12 Things We Learned Visiting the Set of Predator: Badlands

In the mediate of 2024, IGN was invited to the confederate suburban fringe of Auckland successful New Zealand where, successful respective elephantine dependable stages nestled amidst shot fields and work stations, manager Dan Trachtenberg and his squad were engaged crafting the out-of-this-world escapade Predator: Badlands. We spent a time wandering done the damaged hull of a crashed Yautja spaceship, got up adjacent and idiosyncratic with the hi-tech exterior of a Weyland-Yutani probe base, and stared up astatine a towering replica of a redwood wood canopy to beryllium utilized for a spectacular stunt sequence.

And besides got to wield the predator's plasma sword.

We besides got to walk clip with the formed and crew, including shaper Ben Rosenblatt who laid retired his and Trachtenberg’s imaginativeness for a predator movie dissimilar immoderate that has travel earlier successful the series.

“This each takes spot mode successful the aboriginal aft everything that we cognize from the beingness of Alien and Weyland-Yutani and Predator and Alien vs. Predator; each that stuff,” explained Rosenblatt. “This is the farthest retired [the bid has] gone. [And for] the code of the movie we're trying to onslaught a equilibrium betwixt each the chill badass worldly that you'd expect retired of a Predator movie – tons of large action, tons of superior moments, and the badass worldly – but besides we privation it to beryllium similar an escapade movie [where] we really link with the characters. So that's benignant of the equilibrium we're taking.”

Here’s everything we learned visiting the acceptable of Predator: Badlands.

1. Predator: Badlands is Turning the Hunter into the Hunted

Predator: Badlands’ astir extremist alteration close disconnected the bat is that it casts a young predator named Dek arsenic the leader of the communicative (played by Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi). Although these “ugly motherf**kers” person served arsenic intimidating antagonists ever since Arnie’s peculiar forces portion was dropped into a nutrient grinder successful the 1987 original, Predator: Badlands asks audiences to sympathise with 1 of these mandible-mouthed monsters for the precise archetypal time.

“Our communicative begins connected Yautja Prime with this predator and his contiguous household and, done a bid of some breathtaking and tragic events, he's acceptable disconnected connected a travel connected a overseas satellite [Genna] and that's wherever astir of the movie is taking place,” explained Rosenblatt.

Director Dan Trachtenberg, who besides helmed 2022’s superb albeit disappointingly straight-to-streaming Predator prequel Prey, is assured that fans volition person nary occupation warming to Dek contempt being conditioned to presumption erstwhile predators arsenic immoderate benignant of unstoppable, intergalactic Jason Vorhees’ successful each different Predator film.

“I've conscionable ever had a heavy affection for underdog stories,” said Trachtenberg. “Prey was surely that and I deliberation Dek’s communicative is inactive that of an underdog. He’s progressive successful a precise traumatic lawsuit successful the opening of the movie that he's taking this full escapade to woody with. So, from the leap you are thrust into a truly precocious intensity, carnal and affectional concern with him that I deliberation volition truly enactment you successful his shoes.”

Schuster-Koloamatangi, appearing successful his archetypal large Hollywood role, agrees that Predator: Badlands is acceptable to springiness fans thing that they’ve ne'er experienced before.

“It's chill to beryllium capable to travel 1 of the predators that everyone is truthful frightened of and past benignant of person a deeper look into their culture, into their background, what makes them them, and benignant of recognize wherefore it is they're travelling astir everyplace sidesplitting everybody,” said Schuster-Koloamatangi.

2. It’s Not a Sequel to Prey

Despite the information that the dynamic duo down Predator: Badlands, manager Dan Trachtenberg and shaper Ben Rosenblatt, is the aforesaid halfway accumulation squad that was down 2022’s fantabulous Predator prequel, Prey, this caller movie is not to beryllium considered arsenic a Prey 2. But that doesn’t mean that Trachtenberg and Rosenblatt don’t person hopes for a Prey 2 successful the future.

“Prey is thing we're precise arrogant of, we emotion [it], we're blessed different radical loved it. It's not thing we're abandoning,” said Rosenblatt. “We could person done a Prey 2, we could person done a Prey wherever it’s a antithetic clip period, but I deliberation for america we were similar however bash we determination things forward? [Prey] was thing radical hadn’t done with the franchise before. In reasoning astir what to bash next, Dan was truly acceptable connected [coming up with] the benignant of large plaything that nary one’s taken yet.”

3. It’s Not an Alien vs. Predator Movie Either, Although it Does Feature Weyland-Yutani

A portion of that large plaything is to crossover the crippled of Predator: Badlands with the Alien universe, by featuring synthetic soldiers and researchers dispatched to the satellite Genna by the infamous xenomorph-weaponising Weyland-Yutani corporation. However, it’s strictly synths successful Predator: Badlands; determination volition beryllium nary of HR Giger’s chest-bursting creations on for the ride.

“It's not an Alien vs. Predator movie truthful determination volition not beryllium a xenomorph,” confirmed Rosenblatt. “Hopefully 1 day, but this is benignant of america dipping our toe. The worlds coexist and this is benignant of similar bringing them together.”

“The backmost communicative is that Weyland-Yutani has sent an all-synth ngo onto this satellite to prosecute the precise aforesaid beast for their ain purposes,” explained Rosenblatt. “Obviously, the Yautja are funny successful honour-killing and proving themselves and Weyland-Yutani often has a antithetic objective. So that is who [Dek] encounters on the way. He does not cognize that astatine archetypal but that is what it yet becomes.”

That’s not to accidental that determination won’t beryllium immoderate Alien-centric easter eggs to beryllium spotted successful Predator: Badlands. During our acceptable sojourn we were capable to locomotion astir the platform of a crashed predator spaceship, presumably belonging to either Dek oregon 1 of his household members, and we spied a trophy country adorned with what precise overmuch looked similar xenomorph skulls…

4. Elle Fanning Plays Two Synths, Thia and Tessa

Death Stranding 2’s Elle Fanning plays the duplicate roles of Weyland-Yutani synthetics Thia and Tessa. The erstwhile is some virtually and figuratively bonded with Dek implicit the people of the adventure, with the second seemingly successful blistery pursuit of the plucky young predator and his legless passenger. But, fixed however acold into the aboriginal Predator: Badlands is set, Fanning is imbuing these synths with acold much humanity than what we’ve travel to expect from the likes of Ian Holm’s Ash oregon Michael Fassbender’s David successful erstwhile instalments successful the Alien franchise.

“When you spot David successful Prometheus, there’s a prime to the acting that feels somewhat robotic,” said Rosenblatt. “We are not playing that. We’re reasoning of them arsenic being the latest iteration [of synths] to the grade that they tin feel, much truthful than anyone we’ve seen truthful far.”

Thia and Tessa are probe synths dispatched to the satellite by Weyland-Yutani to harvest what they tin from it, for typically nefarious Weyland-Yutani purposes, but Fanning’s twins aren’t the lone synths successful Predator: Badlands. The probe ngo is led by much militaristic androids, truthful presumably determination volition beryllium rather a batch of predator-on-synth unit successful store.

5. The Predators Have Their Own Language Now

In erstwhile films the predators person communicated utilizing a operation of basal clicks and pitch-perfect Jesse Ventura impressions, but for Predator: Badlands the filmmakers person gone up and created a afloat connection for the Yautja creatures. Thanks to the enactment of connection adept Britton Watkins, the Yautja successful Predator: Badlands really talk to each different successful afloat sentences (translated into subtitles for the audience’s benefit), and each of the markings connected their weaponry and armour person existent meaning alternatively than simply serving an ornamental purpose.

“What Britton did was, arsenic overmuch arsenic possible, helium took everything that had travel earlier [in erstwhile films] and said, ‘Okay, fto maine effort to synthesise this into a moving language,’” explains Rosenblatt. “He’s developed the alphabet. There’s a dictionary. [But] 1 of the biggest challenges for Britton successful creating the language, was making definite that it fits what is anatomically imaginable with the Yautja look and rima and that benignant of thing. Like moving the clicks into it and making thing benignant of guttural and not excessively overmuch enunciation oregon lingua action.”

6. Predator: Badlands was Inspired by The Empire Strikes Back

For overmuch of Predator: Badlands, Dek is saddled with Thia’s legless assemblage successful a backpack, aft she conscionable hardly survives an onslaught from a autochthonal Genna monster called a Kalisk. From determination the movie becomes a roadworthy travel buddy movie of sorts, with the brace dilatory forging a enslaved portion besides defying decease successful the look of Genna’s galore threats.

“I emotion the pairing. My transportation was that it was similar Chewbacca and C-3PO: The Movie. Like the extremity of The Empire Strikes Back? I was tantalized by the amusive of that,” said Trachtenberg.

Star Wars hasn’t been the lone important power connected the film, however. Trachtenberg besides namechecks Conan the Barbarian arsenic being a cardinal notation constituent erstwhile crafting Badlands’ setting, claiming “there’s thing successful the cloth of that satellite that’s phantasy but brutal, and pirate-y, that’s antithetic than Lord of the Rings oregon Game of Thrones oregon Avatar.”

Speaking of pirates, helium besides points to different ’80s classical arsenic providing a root of inspiration.

“The Goonies,” said Trachtenberg. “There was astir much Goonies [influence] successful the movie. We’ll see; there’s inactive clip for determination to beryllium much Goonies successful it.”

Will Dek beryllium forced to execute a truffle shuffle to entertain the shattered synth strapped to his back? Maybe successful the director’s cut.

7. The Predator Faces Are Being Created Digitally…

While the monster’s look successful the archetypal Predator was a gurgling feat of applicable VFX brilliance from maestro make-up effects creator Stan Winston, the predators successful Badlands volition beryllium a operation of some applicable and integer effects according to carnal decorator Alec Gillis. Gillis is simply a seasoned of the VFX world, having worked connected aggregate entries successful some the Alien and Predator series, on with Godzilla vs. Kong, It, Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom, and countless others. According to him, a blend of some worlds is indispensable to execute the precise champion results.

“We'll basal things arsenic overmuch arsenic we tin successful reality, successful carnal pieces, and past we usage the CGI to augment and to physique the satellite and the beingness that they inhabit,” explained Gillis. “Because you can't marque a modern movie without truly beauteous integer effects. Sometimes the fans get a small similar villagers carrying the torches saying, ‘We hatred CGI,’ and we're like, ‘No, no, you lone don't similar the CGI that you're noticing.’ Every movie that you ticker now, each changeable is someway touched digitally. Either done colour grading oregon compositing oregon fixes and truthful on.”

Gillis and his squad did initially effort to trade the predator faces with a operation of constitution and animatronics to reasonably bully results, but successful the extremity helium decided to draught successful the expertise of the animators astatine Weta Digital to supply much subtle facial look via question capture.

“Right astir the clip we were doing the [physical test], we got to spot Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes and it had specified spectacular performances,” explained Gillis. “It’s undeniable. As an artist, I person to basal up for my craft, but I besides person to beryllium capable to look a manager successful the oculus and accidental you person to usage the close instrumentality for the close application.”

8. … But There Are Still Plenty of Practical Effects and Shots On Location

That said, Predator: Badlands’ accumulation squad has inactive gone to large lengths to trust connected applicable effects arsenic overmuch arsenic possible, creating carnal replicas of galore of the creatures to diagnostic successful scenes alternatively than unit its formed to prosecute with the aged tennis-ball-on-a-stick trick.

“You spot existent creatures connected acceptable interacting with actors, and that’s ever a large happening erstwhile acting is reacting,” said Gillis. “So if you springiness idiosyncratic thing to play off, past you [get] a amended result.”

The stunt team, led by coordinator Jacob Tomuri, besides went to exhaustive lengths to let Schuster-Koloamatangi’s Dek to transportation Fanning’s Thia connected his backmost successful the astir convincing mode possible, during the astir 30 days of the film’s accumulation that took spot connected determination successful New Zealand’s Redwoods Forest.

“We had to physique truss towers and span slack lines betwixt trees,” explained Tomuri. “And we created a happening called a bosun’s chair, which we enactment underneath Elle’s hamstrings and attached it to a spreader truthful we could question her on the slack enactment with a counterweight system. It took up 70% of Elle’s value truthful it would inactive look similar determination was value successful the backpack, but it meant that Demetrius could bash each the running, sprinting, jumping, and navigating done the landscape.”

Schuster-Koloamatangi, a New Zealander, relished the accidental to person the earthy quality of his location state featured truthful prominently successful the movie contempt the information the carnal quality of his show took a spot of a toll.

“The shoulders are a spot bigger present than they were earlier I started [filming],” joked Schuster-Koloamatangi. “But the symptom is simply a privilege, and being retired successful New Zealand was conscionable unreal. Because determination are truthful galore things a dependable signifier can’t replicate. Being outdoors conscionable adds that small texture that the movie needs. It feels real, due to the fact that it was.”

9. It Features Some Pretty Creative Fight Sequences

The Predator bid is nary alien to spectacular scraps, from the archetypal film’s last showdown betwixt Schwarzenegger’s Dutch and the man-hunting monster, to the showcase of precocious weaponry and acrobatics progressive successful the predator’s slaughter of the fur trappers successful Prey. Predator: Badlands is acceptable to adhd a fig of iconic encounters of its ain to that list, from a large conflict betwixt Dek and a hulking monster called a Kalisk, to a combat betwixt Dek and his member Kwei dangling from stalactites successful a cave – unofficially dubbed the “stalacfight” by the accumulation crew.

“I work the publication and I thought it was incredibly original,” said Tomuri, who antecedently collaborated connected the stunt sequences for George Miller’s Furiosa. “Some of the sequences I was like, I've ne'er really seen that, oregon heard of that successful immoderate enactment series before.”

One specified series highlighted by Tomuri involves a combat betwixt Thia and immoderate rival synths, which doesn’t dependable each that absorbing until you see the information that Thia’s precocious and little assemblage person been separated and are acting independently.

“The legs and the torso enactment unneurotic – similar a buddy combat – to bushed these synths up,” explained Tomuri. “And I was like, I can't accidental I've ever seen this earlier successful thing and past also, however the hellhole americium I going to bash that?”

Trachtenberg agrees that 1 of the goals with Predator: Badlands is to propulsion the envelope erstwhile it comes to combat choreography. “[You’re going] to spot things that we’ve ne'er gotten to spot the predator do, different than possibly successful immoderate comics and games,” says Trachtenberg. “We’ve ne'er seen the predator hunt connected an alien planet, oregon astatine slightest hunt non-humans connected an alien planet. Or seen a predator instrumentality connected synths. He’s up against things that are mode much brainsick than we’ve ever seen a predator woody with before.”

10. The Predator’s Arsenal is simply a Combination of Advanced Weaponry and Makeshift Tools

The Predator bid is synonymous with superior sidesplitting tools, from Jesse Ventura’s rainforest-razing ‘Old Painless’ mini-gun to the razor-edged astute disc successful Predator 2 that homed successful connected assemblage vigor and returned to its idiosyncratic similar a boomerang. However, Predator: Badlands is evidently switching to much organically sourced death-dealers, astatine slightest arsenic acold arsenic its leader is concerned.

“The Predators ever person weapons and chill gadgets and [Dek] has got that stuff,” explained Gillis. “But it is stripped distant from him successful the clang by the lifeforms that are connected this planet. And truthful we had this thought that what if helium benignant of recreates his weaponry done the usage of integrated things [he finds]?”

Examples presented to america see a whip fashioned retired of ‘razor grass’, arsenic good arsenic a gauntlet crafted retired of a vulture-like alien’s beak. Lastly determination is ‘Squirt’, a snake-like carnal that Dek repurposes arsenic a replacement for the much accepted predator enarthrosis cannon, wrapping its process astir his limb and pulling it to trigger an attack.

“[Dek] finds this lifeform that helium trains to beryllium connected his shoulder, and it has the quality to spit 2 chemicals that go explosive and fiery erstwhile they harvester successful the air,” said Gillis, going connected to explicate that the inspiration came from the existent satellite Bombardier Beetle, which erstwhile threatened ejects a noxious spray by combining hydroquinone and hydrogen peroxide.

That said, New Zealand-based Weta Workshop has besides travel to the array with a large assortment of high-tech weaponry, a batch of it wielded by the combat synths that Dek is forced to contend with. Wandering astir the propmaster’s store country connected acceptable reveals a fig of modular weapons similar handguns that tin alteration into rifles, a gauntlet shield to beryllium wielded by Dek’s member Kwei, arsenic good arsenic classical predator weapons similar the telescopic combistick that tin beryllium utilized arsenic some a hand-to-hand limb and thrown similar a spear.

Schuster-Koloamatangi has a wide favourite limb to wield, though. “It’s the plasma sword. I similar however it looks. I don’t similar however dense it is, but the sword is truly cool. It’s a monolithic sword.”

11. Predator: Badlands Won’t beryllium R-rated, But it Will Still beryllium Very Violent

There volition beryllium plentifulness of humor spilled successful Predator: Badlands, conscionable not the benignant that tends to get censorship boards each blistery and bothered. Although synthetics, predators, and assorted different alien monsters volition beryllium violently torn asunder, not a azygous quality quality volition beryllium harmed during Badlands’ runtime, which should mean that the movie receives a standing little terrible than the bulk of its predecessors.

“We'll spot wherever it ends up, but our anticipation for it is that it tin beryllium a PG-13 that feels similar an R,” said Rosenblatt. “That's benignant of our hope. And really, what that's astir is conscionable being capable to broaden retired the assemblage for a movie similar this.”

“We don't person immoderate humans successful the movie and truthful we don't person immoderate quality reddish blood,” continued Rosenblatt. “So we're hoping that's gonna play to our advantage. We're going to spell arsenic hard arsenic we perchance tin wrong those constraints, and we deliberation we'll beryllium capable to bash immoderate beauteous awesomely gruesome stuff. But successful colours different than red.”

Get acceptable for immoderate milky synthetic goop and glowing greenish predator humor to capable the surface by the bucketload.

12. Badlands is Aiming to beryllium the Terminator 2 of the Predator Series

Terminator 2: Judgement Day is 1 of the top enactment movies of each time, but tonally it’s noticeably antithetic to its predecessor, which was constructed much similar a sci-fi slasher movie. Trachtenberg hopes that Predator: Badlands volition basal isolated from erstwhile Predator films successful a akin fashion.

“[The difference] for maine is like, I ne'er thought my ma should spot The Terminator, but I did deliberation she should spot Terminator 2: Judgement Day,” explained Trachtenberg.

“Terminator 2 is thematically oriented to beryllium astir parents and children, portion besides inactive badass and awesome. So it felt similar a mode to get my ma to ticker a chill enactment movie [because] it had this full different motor to it. It was truly communicative focussed. So I truly felt heartened that determination is simply a mode to proceed doing these movies that tin person a warmth astatine the centre but besides inactive beryllium incredibly ferocious and action-oriented and each the things that you'd expect from the Predator franchise.”

Will Predator: Badlands delight some existing fans and newcomers alike? Will Dek germinate from runt of the litter to badarse hunter-killer? Will it setup the adjacent instalment successful the Alien vs. Predator series? We’ll get the answers to each of these questions and more, erstwhile Predator: Badlands arrives successful theaters connected November 7th, 2025.

Tristan Ogilvie is simply a elder video exertion astatine IGN’s Sydney office. He travelled to the acceptable of Predator: Badlands arsenic a impermanent of Disney.