Verdict: Predator: Badlands is the boldest swing the franchise has taken in decades — and it mostly connects. Director Dan Trachtenberg does something no Predator film has ever dared to do: he puts the monster at the centre of the story and asks the audience to root for it. The result is a rollicking, surprisingly heartfelt science-fiction adventure that expands the series in genuinely exciting directions, even if its second half cannot quite sustain the promise of its first.
Trachtenberg, who revived the franchise with Prey (2022), has now delivered its most radical reinvention — and it is carried by a clever central pairing and some of the most vivid creature design the series has ever produced.
| Director | Dan Trachtenberg |
| Cast | Elle Fanning (Thia and Tessa), Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi (Dek) |
| Release date | November 7, 2025 (United States) |
| Runtime | 1 hour 47 minutes |
| Rating | PG-13 (strong sci-fi violence) |
| Scores at time of writing | 86% on Rotten Tomatoes (277 critics, average 7.2/10); 71/100 on Metacritic (43 critics); A- CinemaScore |
A Predator as the hero — and it works
Dek is the runt of his clan, an unproven young Yautja desperate to earn his father’s approval. Exiled and marked for death, he crash-lands on Genna, a so-called death planet where nearly every plant and animal seems designed to kill him. His only hope of proving himself is to hunt the Kalisk, an apex creature said to be unkillable — a beast so feared that even seasoned hunters avoid it.
The genius of the film is that it never softens Dek into a cuddly mascot. Schuster-Koloamatangi, performing under heavy prosthetics with a digitally enhanced face, plays him as proud, stubborn and often dangerously naive. Watching that rigidity crack under the pressure of survival is the film’s emotional spine.
Elle Fanning steals the film — twice
Stranded on Genna, Dek reluctantly teams up with Thia, a damaged Weyland-Yutani synthetic whose team was wiped out by the very creature he is hunting. Fanning is superb as Thia: curious, chatty and unexpectedly funny, she gives the film its warmth and its conscience. She also plays Tessa, Thia’s colder “sister” synthetic, who arrives with a Weyland-Yutani team intent on capturing the Kalisk for the company’s own purposes. The contrast between the two performances — one open-hearted, one chillingly mission-focused — is the film’s sharpest trick, and it quietly stitches the Predator and Alien universes together.
The third member of the party is Bud, a small alien creature Thia befriends, who supplies much of the film’s humour and, eventually, its biggest emotional payoff.
A gorgeous, hostile world — and a slightly wobbly third act
Genna itself is a triumph. Shot in New Zealand and built from a mix of practical creature work and extensive visual effects, the planet feels genuinely alien: beautiful, teeming and lethal in equal measure. The action set pieces — Dek improvising weapons from local flora and fauna after losing his gear — are inventive and often thrilling.
Where the film stumbles is in its final stretch. The Weyland-Yutani base climax, while spectacular, leans on familiar franchise machinery, and some of the lore around the Kalisk’s regenerative powers is explained more than it is felt. A few critics have also noted that the film’s lighter, more comedic tone will not suit purists who miss the primal intensity of the R-rated original.
What the critics and audiences said
At the time of writing, Predator: Badlands holds an 86% score on Rotten Tomatoes from 277 critics, with the site’s consensus praising Trachtenberg for taking the franchise “in exciting new directions” and transforming “one of cinema’s most iconic brutes into a hero worth rooting for.” Metacritic’s weighted average sits at 71 out of 100 from 43 critics, indicating generally favourable reviews. Audiences were even warmer: the film earned an A- CinemaScore, the best in franchise history, and opened to a franchise-record $40 million in North America on its way to $184.6 million worldwide. Its ending sets up a future for Dek, Thia and Bud that feels earned.
Final verdict
Predator: Badlands is funny, heartfelt and frequently spectacular — a franchise film that trusts its audience enough to try something different. It is not flawless, and its third act leans too hard on familiar beats, but as a reinvention it is a resounding success, and the strongest Predator film since Prey.
Frequently asked questions
Is Predator: Badlands a sequel to Prey?
No, it is a standalone entry in the franchise from the same director, Dan Trachtenberg. You do not need to have seen Prey to follow it, though fans will spot the shared creative DNA.
Who plays the Predator in Badlands?
New Zealand actor Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi plays Dek, the young Yautja hero, in a creature suit with motion-capture facial enhancement.
Does Elle Fanning really play two characters?
Yes. Fanning plays both Thia, the damaged synthetic who befriends Dek, and Tessa, her colder Weyland-Yutani “sister” who opposes them.
Is Predator: Badlands rated R like the other films?
No. It is the first mainline Predator film rated PG-13, for strong sci-fi violence — a notable break from the R-rated entries that came before it.
Do you need to watch the earlier Predator films first?
No. Badlands is designed as a self-contained story set on an alien planet, and it works perfectly well as an entry point to the series.