long-running series delved far deeper into the greater Yautja culture and the species’ long-standing rivalry with the Xenomorphs, which the Yautja consider to be the ultimate prey. It seems likely that Predator: Badlands will at least factor in some inspiration from that series.
Predator: Badlands Is Shaping Up To Be The Franchise’s Most Innovative Yet
It Will Explore Genuinely New Ground For The Franchise
Part of what made Trachtenberg’s 2022 hit Prey so successful was the fact that it took the franchise in a new, unexpected direction. Historically, the Predator franchise has relied on alien planets and futuristic weapons to at least attempt at leveling the playing field with the Yautja. Prey did the opposite, stripping down both the human characters and the Yautja to a more primitive form of fighting (although the “Feral Predator” did still have plenty of advanced weaponry). It did something truly original with the established lore and franchise elements.
Predator: Badlands has a similar chance to be successful thanks to its innovative approach to its central characters. While Prey changed the setting to great effect, Predator: Badlands will provide a fresh angle to literally every aspect of the typical Yautja hunt. Trachtenberg’s willingness to depart from the formulaic style that many franchises (especially horror and action) tend to fall into should yield another improvement on the overall concept of the Predator. Predator: Badlands could wind up being the best of the franchise if he nails the execution.
