"Predator: Badlands" first trailer shows Elle Fanning befriending a young predator

Then, in 2022, "Prey" came along. Set in 1719 America (before it was, you know, America) a less-technologically-advanced Predator comes to Earth and does battle with a Comanche tribe. The tl;dr of it all is basically "What if a girlboss killed a Predator?" but it's a pretty entertaining movie. Also, it seemed to offer up a path forward for the franchise wherein a Predator could be dropped into all sorts of times and places. Furthermore, "Prey" was a Hulu-exclusive release, but it's success would in theory pave the way for a return to the theaters.

The latter has happened. In terms of building upon what worked in "Prey," on the other hand, well...this has long been a franchise good at squandering goodwill.

What we knew, at first, was that a new "Predator" movie from the screenwriter/director team behind "Prey" was coming, and that it would star Elle Fanning. Good start! "Predator: Badlands" is also a good title. Alas, it turns out the film is set on another planet, a generic dystopian place in what appears to be a generic dystopian future.

Fanning barely pops up in this trailer because, it turns out, maybe the main character is a Predator who is, well, effectively not a Predator in every sense of that character? Indeed, Disney's provided log line (don't forget they own 20th Century now) is as follows:

In the future on a remote planet, a young Predator, outcast from his clan, finds an unlikely ally in Thia and embarks on a treacherous journey in search of the ultimate adversary.

Thia is, of course, Fanning. This premise is, of course, dumb as hell. Is "Badlands" essentially "What if a Predator was nice and misunderstood and lived in a world that has zero hook to it?" Yes, it's just one teaser trailer, but consider us fully out on "Predator: Badlands."

If you remain hopeful/masochistic, "Predator: Badlands" hits theaters on November 7. Remarkably, that is the same day Edgar Wright's take on "The Running Man" comes out. Schwarzenegger starred in the original adaptation of "The Running Man" which came out in 1987. Yes, the same year "Predator" came out. November 7, 2025 exists to honor 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger.