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Predator: Badlands has a killer difference for the franchise: audiences will root for the monster (finally)

Sure, we know the Predator has a code (and presumably a diligent oral hygiene regime), but Badlands director Dan Trachtenberg is setting up his Prey sequel with an outright Yautja protagonist

News by Grant DeArmitt, Staff Writer

Published on Fri Nov 15 2024

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Of all the news that's been trickling in about Predator: Badlands, the most recent tidbit may just be the most interesting. Speaking with Empire Magazine in an interview published online November 15, Badlands director Dan Trachtenberg, who helmed the smash-hit franchise entry Prey, said that in the upcoming Predator film, the Predator itself will be the protagonist.

I can just hear everyone who's ever played the character in Mortal Kombat X cheering.

"The creature is front and centre," Trachtenberg told Empire, saying that "He’s still badass, but there’s something there that touches you emotionally, too." Trachtenberg credits the choice to Badland's desire to keep "pushing the franchise’s boundaries [...] that transformed into this big idea of rooting for the Predator."

Now that you've had a second to process this, let's break it down.

It's not that there isn't a kind of nobility to The Predator already; the alien hunters, called Yautja in the extended series, have a strict code about who and what they will kill, adhering to a kind of "fairness" that guarantees they are going after worthy prey. In fact, one of the Predators actually ends up saving the life of the main protagonist in Alien vs. Predator, sacrificing itself to defeat the evil of the xenomorph.

(Can you believe we're not even four paragraphs in and we've already referenced Alien vs. Predator? Don't be surprised - I'm not even six hours into my day and I've already "referenced" three PBRs.)

But even wilder than the idea of a Predator-as-protagonist is the fact that there will also be a human face to Predator: Badlands, namely, Elle Fanning's. Fanning will play a set of twins (roles that required "intense challenges," said Trachtenberg), and with this most recent announcement, we have to ask some pretty important questions. Will Fanning be portraying the antagonist? Are we as movie-goers seriously being asked to root for a murderous alien in a struggle against a real-live human being?

And finally: Why the hell haven't we done that before?

In the immortal words of Danny Elfman, "Life's no fun without a good scare." We couldn't agree more, which is why we think you should check out horror aficionado Greg Silber's list of the best horror movies of all time. Or, if you've already seen those classics, check out our list of the most underrated horror movies from the past couple years. And if you've already seen all of those, Let us tell you what to look forward to (or dread) in Popverse's list of upcoming horror movies.

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Grant DeArmitt: Grant DeArmitt (he/him) likes horror, comics, and the unholy union of the two. As Popverse's Staff Writer, he criss-crosses the pop culture landscape bringing you the news and opinions about the big things (and the next big things). In the past, and despite their better judgment, he has written for Nightmare on Film Street and Newsarama. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, Kingsley, and corgi, Legs.