The next Predator film will finally tell the story the franchise has avoided for the past 37 years

Following the huge success of the legacy prequel PreyDan Trachtenberg Predator: Badlands is set to take a seemingly obvious story angle that has never been attempted in the film franchise. Set 300 years ago on the Great Plains, Prey revitalized everything Predator franchise, and opened the doors for several other projects to be put into development. While other films, like the sequel to Prey themselves have only just been announced, casting and plot details are already being released about Predator: Badlands.

Predator: Badlands will be set on an alien planet in the future, which means the Predator the franchise will continue a 37-year trend by not having any characters return from the previous film. Although Elle Fanning has been revealed as one of the film’s stars (who will play multiple characters), she apparently won’t be the film’s main focus. In fact, Trachtenberg aims to break new ground for the franchise by approaching the hunt for the Predator from an entirely new angle, which is the most exciting element of the Predator: Badlands.

Predator: Badlands will be told from the Predator’s perspective

Director Dan Trachtenberg states that “the creature is front and center”

As Dan Trachtenberg said Empire, Predator: Badlands will be unique in the franchise because will focus on the perspective of the Predator at the center of its story. Each Predator the film presented the human perspective of the Yautja’s journey through time and space; Human characters typically come into conflict with a member of the Yautja species who pursue the honor-based hunt that is an essential part of their culture. They are on a mission to test themselves against the deadliest creatures they can find wherever they hunt, and this is what turns them against humans.

What sets the Yautja apart from other horror villains is that they are not inherently evil. Their desire to kill and collect trophies is done with a code of honor in most cases (there are exceptions), and they have on several occasions evened the odds if faced with an unfair advantage. Therein lies a complexity of character that Predator: Badlands will have the opportunity to explore how not Predator film has already provided, although some films have already provided more information about the general culture of the Yautja.

Aside from the comics, Predator has never had a Yautja protagonist

THE Aliens vs. Predator Comics and novelizations expanded on Yautja culture

No Predator the film actually had a member of the Yautja as the protagonist, although some changed the typical villain formula a bit. The closest example is the original Alien vs. Predatorwhich featured a convoluted plot that ultimately led to its human characters teaming up with the Yautja to defeat the Xenomorphs, which the human characters considered the greatest threat to Earth as a whole. Even in this example, Alien vs. Predator did not present the Yautja’s perspectiveas it basically showed the final confrontation between the two famous creatures.

However, the Yautja perspective has been covered in other media. THE Aliens vs. Predator The comic book series run between 1989 and 2020 by Dark Horse Comics also featured spin-off novelizations, and periodically during their overarching run the narrative took on the perspective of the Yautja. The long-running series delved much deeper into greater Yautja culture and the species’ long-standing rivalry with the Xenomorphs, which the Yautja consider the ultimate prey. It seems likely that Predator: Badlands will at least take into account some inspiration from this series.

Predator: Badlands is shaping up to be the most innovative franchise yet

It will explore genuinely new ground for the franchise

Part of what made Trachtenberg successful in 2022 Prey The success was so great that it took the franchise in a new and unexpected direction. Historically the Predator the franchise has relied on alien planets and futuristic weapons to at least try to level the playing field with the Yautja. Prey I did the opposite, stripping both human and Yautja characters bare for a more primal form of fighting (although the “Feral Predator” still had plenty of advanced weaponry). He did something truly original with the established lore and elements of the franchise.

Predator: Badlands has similar chances of success thanks to the innovative approach of its central characters. While Prey changed the setting to great effect, Predator: Badlands will provide a new angle to literally every aspect of typical Yautja hunting. Trachtenberg’s willingness to move away from the formulaic style that many franchises (especially horror and action) tend to fall into should yield another improvement to the Predator’s overall concept. Predator: Badlands It could end up being the best in the franchise if it gets the execution right.

Source: Empire