Predator: Badlands. The very title says, “Please fasten your seatbelt, but don’t bother packing a survival kit.” Released this November, and already earning a reputation as possibly the wildest field trip imaginable, Fox’s latest Predator reboot lifts its heat-visioned helmet and offers up a steaming slice of sci-fi action—with a fresh twist of interspecies buddy drama, all set somewhere between “just left Earth” and “DO NOT FEED THE LOCALS.”
Let’s review the brand-new “Be Brave Brother” clip that’s got fans squealing louder than a malfunctioning Predator cloaking device. Yes, this is not your dad’s Predator. Unless your dad also finds himself exiled to other planets in his spare time, in which case, you might want to have a reassuring word.
Familiar Predator, Strange New World
Set in a not-too-distant future (how else would we fit this much carnage into our cinematic calendars?), Predator: Badlands lands us on a “deadly remote planet.” You know, the sort of place estate agents call “peacefully secluded,” but only if their last job was running from facehuggers.
Enter our protagonist: a young Predator outcast played by newcomer Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, who’s quickly given his marching orders from the Predator PTA for… well, that’s spoiler territory, but let’s assume he definitely didn’t get voted “most likely to conquer Earth.” Exile apparently runs in the family, but this one has plot armour—and a destiny that’s as dangerous as forgetting your thermal vision on a snowy day.
Human With a Heart – or Just Exceptional Survival Instinct?
Cue Thia, brought to life by Elle Fanning (yes, that Elle Fanning, so expect more than just the usual screaming and running). Thia is the unlikely ally on this doomed planet; think “Ripley, but more likely to stop for a motivational TED Talk.” Their relationship, as teased in the “Be Brave Brother” clip, takes the familiar “don’t scream, don’t run, definitely don’t look tasty” dynamic and flips it into a palatable odd-couple adventure. Imagine E.T. but swapped for a Predator wearing less than ideal travel gear.
The “Be Brave Brother” Clip: Courage Served Raw
The clip opens with words that may resonate with anyone who’s had to call customer support: “Be brave, brother.” No, really, imagine this in Predator-speak: a language made up primarily of terrifying clicks and emotional scarring. The young Predator faces imminent danger, and Thia, despite having zero mandibles, channels the pep talk of the year—think “you can do it!” but with credible risk of dismemberment.
It’s equal parts touching and tension-building. She’s trying to survive; he’s searching for “the ultimate adversary,” presumably not a critic from Rotten Tomatoes. There’s an emotional vulnerability that feels… odd but welcome. Even Predators need their “Oprah moment.”
A Big-Screen Experience – Obviously
So, should you watch this in IMAX, Dolby Cinema, RealD 3D, Cinemark XD, 4DX, or ScreenX (pause for breath)? Yes. By the time you decide, the movie might’ve cycled into a Predator: Badlands “classics” marathon. Fox wants you to see every menacing glare and shimmering cloaking glitch in 40-foot Ultra HD, and you’ll thank them for every fleck of alien drool.
Outcast on a Mission
Instead of a hulking, wise-cracking anti-hero, we’re treated to a Predator whose main social asset is not his ability to remove spines with surgical precision, but his will to overcome his outcast status. There’s a sense of “Predator with Problems,” and that’s not meant as faint praise. Out here, every step is perilous—Deadly flora, deadly fauna, possibly deadly popcorn if you get startled.
Imagine pitching this to someone who’s been asleep since 1995: “It’s Predator, but the monster is the underdog, Earth is nowhere in sight, and his only friend is Elle Fanning.” They’d declare you mad, but they’d probably buy a ticket.
High-Octane Action, But With Emotional Ammo
From what we see in the “Be Brave Brother” clip, director Dan Trachtenberg is laser-focused on high-octane spectacle, but with a pulse—sometimes literally, as there’s a lot of running, hiding, and pulse-monitoring (presumably the Predator equivalent of doom-scrolling). The action is lush, the drama compact, the stakes both personal and planetary.
Fans of the franchise will appreciate the hat-tips: the invisible menace, the haunting music, and enough red laser dots to give a cat an existential crisis. But there’s character growth here—by the end you might even find yourself rooting for the Predator more than the humans. Crazy, right?
Should You Care?
You don’t have to be a Predator superfan. You don’t need to have Predator action figures queued up beside your mug of inspirational quotes. Predator: Badlands is shaping up as a crowd-pleaser, mixing old-school franchise DNA with bold new genetics—like if someone spliced Arnie’s original biceps with an indie coming-of-age movie and tossed it into space.
The one-minute clip may not give you everything, but it leaves just enough to tantalise: brave speeches, deadly monsters, unlikely alliances, and, somewhere, a glimmer of redemption for an outcast warrior with a face only a mother Predator could love.
Final Thoughts
In summary, “Be Brave Brother” isn’t just advice—it’s a mission statement. Predator: Badlands could well become the surprise sci-fi hit of the year, offering gore, heart, and an oddball friendship that dares to look fear in its mandibles and laugh (politely). Whether you’re in it for explosive action, innovative world-building, or just the joy of watching a Predator learn to make friends the hard way, there’s a ticket waiting for you—just try not to sit behind a Yautja. Their heads are enormous.
Brave? Absolutely. Badlands? Even braver. November 7 can’t come soon enough.
