Director Dan Trachtenberg didn’t include humans in Predator: Badlands, and the reasoning behind the decision makes a great deal of sense when considering the broader Predator franchise. Badlands officially marks Trachtenberg’s third Predator movie, and he’s taking the story in an entirely new direction yet again by not including human characters.
In an interview with ScreenRant’s Ash Crossan, Dan Trachtenberg explained why he decided to make a Yautja named Dek his main protagonist rather than a human character. He also revealed that the decision to leave humans out of Predator: Badlands was made to divert fan expectations after so many similar team-up stories:
“I refused to allow any humans in the movie, because I knew that’s where the audience’s attention would go. And it would just end up being something like T2 — which is wonderful — but it’d be another “human with a Predator sidekick” story.”
Prior to landing on the Yautja protagonist idea, Trachtenberg heavily considered a Predator movie set during WW2. However, focusing on the Yautja clan led to an idea that allowed Dek to team up with a robot, more specifically, a Weyland-Yutani synth played by Elle Fanning.
During his SR interview, Trachtenberg notably described Dek as the “runt in the group,” who sets out to prove himself as a capable hunter among his warrior Yautja clan. The concept is vastly different compared to previous entries in the franchise, where the Predator characters are traditionally portrayed as the villains that end up being defeated by the heroic human characters. Here’s what the director had to say about finding Predator: Badlands‘ story focus:
“It really was from trying to figure out what the franchise had done before. There was this fan-grown sentiment of “Why does the Predator always get his ass kicked?” He’s supposed to be the galaxy’s greatest hunter, and we always see him lose!
So I tried to figure out a story that embraces, “What if the Predator wins?” But I didn’t want to just make a slasher movie where the bad guy wins in the end. At first, I was like, “Well, maybe it could be him versus Nazis or something,” but none of it really clicked until I found my footing in making it about a Predator in an insanely intense, brutal clan that’s trying to prove its worth.”
Despite the lack of human characters in Predator: Badlands, the movie still promises to be an emotional story told from the POV of what’s considered an apex predator. The Yautja code of honor has been revealed in previous franchise entries, but it will be interesting to see the full dynamic of a warrior clan on display with a young, unproven figure at the center of the story, with only a damaged synthetic on his side.
With Weyland-Yutani involved, many fans were hoping for another proper Predator and Alien crossover. That won’t be the case for Predator: Badlands, but it is interesting how the movie picked a synth partner over a human after Alien: Earth. Not only did the show give Xenomorphs an unlikely ally, but it also dove deeper into whether hybrids should still be considered humans.
So far, it looks like Trachtenberg’s decision to focus on Predators and synths over human protagonists is already paying off. Predator: Badlands‘ Rotten Tomatoes score is “Certified Fresh,” giving the franchise three major wins in a row following the positive reception surrounding Prey and Predator: Killer of Killers. If all goes well with Predator: Badlands, fans can expect Trachtenberg to helm another Predator movie, which he teased earlier this year.
- 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