Predator: Badlands has been a huge success for the franchise that began with a testosterone-soaked Arnold Schwarzenegger 1987 hit, overtaking other entries in the Predator saga with ease. While Dan Trachtenberg’s revolutionary new take on the franchise has almost guaranteed more entries from the IP in the future – along with a more exciting crossover with the Alien franchise than the disappointing 2000s movies – for star Elle Fanning it has also set a new record as her highest-grossing movie of the decade.
In 2024, Fanning starred as Sylvie Russo alongside Timothée Chalamet in the Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown. The movie was a huge success in terms of its reviews, securing a 95% score from audiences and ending its theatrical run at $140 million. Coincidentally, Predator: Badlands has the same Rotten Tomatoes score on the Popcornmeter, but also scored a higher 85% Tomatometer rating (the Dylan biopic has an 82% score). Now it has edged ahead on the financial side with its $141 million haul.
Since making her movie debut in 2001’s I Am Sam at the age of two, Fanning appeared in multiple movies each throughout her first two decades in the industry, starring in blockbusters like Maleficent with Angelina Jolie and superhero movie Super 8. After taking a short break towards the end of 2020, Fanning returned with her role in A Complete Unknown and following her appearance in Badlands, she will next be seen playing Effie Trinket in The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping.
Elle Fanning’s ‘Predator: Badlands’ Character Connects to the ‘Alien’ Franchise
From the moment Alien: Romulus followed Dan Trachtenberg’s Prey as a successful relaunch of the “other” classic sci-fi franchise of the 1980s, fans finally began to believe that Disney’s acquisition of the two properties as part of their merger with Fox might not be a bad thing.
In Predator: Badlands, Trachtenberg flips the franchise on its head by making its young Predator the hero of the story. That is not his only bold pitch, as the movie features Elle Fanning in the dual role of Thia and Tessa, synthetic beings built by Weyland-Yutani, a company well-known to Alien fans. The corporation became an integral part of Ridley Scott’s ground-breaking franchise in James Cameron’s Aliens, and has featured constantly throughout the franchise, including the recently released series, Alien: Earth.
Fanning’s roles find her playing an ally to Badlands’ young Predator Dek with the character Thia, a damaged synthetic that helps Dek traverse the dangers lurking around them. Meanwhile, Tessa works for the Weyland-Yutani corporation, and is on a mission to capture the creature for the company to examine and add to their collection of alien species.
It has not yet been confirmed whether a full Alien/Predator crossover will happen, but the chances have been massively improved thanks to the financial and critical reception of both Alien: Romulus and Predator: Badlands. Romulus director Fede Álvarez stepped away from helming the sequel to that movie, but it seems almost certain that Trachtenberg has more to say in the Predator saga. For fans, that can only be a good thing.
- Release Date
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November 5, 2025
- Runtime
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107 minutes
- Producers
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Brent O’Connor, John Davis, Marc Toberoff, Dan Trachtenberg, Ben Rosenblatt
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Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi
Dek / Father
