The first teaser trailer for Predator: Badlands has been released, and this time, a Predator is the hero.
Badlands sees director Dan Trachtenberg return to the franchise after helming the critically-acclaimed prequel Prey in 2022, which saw a Comanche warrior played by Amber Midthunder take on the iconic alien.
The new film turns the traditional Predator movie set-up on its head – a Predator (played by Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) is the protagonist, with A Complete Unknown’s Elle Fanning starring as some kind of android.
According to the official description, Predator: Badlands is “set in the future on a remote planet, where a young Predator (Schuster-Koloamatangi), outcast from his clan, finds an unlikely ally in Thia (Fanning) and embarks on a treacherous journey in search of the ultimate adversary.” Watch the trailer below.
That “ultimate adversary” appears to be an enormous creature, glimpsed in the trailer galloping through the jungle before coming face-to-face with the young Predator. At one point, Fanning’s Thia says, “You’re hunting something that can’t be killed”, hinting at how Badlands switches up the human-vs-Predator scenario we’ve seen so many times before.
The teaser also contains hints at a potential tie-in with the Alien universe – the logo of Weyland-Yutani, the fictional corporation featured in the Alien films, appears both in Thia’s eyes and on an overturned truck. Given the release of Alien: Romulus, last year, and the history between the franchises, a new crossover could be possible, though nothing has been confirmed.
Other moments in the trailer include a look at the inner workings and training rituals of the Predators, a field of deadly-looking plants, the Predator protagonist crawling away from a crowned, cape-wearing leader, and several intense action sequences.
Fans have shared extremely positive reactions to the trailer online, with many spotting the Alien connections and other Easter eggs. One X user wrote: “Yautja protag? GIANT MONSTER? MUSIC FROM THE HU? I need this. I NEED THIS MOVIE NOW!”
Another posted: “Predator Badlands looks magnificent in every way possible.” Eammon Jacobs remarked on Badlands getting a cinematic release, writing: “Predator: Badlands getting a big screen release is ABSOLUTELY the right move after Prey got done dirty the other year. Veeeery keen for this. Also, those Weyland-Yutani peepers, we’re definitely getting AVP3 at some point, aren’t we?”
Yautja protag? GIANT MONSTER? MUSIC FROM THE HU?
I need this. I NEED THIS MOVIE NOW!#predatorbadlands https://t.co/0DYdvo4ot2 pic.twitter.com/U9ftDn9lBd
— Nicolas Siregar (Commissions Open 3/6) (@A3Dnazrigar) April 23, 2025
Predator Badlands looks magnificent in every way possible. pic.twitter.com/Wc1ri5X4Je
— The Moonlight Warrior 🌙 (@BlackMajikMan90) April 23, 2025
Predator: Badlands getting a big screen release is ABSOLUTELY the right move after Prey got done dirty the other year. Veeeery keen for this. Also, those Welyand-Yutani peepers, we’re definitely getting AVP3 at some point, aren’t we? #PredatorBadlands
pic.twitter.com/2jukcJyUal— Eammon Jacobs (@EammonJacobs) April 23, 2025
A T. rex skull and what looks a lot like an Independence Day alien skull on board the Predator ship in Badlands…? pic.twitter.com/rw7QB3s9xS
— Dr Matt Dempsey (@Sketchy_raptor) April 23, 2025
Predator: Badlands is in UK cinemas from November 7.