‘Predator: Badlands’ Review – Franchise Reinvention Proves To Be A Win For This IP

The Predator franchise has been a mixed bag, at best, since its launch in 1987. The first movie didn’t offer up much in terms of universe building, but it worked best because it was a pure action/sci-fi. film that benefited from its man versus alien premise, which proved to make it one of the best of its kind from the ’80s. Subsequent sequels have tried to give backstory and explanations to justify more franchise entries, which have weakened the overall IP, but it has allowed for the opportunity for someone to step in to play with this world a bit to possibly breathe new life into it. Director Dan Trachtenberg did just that with 2022’s Prey, which served as a prequel to the beginnings of the franchise and made fans and critics alike long for the movie to get a big-screen release rather than the exclusive treatment via Hulu. Trachtenberg took the franchise back to the barebones cat-and-mouse sensibilities that made it work in the beginning, while also proving that he has love for this IP and could move it into the future.

Trachtenberg got to explore seeing an alien ravage through history in the clever animated film, Predator: Killer of Killers, which earned a surprise release back in June, and now he’s proving his skills for franchise reinvention, once again, with Predator: Badlands. This latest installment presents the idea of making the central alien the hero and even putting him in a sort of buddy movie situation that not only works, but also shows that this is a franchise still capable of fresh ideas that are capable of pleasing fans.

As Badlands begins, fans are taken to the Predator home planet of Yautja, where we are introduced to Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi). He is a young predator who is cast out for being a runt in a planet that has zero tolerance for weakness. This zero tolerance leads to Dek’s father (also portrayed by Schuster-Koloamatangi) sentencing him to death, but he’s rescued from potential termination by his brother Kwei (Mike Homick) when he’s sent away to an alien planet to prove his worth by bringing back a creature believed to be unkillable.

It’s in the nature of the aliens from Yautja to fight alone, but soon Dek has to learn lessons in teamwork when he is forced to accept the aid of Thia (Elle Fanning), a Weyland-Yutani synthetic who found herself chopped in half by the creature Dek is in search of. The alliance that forms between Dek and Thia is what makes Predator: Badlands a compelling watch, but it’s also something that might make hardcore fans worry that Dek’s discovery of not needing to fight solo means the franchise has lost some of its edge. Rest assured, it has not.

When it was revealed that Predator: Badlands was handed a PG-13 rating, some were worried that this would somehow neuter the IP, but given the fact that this is alien-on-alien violence, it’s still a very brutal experience, and the action sequences don’t shy away from gore. From an action standpoint, this ranks as some of the best the franchise has offered across all of the entries. Trachtenberg has a distinct eye for his battle sequences, and he makes use of a mix of practical effects and visual effects to achieve his goals. Once this movie gets going, it rarely takes a moment to catch its breath, resulting in a briskly paced 107 minutes.

Perhaps the biggest win for Predator: Badlands is that it makes you feel empathy for a creature that has been the face of menace across all of its installments until now. Dek’s journey feels like a very human story. This is someone who wants to prove himself to be worthy to his clan or family and feels the effects of being shunned because he lacks what others in his tribe possess. Imagine being the younger sibling of someone who is intellectually or physically more advanced than you might be, and then being made to feel less than viable because of that. It’s a relatable concept that proves to shine through even when its narrative is being told through creatures who, on the surface, are less than human. At its core, Dek’s hero journey is a rite of passage, and he gradually learns that it’s a journey that can only be accomplished by learning to accept help.

The buddy movie aspect of the film gives it a beating heart and makes it a bit lighter than other installments, but it also is one of he most interesting choices the franchise has made in a while. Fanning is solid as Thia (and in the role of Tessa, another synth who stands as their opposition), and she provides a solid counter to Dek’s personality. She’s programmed to be empathetic, something Dek initially lacks, but Thia eventually opens him up to a new way of thinking. He may have been raised to engage in certain behaviors to make him a true predator of Yautja, but Thia opens him to a duality that allows him to exhibit genuine human behavior that doesn’t always end in alien blood being spilled and android heads being ripped off. Sometimes you need a healthy balance. That being said, even though Dek displays a more human side, he’s no less fearsome. Another master stroke is that Trachtenberg maintains the imposing nature of the titular character even as he takes him on a more heroic journey rather than keeping him a vessel of a hunter seeking prey.

Predator: Badlands proves that there is still life in this franchise and that Trachtenberg is the architect meant to advance the IP into the future. It’s an action-driven spectacle that will please fans on that level, but it also offers up interesting narrative beats that prove there is more to learn about this world. The film ends on a final shot that seems to indicate that Trachtenberg wants to do even more with this franchise, and given what he’s done so far, it’s a universe that we’d all be thrilled to see him continue to play in.

Predator: Badlands opens in theaters nationwide on November 7, 2025, courtesy of 20th Century Studios.