Top 10 Things to Remember Before Predator Badlands

#10: This Is the First PG-13 “Predator” Movie

This franchise has a long history of violence, and while that’s not changing with “Badlands”, more people will be allowed to watch the carnage unfold. That’s because besides the crossover film“Alien vs Predator”, this is the first solo “Predator” movie to be PG-13. Not having it be R-rated might seem odd. But being PG-13 means it has a better shot at reaching a bigger audience in theaters. Speaking of theaters, it’s been a while since “Predator” has had a theatrical release. Since “Prey” and “Killer of Killers” were both direct-to-streaming, the last time “Predator” was in theaters was 2018’s “The Predator.” If it’s been almost a decade since the last cinematic release, it makes sense for “Badlands” to be more accessible than ever.

#9: Not a Direct Sequel to Any Prior Film

While it’s yet another entry into an iconic long-running franchise, “Badlands” isn’t a movie that’s super steeped in continuity. Sure, it’s directed by Dan Trachtenberg, but it’s not a direct sequel to his other “Predator” movies like “Prey” or “Killer of Killers”. In fact, it’s actually set much farther down the timeline since it takes place in the far-flung future. “Badlands” is essentially a standalone film that won’t require you to know every little detail about the lore or the timeline. And in an era where so many franchises require you to do extra amounts of homework to catch up, that’s a welcome change of pace. So point is, you won’t need to have a bachelor's degree in “Predatorology” to check this movie out.

#8: There Are No Humans in This

Don’t let your eyes deceive you. While the various trailers for “Badlands” have shown us people who look awfully close to human, this movie actually won’t have any human characters in it. Instead, all of the human-looking characters will be synthetics. If you aren’t familiar with synths, they’re more or less androids who closely resemble humans. They’re primarily created by the corporation Weyland-Yutani, which is a major part of the “Alien” franchise. It actually makes sense that synths would be involved in this movie. That’s because the titular badlands they’re going to be visiting are definitely not safe for humans! We’re willing to bet that a lot of synths are going to get sliced apart by some pretty monstrous creepy crawlies.

#7: Connections to Weyland-Yutani

Speaking of Weyland-Yutani, they’re in this movie in a big way. We mentioned earlier that instead of humans the movie will use synths. But there also seems to be a lot of Weyland-Yutani facilities and equipment shown through the trailers. Plus, the Predator will basically have to team up with a Weyland-Yutani synth, though we’ll talk more about her later. Besides these details, it’s exciting to know that this large corporation has a presence in the film. Like we stated before, Weyland-Yutani is a major part of the “Alien” franchise. So them having a role in the “Predator” franchise is super awesome. Mega corporations are not great, but it’s always fun seeing what crazy stuff Weyland-Yutani is up to, and this will be no different.

#6: Elle Fanning Will Be Playing Dual-Roles

Make no mistakes about it, the Predator is the main attraction when it comes to “Badlands”, but there’s also a ton of spotlight being shone on Elle Fanning. The actress is actually going to play two parts. In the trailers we’ve seen a lot of her as Thia, a synth whose body is badly damaged. She’ll essentially be teaming up with the Predator buddy-cop style and that partnership is something we’re all for seeing. On the other hand there’s also Tessa. She’s another Weyland-Yutani synth. While we haven’t seen too much of her in the marketing, what we’ve gotten suggests she may be an antagonist rather than an ally. Either way it’ll be interesting to see how Fanning pulls portraying these two characters off!

#5: No Xenomorphs Are in This

It might seem odd to expect a Xenomorph in a “Predator” movie but considering how entwined these franchises are, many fans have been wondering if we’ll get some alien vs predator action. We wouldn’t get our hopes up since Trachtenberg has said that none of those iconic chest-bursting extraterrestrials will be in “Badlands”. However, that doesn’t exactly rule out the idea of crossing over in future installments. Considering that Weyland-Yutani is involved in this film, maybe the events that play out will set up a future showdown with the Xenomorphs. These two action-heavy sci-fi IPs are just tailor made for cinematic clashes. It’s all speculation of course, but simply put, a new “Alien vs Predator” movie some day would feed families.

#4: Not Just All CGI

Considering that the entirety of this movie has a Predator slicing and dicing monsters and robots, you’d be right in expecting the VFX crew to rely on CGI to get the job done. However, “Badlands” won’t just all be acting in front of tennis balls and green screens. The movie will also rely on practical effects to get the job done. The production teams went through extreme effort in making the world feel as real and tangible as possible. This includes many of the moments that will see the Predator carrying Thia around for example. So if you’re someone who’s typically put off by 2 hours of bad cgi slop, don’t worry. There’s a healthy blend of practical and digital here to keep you entertained.

#3: We’re Getting to See More of the Yautja Culture

Despite having seen numerous predators through many years across multiple movies, we really don’t know too much about them as a civilization and culture. We know that their species is the Yautja and everything they do revolves around combat but we’ve been left in the dark on the rest. Fortunately for us that changes with “Badlands”. Granted we don’t know everything that we’ll see but this time we can expect an up close look at the Yautja culture. Plus, we’ll be getting to hear the Predator’s native language instead of various click noises and sounds like before. All things considered, the chance to see how this society of ultra-violent alien warriors functions is a pretty amazing opportunity.

#2: Everything on This Planet Will Kill You

Trying to survive in dire circumstances is one thing, this on the other hand is a whole other story. You see, the Predator isn’t on Earth this time. No, he’s on a planet called Genna, in the far future. And if the marketing is anything to go by, it’s apparently the deadliest planet of them all. Earth isn’t perfect either but compared to this planet we might as well be a paradise. Everything on this world is deadly, and we see that right away. In numerous scenes from the trailers the Predator has to fight everything from pesky plants to massive monsters. And don’t forget that Weyland-Yutani’s synthetic henchmen will be on the prowl too! So yeah, Genna isn’t exactly a very tourist-friendly planet.

#1: The Predator Is the Protagonist

First hunt. Last chance. That’s what the movie’s tagline is, and it’s fitting. We’ve mentioned that there’s a Predator running around in this movie but he has a name: Dek. And Dek’s not the bad guy, in fact, he’s our main hero. Flipping the script and having the Predator be the protagonist instead of the antagonist is a great way of keeping this franchise fresh. Now we don’t have to feel bad about rooting for the Yautja! Dek is also a young outcast who’s essentially the black sheep of his clan, so how his journey will unfold is going to be a spectacle. Can Dek establish himself as the apex predator or will he fall prey to the planet Genna? We’ll find out soon enough!

Are you excited for “Predator: Badlands”? And is there anything else you think we forgot to mention? Let’s talk all about it down in the comments!