Dan Trachtenberg’s Predator: Badlands took the franchise into a completely different direction after the success of his Hulu-premiering entry Prey in 2022. However, that wasn’t always going to be the case, and it makes even more sense after Predator: Killer of Killers‘ ending.
Ahead of the new film’s release on November 7, director Dan Trachtenberg revealed to ScreenTime/Dexterto that at one point he considered bringing back Amber Midthunder’s Naru to star alongside the Yautja Dek in Predator: Badlands. Naru was the main character of Trachtenberg’s critical and streaming hit Prey, ultimately surviving her bout with a Yautja in the Great Plains in 1719.
Trachtenberg elaborated that one idea for Predator: Badlands would have seen Naru and Dek team up as the core pairing before he landed on that dynamic going to Dek and Elle Fanning’s synth Thia instead. The 10 Cloverfield Lane director ultimately decided against this plan, however, as he wanted to stick with the premise of making the Yautja the main protagonist without the presence of any humans:
“I did think about the pairing of [Amber Midthunder’s Naru and Dek] before it was Thia. But then I thought, well, now then I’m not doing the premise. And I really wanted to do the premise of the Predator as the protagonist and no humans in the movie. And so it became further down the line we can do some cooler things, maybe [with Naru].”
While Midthunder isn’t the star of Predator: Badlands, Trachtenberg clearly has some ideas for how to fold her back into the larger story in the future, and already laid the groundwork for her return in Killer of Killers. In the animated film’s final moments, Naru appears in statis being held by the Yautja, confirming she was captured after Prey‘s ending.
It’s unclear what the Yautja’s ultimate plan is for the captive Naru, Predator 2‘s Harrigan, and Predator‘s Dutch, but Trachtenberg’s Predator: Badlands story teases suggest that Dek and Thia’s narrative may help point to some answers. While Badlands is set much further into the future than any previous Predator movie, those characters could remain in suspended animation until Dek and Thia’s timeline.
Whether Midthunder properly returns in a crossover movie will likely depend on Predator: Badlands‘ box office performance. The 2025 sci-fi marks the first Predator movie since 2018’s The Predator to receive a theatrical release, with Badlands‘ box office projections indicating the film should break impressive franchise records.
Of course, as it stands, Prey 2 is also still happening with Amber Midthunder’s Naru at the helm. The sequel was officially confirmed back in February 2024, but the focus since that time has been on the production and rollout of the ambitious Predator: Badlands.
Hopefully, we’ll be able to see Midthunder back in Prey 2 and other yet-to-be-revealed installments of the franchise. However, Trachtenberg ultimately made the right choice to give a Yautja the protagonist’s spotlight alongside a Weyland-Yutani synth, instead saving Naru’s proper return for a “bigger plan down the line“ after Predator: Badlands.
Source: Dexterto/ScreenTime
- Release Date
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November 5, 2025
- Runtime
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107 minutes
- Director
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Dan Trachtenberg
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Elle Fanning
Thia / Tessa
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Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi
Dek / Father
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Michael Homick
Kwei (Suit)
