Director Dan Trachtenberg of the new sci-fi Predator: Badlands is discussing the unmade Star Wars movie that’s been ignored for 45 years, finally getting a breakthrough after The Empire Strikes Back.
In an interview with ScreenRant’s Ash Crossan, Trachtenberg was discussing his new movie, Predator: Badlands. The director is asked about the relation to his new movie vs. Star Wars when C-3PO and Chewbacca united and became an inspiration for Predator: Badlands. Trachtenberg stated:
“That felt like — why is that not a movie? Not only does it allow for fun relationship stuff and two people who are very different from each other, but tethered together – but also, in terms of action set pieces, one character facing in one direction and the other dealing with what they have to deal with – it just allowed us to fire on all cylinders.”
Predator: Badlands is due to be released on November 7. Cast out of its clan, a young predator named Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) and an unlikely ally who is a damaged synth named Thia (Fanning) team up to embark on a perilous journey to find and destroy their ultimate enemy.
The Predator franchise’s success is varied. The original 1987 movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger is a known classic, but its sequels have struggled critically. However, Prey (2022) revitalized the franchise, as well as the animated adaptation Predator: Killer of Killers (2025).
Star Wars is a major sci-fi franchise spanning decades with many spin-off series and movies. Predator: Badlands sees two unlikely allies coming together when it’s needed most, much like in The Empire Strikes Back with Chewbacca and C-3PO. Trachtenberg went on to add:
“And as much as this is cool for Predator fans – the thing that has been bringing us back to the franchise again and again — it’s also a moment for all sci-fi fans. We thought our favorite Star Wars characters were the creatures and the villains, and they’ve never had their own movie. So that’s the big swing of this — and the thing that makes it so exciting for me to make and to watch. We get a Chewie–Threepio movie, in so many words.“
At the Monday (November 3) premiere, Fanning spoke of her new role and stated how there’s a subtle Alien crossover within the film, and said: “I would say, Badlands itself is definitely a crossover in that we have the Weyland-Yutani corporation as a huge part of the movie.”
There are not many reviews for the upcoming sci-fi, but due to Trachtenberg’s success with Prey, which has a 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, fans are gearing up for another epic adventure.
- Release Date
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November 5, 2025
- Runtime
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107 minutes
- Director
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Dan Trachtenberg
- Writers
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Dan Trachtenberg, Patrick Aison, John Thomas, Jim Thomas
- Producers
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Brent O’Connor, John Davis, Marc Toberoff, Dan Trachtenberg, Ben Rosenblatt
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Elle Fanning
Thia / Tessa
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Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi
Dek / Father