Badlands: Details About The Newest Predator Film
Another Yautja is landing amid its unwary prey. "Badlands," 20th Century Studios' newest film in the "Predator" series, has a ton of expectations stacked on its back seeing as it follows 2022's "Prey." The critical darling was a breath of fresh air in a franchise saddled with mediocre and subpar installments — and liable to end up near the top whenever the "Predator" movies are ranked from worst to best.
Interestingly, "Badlands" won't be a follow-up to that film. Instead, it will take the franchise's historical approach, moving the setting to a completely different time and presumably, place. Despite this, there are certain spiritual similarities between the two. While "Prey" is the chronologically earliest movie in the series, "Badlands" will take things to the future. And like "Prey," it's set to feature a female protagonist.
The work on "Badlands" is already fairly far along the road, and production is planned to start this summer. So let's take a closer look at the next "Predator" movie and what it means for the future of the "Prey" leg of the franchise.
Who's working on Badlands?
"Badlands" is still in extremely early stages, with no actors attached to the project at the time of publication. There aren't any real plot details either, beyond the aforementioned fact that it will take place in the future — and of course, is likely to feature a clash between at least one Predator and at least one human.
Regardless, certain signs point toward a very interesting project. For one, "Prey" director Dan Trachtenberg will hold the reins once more. Also returning is his "Prey" writing partner, Patrick Aison, who co-wrote the story of "Badlands" with Trachtenberg and is in charge of its script.
Trachtenberg's directing and the duo's writing for "Prey" both scored Emmy nominations, which, let's face it, isn't what one would expect from a "Predator" project. So the fact that the two are returning is no doubt amazing news for fans of the franchise in general and "Prey" in particular.
Prey 2 is still on the table, as are several other Predator movies
A new "Predator" movie is fine and all, but what does "Badlands" mean for "Prey," the arguably finest addition to the franchise since the 1987 original? Not to worry — the existence of "Badlands" doesn't exclude a potential "Prey" sequel in any way. On the contrary, that movie is still very much in the cards, as are other potential Predator-themed movies.
Is there any real information about all these upcoming projects? Not really, and making educated guesses would be both difficult and unwise. The franchise is known for pivoting in some pretty wild directions, after all. Following the Arnold Schwarzenegger-starring jungle mayhem of "Predator," "Predator 2" was suddenly a city-centric, futuristic movie starring Danny Glover, known for his role as Roger Murtagh in the "Lethal Weapon" series. And it seems that Dan Trachtenberg and Patrick Aison are taking a similar approach.
However, simply the fact that things are happening in the franchise is good news for fans of "Prey." Despite its amazing potential, the vast majority of movies in the "Predator" series have been content to keep the action in a modern or mildly futuristic setting. "Prey" changed all that. And considering the enthusiastic response, there's plenty of demand for this type of thing. Now, the franchise is finally free to explore the "Yautja vs. people in whatever era of human history" premise that it possibly should have embraced a good while ago.
What's more, Trachtenberg is reportedly at the front and center of the expansion plans, so after "Badlands" visits the future, there's no telling where his "Predator" movies will venture next. The Viking era? A Predator hunting Samurai warriors?
Could Amber Midthunder return in a Predator project?
Apart from Dan Trachtenberg, Patrick Aison, and the Predator, there's one more crucial component in the "Prey" mix: Amber Midthunder, who plays Naru, the Comanche warrior fighting a virtually hopeless battle against the alien hunter. As such, "Prey" fans will no doubt be interested in her involvement in the franchise's future.
In most franchises, Midthunder would have a lock on a "Prey" sequel, at the very least, but it's worth noting that the "Predator" movies are notoriously light on returning protagonists. In fact, if Naru returns for another round against the alien, it would mark the very first time in the franchise's history that an actor reprises their role.
Of course, there's one potential way to bring back Midthunder while staying faithful to franchise tradition: Since "Badlands" takes place in a different era, there's always the option to cast her as Naru's far-future descendant. Whether this will happen or not obviously remains to be seen, but it would be a fun way for the "Predator" series to have its cake and eat it too.