Predator: Badlands is the seventh film in the iconic sci-fi action Predator franchise, and it’s shaping up to be quite the interstellar ride. Steering the ship this time is director Dan Trachtenberg, best known for 2022’s Prey, a film that refreshed the series’ reputation and gave the Yautja (Predator) universe a much-needed boost amid several uneven sequels. Now with Predator: Badlands, the franchise ventures further into uncharted territory—literally.

The story puts us in the distant future on a mysterious and hostile planet. It’s far away from the jungles and cities we’ve seen in previous outings; this new setting is a world called Kalisk, a “badlands” where danger lurks around every rock formation and the air itself feels like it was designed by Predator personal trainers. The world building is more ambitious than ever, with alien landscapes, strange flora, and countless reasons to regret your holiday booking.

This time, the protagonist isn’t a grizzled human commando, nor an unfortunate cop, nor an unfortunate city dweller at all. Instead, it’s Dek—a young Yautja runt, played by Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi—who’s been kicked out of his own clan for that most unforgivable of Predator crimes: showing mercy. Yep, he failed his trial by not brutally finishing off a beaten opponent. This apparently goes against the Predator code, so out he goes into the wilds, where predators (both the lower-case and upper-case kind) roam.

It’s a fresh angle for the franchise and gives Dek an underdog appeal not seen before in this universe. Alien films usually cast humans as the put-upon exiles and accidental heroes, but Badlands invites us to see things from the Predator’s perspective. Dek’s journey is one of redemption, rage, and ultimately figuring out what it really means to be “the ultimate hunter.” Forced to wander alone, Dek’s goal is to slay a creature fearsome enough to make the clan forget he ever hugged an enemy.

Enter Thia, played by Elle Fanning, who’s not just a human survivor but a Weyland-Yutani synthetic—think android with more personality than the average toaster and definitely more combat skills. She crash-lands (never a good sign in this universe) and, stranded in Kalisk, must team up with Dek in order to survive. It’s the oddest of odd couples: one’s an outcast Predator with dad issues, the other’s a damage-resistant, sarcasm-ready android with as much reason to trust Dek as a turkey would trust Gordon Ramsay.

As the trailers tease, Badlands leans heavily into their growing partnership. The tone is more character-driven than previous Predator films, and the two have to contend with not just alien beasts but other Predators—rogue, exiled maniacs who have fully embraced the “if in doubt, stab something” philosophy. The predators themselves are varied: big, bad, and gleefully violent, making Dek look positively well-adjusted. Battles spill across haunted canyons, crimson deserts, and the shattered remains of Weyland-Yutani’s science-experiment facilities, where it turns out some humans have been playing Frankenstein with Predator DNA. Absolutely nothing good ever comes from this.

Yes, of course there’s a hybrid monster—monstrous enough to put the likes of the original Predator to shame, and it becomes the focus of Dek’s quest for glory and redemption. The alliance with Thia is more necessity than trust. As battle after battle rages, she lends tech skills, sabotage, and wry humour, while Dek brings raw muscle and a sense of honour that’s under constant threat from old wounds and worse enemies.

With all this, Badlands looks set to offer two-hour’s worth of pulse-pounding action, betrayal, and more plasma-fire than any health-and-safety officer would ever sign off. The trailers show off spectacular planet vistas, neon-splashed fights, and enough Predator gadgets to fill a future museum. You’ll see plasma casters, invisibility cloaks, traps, and even a few new surprises—this isn’t a budget Predator flick by any means. Effects, stunts, and creature designs all aim to take the franchise to the next level.

The cast list isn’t sprawling, but it’s focused. Elle Fanning and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi lead the way, with Mike Homik as Kwei (Dek’s brother and sometimes-mentor) and a handful of supporting roles that mostly end up as dinner or cautionary tales. There’s also the promise of exploring Predator culture: traditions, rites, and what makes a Predator tick beyond slavering over trophies.

A few franchise stalwarts re-emerge in the writing credits, with Patrick Aison handling screenplay duties alongside Jim and John Thomas, who penned the original 1987 classic. The film is produced by 20th Century Studios—meaning you’ll have to catch it on the big screen first (IMAX recommended for those who want to see every pulsating mandible), and a streaming debut on Disney+ should follow some months later.

Predator: Badlands is officially rated PG-13 “for sequences of strong sci-fi violence,” which translates roughly to “not for shrieking four-year-olds but definitely fine for hardened teens and nostalgic adults.” The runtime lands at about one hour and forty-seven minutes, which feels about right for a globe-hopping, monster-smacking, android-befriending, existentially angsty adventure.

In summary, expect: a remote planet, a Predator outcast desperately trying to earn his clan’s respect, a stranded synthetic human, rogue alien monsters, spectacular fights, and the kind of existential drama that only comes from hanging out with someone who balked at murdering an enemy. Badlands doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it definitely gives the old Predator recipe a multispecies twist—with a dash of redemption and, just maybe, a sympathetic hero you didn’t know the franchise could muster. Don’t expect a soft touch; the action is brutal, the theme is survival and self-discovery, and the popcorn tolerance for tension may get sorely tested.

Whether you’re a Predator diehard, a curious sci-fi buff, or just someone hunting for a new cinematic experience, November 7 will be a day for the movies to get a little bit wilder.

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