Dan Trachtenberg’s Predator: Badlands Will Have The Predator As The Protagonist

As the fans have been enjoying the recent success of Alien: Romulus as well as news about the upcoming games – Alien: Rogue Incursion, an Alien: Isolation sequel, the series – Alien: Earth and the novel – Alien: Cult, it’s finally time for the Predator side of the fans to enjoy some exciting news. It has been a busy few months with, amongst other things, the reveal that Predator: Badlands is getting a November 2025 theatrical release date, as well as a yet unnamed secret animated Predator anthology film by Prey’s director, Dan Trachtenberg himself.

Empire Magazine has been teasing us with an exclusive first look of Predator: Badlands, and today they’ve released a preview of their January 2025 issue. The unexpected piece of news is that for the very first time on the big screen, we’ll have a Predator as our main protagonist. In the interview with Empire, Dan Trachtenberg says:

“The creature is front and center, leading the charge,” Trachtenberg grins, speaking to Empire in the Andor Season 2 issue. “He’s still badass, but there’s something there that touches you emotionally, too. Creating a character you connect with, but are also super-intimidated by, has been challenging. But exciting.” The idea, he says, came from a desire to “find another essential piece of cinema that does what Prey did spiritually — pushing the franchise’s boundaries, letting us root for a hero we rarely get to root for — but in a different way. And that transformed into this big idea of rooting for the Predator.” Finally, the ugly mother-effer’s day has come.

Knowing that fans for a long time have been commenting how the Predator never wins in its stories, especially on screen and how that contrasts with the image of the ultimate hunter, it’s entirely possible that this new approach in Predator: Badlands is a response to the existing critique. If we want to find out more about the first look of Predator: Badlands, we’ll have to wait until the full article is released in the January edition of Empire Magazine.

Thanks to Nightmare Asylum and Whiteabaddon for the heads up! Keep your browsers locked on Alien vs. Predator Galaxy for the latest Predator: Badlands news! You can follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube to get the latest on your social media walls. You can also join in with fellow Alien and Predator fans on our forums.