One of the intriguing 2025 film releases on the horizon, for my part, is the upcoming Predator: Badlands. One of the thrilling parts of the story is the truth that the flick will characteristic the Predator as the principle character for the primary time, making it a very distinctive expertise. Which completely is smart, as a result of the movie’s director, Dan Trachtenberg, says he doesn’t need to simply make Prey 2, and he makes a great level.
Trachtenberg lately spoke with Empire, throughout which he defined why he didn’t simply press ahead with Prey 2 and name it a day. And his reasoning? It’s much less about dodging expectations and extra about honoring what made Prey work within the first place. As he defined to the outlet:
You instantly suppose: ‘Prey 2’. However with sequels, individuals generally get so caught up going, ‘This might occur subsequent,’ they by no means cease to suppose, ‘Ought to it occur subsequent?’ Prey was particular as a result of it was this massive concept that hadn’t existed earlier than. I wished the subsequent factor to be that, too.
In the event you want a refresher, Prey—additionally directed by Trachtenberg—was the to begin with the Predator movies set in a historic interval. Set within the Northern Nice Plains in 1719, it follows a younger Comanche warrior who rises to guard her tribe from a lethal alien hunter. The movie labored as a result of it felt daring, recent and self-contained. (In the event you in some way missed it, it is obtainable to stream with a Hulu subscription.)
With Badlands, Trachtenberg is as soon as once more chasing that sort of originality. He continued:
On the whole, I’m all the time on the lookout for: what might occur solely on this film?
Based mostly on the primary Badlands trailer and all the things we’ve seen thus far, the movie is clearly swinging for one thing new. It’s a full-on style shift from Prey’s stripped-down survival story to an enormous, loud, monster-filled journey. The 10 Cloverfield Lane helmer even calls it “a sort of buddy-comedy,” leaning into the odd-couple dynamic between Dek and Thia as they navigate alien worlds. Assume Ray Harryhausen meets sci-fi highway journey—and completely not like something this franchise has achieved earlier than.
Some longtime followers have been understandably frightened that the brand new movie may soften the sting—both by firming down the lead or making the Predator really feel much less harmful. However relaxation assured, Dek isn’t any pushover. He’s nonetheless very a lot a Predator. As Trachtenberg put it:
We wished Dek to be relatable, however with out turning him into Luke Skywalker. He’s nonetheless a Predator — we needed to enable him to be a dick. However a dick you’ll be able to root for.
Between Badlands and the critically acclaimed animated sequence Predator: Killer of Killers, lately added to the 2025 TV schedule, the artistic power steering the sequence is clearly rethinking what Predator may be—and never simply including sequels to a guidelines. Dan Trachtenberg is swinging for bizarre, unique and daring. And, if Prey proved something, it’s that when he swings like that, it lands.
So, no, we’re not getting Prey 2, and that could be the most effective factor for the sequence. In any case, it’s daring pivots and outside-the-box pondering that gave us genre-defining sequels like Aliens and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. This might be one other flip for Predator, and that’s why I’m pumped for the hunt to start when Badlands opens in theaters on November 7.