Information on Dan Trachtenberg’s new Predator movies, Predator: Badlands and Predator: Killer of Killers, revealed at CinemaCon
In February of 2024, it was announced that Prey director Dan Trachtenberg would become the first filmmaker to take the helm of two films in the Predator franchise, as he was moving ahead with a new Predator film titled Badlands, working from a screenplay by Prey screenwriter Patrick Aison (based on a story crafted by Trachtenberg himself). That movie made its way through production in New Zealand last year, with Super 8‘s Elle Fanning in the lead, aiming for a November 7, 2025 theatrical release – and along the way, 20th Century Studios president Steve Asbell let it slip that we’re actually getting two new additions to the Predator franchise, both directed by Trachtenberg, in 2025! During a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Asbell referred to Predator: Badlands as “the live-action Predator film,” stirring speculation that the other movie might be animated. Now we know that the other film is an animated anthology called Predator: Killer of Killers… and both of these movies were promoted during the CinemaCon event in Las Vegas.
According to our editor-in-chief, Chris Bumbray, Predator: Badlands answers the question: What would happen if the Predator was the good guy? Badlands follows a younger Predator outcast trying to prove himself after getting banished from his tribe. The Predator looks different from any other we’ve seen in other films like he’s a teenager. Elle Fanning is not the victim getting chased in Predator: Badlands. Instead, she’s teamed up with the Predator. She doesn’t appear to be human. Is she synthetic? It’s hard to say; there are no dead giveaways. The story takes place in a world that could be the Predator’s home planet.
The trailer for the Predator: Badlands shows a Xenomorph skull at the start. The young Predator is hunting a different, more dangerous prey. Chris says he thinks Badlands could tie into the Alien franchise.
According to a casting call, Predator: Badlands has the following synopsis: A groundbreaking film in which one of the two main storylines delves into the intricate bond of two very different sisters, their familial ties are put to the ultimate test as they pursue divergent paths and missions. We’ve previously heard that the story is set sometime in the future. The casting call was searching for a lead actress who could take on the dual role of twin sisters Thia and Tessa: This casting is for a dual character, and describes both characters. Character identifies as female or non-binary, open ethnicity, mid 20s – mid 40s. Thia has spent most of her life in a laboratory and is now embarking on her first big adventure in the world. She is incredibly smart, witty, enthusiastic, and unflappable. She has an innate disregard for danger, not because she’s fearless, but simply because she’s naive. Strong comedy chops required. // The other sister, Tessa, has a militant intensity when it comes to achieving her family’s goals and mission objectives. She will not let anything get in her way, not even her twin sister. These are the roles Elle Fanning is playing.
As for Predator: Killer of Killers, all we knew about that one before CinemaCon is that industry scooper Jeff Sneider of The InSneider said it would involve “the Predator working their way through three different kinds of warriors.“
