In February of 2024, it was announced that Prey director Dan Trachtenberg would become the first filmmaker to take the helm of two films in the Predator franchise, as he was moving ahead with a new Predator film titled Badlands, working from a screenplay by Prey screenwriter Patrick Aison (based on a story crafted by Trachtenberg himself). Then we found out that while Trachtenberg was making the live-action Predator: Badlands, he was also working on an animated anthology movie called Predator: Killer of Killers, which he wrote with Micho Robert Rutare and directed with Josh Wassung of the animation company The Third Floor. So he has actually made three Predator movies. Predator: Killer of Killers was released through the Hulu streaming service earlier this month and Predator: Badlands is aiming for a November 7, 2025 theatrical release… and Trachtenberg isn’t done playing in this franchise. Speaking with SFX magazine, he revealed that he did Badlands and Killer of Killers simultaneously because there’s another Predator idea he’s eager to work on!
Trachtenberg said, “After Prey came out, and I started thinking about sequel stuff, there were three ideas that I had. Killers is one, Badlands is two and the third one is something else. The reason why I felt possessed to make them and sort of why I rushed – I did two at once because I could do, I could multitask with animation – was because I was so eager to get to the third thing. There’s a lot of cool ideas out there and none of them are just like, ‘Oh, we have to say the next part of this story because it was successful.’ All of it is like, ‘Whoa, no one has done that in sci-fi . No one has done that in Predator. No one’s done that with the creature,’ all of those ideas are generated from that instinct. So, yeah, there is definitely a third thing that I’d love to get to when Badlands is finished.“
According to a casting call, Predator: Badlands has the following synopsis: A groundbreaking film in which one of the two main storylines delves into the intricate bond of two very different sisters, their familial ties are put to the ultimate test as they pursue divergent paths and missions. We’ve previously heard that the story is set sometime in the future. The casting call was searching for a lead actress who could take on the dual role of twin sisters Thia and Tessa: This casting is for a dual character, and describes both characters. Character identifies as female or non-binary, open ethnicity, mid 20s – mid 40s. Thia has spent most of her life in a laboratory and is now embarking on her first big adventure in the world. She is incredibly smart, witty, enthusiastic, and unflappable. She has an innate disregard for danger, not because she’s fearless, but simply because she’s naive. Strong comedy chops required. // The other sister, Tessa, has a militant intensity when it comes to achieving her family’s goals and mission objectives. She will not let anything get in her way, not even her twin sister. These are believed to be the roles Elle Fanning is playing, with Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi taking on the role of the lead Predator, known as Dek.
Are you glad to hear that Trachtenberg wants to make another Predator movie after he’s done with Predator: Badlands? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.
