Predator: Badlands

Predator: Badlands (2025) is the film where the series switches sides: this time the hunter is the hero. A young Yautja named Dek is judged inadequate and cast out by his own clan. To prove himself he takes his brother's ship to a planet called Genna, known as the most dangerous place in the universe, where a mythical creature lives. On the way he meets a synthetic named Thia and they travel together. The whole logic of the series inverts. In the earlier films the Predator was the thing watched, hidden from, feared. Here we look through its eyes and something else is being hunted. Dan Trachtenberg had made Prey, where he did the same job of pulling the Predator out of its known shape. The relationship between Dek and Thia is the film's real business and brings a register the series has never had: a two hander adventure. Elle Fanning's performance is what reviewers praised most. It had the best opening in the series and passed a hundred and eighty million dollars worldwide. Despite its restricted certificate the level of violence surprised people. It runs 107 minutes. Good for: science fiction action, followers of the series, and creature design. Less good for: anyone expecting classic Predator dread will find a different film, and the tone turns light in places.