Badlands Teaser Promises a Hell of a Team Up

20th Century Studios has finally released a teaser trailer for Prey director Dan Trachtenberg’s next Predator film, Predator: Badlands, starring Elle Fanning.

The trailer, which was first shown at Disney’s presentation at CinemaCon a couple of weeks ago, keeps much of its high-tech battles, brutal takedowns, and unexpectedly aggressive flora shrouded in mystery. While the plot specifics remain unclear, one thing stands out —Trachtenberg’s follow-up film is set on an alien planet (not that Alien) that will set the stage for Fanning’s character to join forces with a formidable “yautja” warrior.

In classic Predator fashion, we’re treated to a glimpse of the yautja’s trophy room—a nod to Predator 2. This time, instead of a Xenomorph skull mounted on the wall, there’s a T. rex head on display. Seems like Xenomorphs weren’t yet part of their big-game hunting catalog.

Elsewhere, Fanning’s character is shown riding across a vast desert landscape on a speeder, and tapping into some mysterious space magic while being pursued by a relentless militia. Meanwhile, the Predator engages in a variety of battles, from escaping poisonous smoke plumes from plants to clashing with a mysterious foe wielding a glowing sword. Towards the end of the trailer, we see the Predator square off against a colossal furry kaiju and even fight off aggressive tree vines eager to join the fray—all while Fanning’s character provides a narrative overlay about the Predator’s hunt, hinting at an eventual alliance. There’s tons of green blood, brief looks at gnarly amputated arms, folks getting kicked off cliff faces, and aura farming shots of the Predator looking cool in its armor.

While there is a lot of mystery surrounding Fanning’s character, this very site has previously reported that she may play multiple roles in the film. Fanning and Trachtenberg have both teased that this might be the case. Speaking with Empire Magazine last November, Trachtenberg characterized Fanning’s role in the film as one where she “faced intense challenges on this movie” in ways both “dramatically, physically” and “logistically.”

At CinemaCon, Fanning further teased her role, saying, “Something unprecedented happens in this movie.” While she does follow it up by confirming her character will, in fact, team up with the predator, as if that’s the unprecedented something—which wouldn’t be true in the slightest for those who watched Alien vs. Predator—there’s enough bread crumbs to safely assume that she’s playing double duty in this film, possibly as the Predator somehow.

Putting that theory-crafting aside, in Empire, Trachtenberg offered a nugget of insight into what fans can expect from his film, primarily explaining why this film will center on the Predator as its central character.

“The creature is front and center, leading the charge. He’s still badass, but there’s something there that touches you emotionally, too,” Trachtenberg said. “Creating a character you connect with, but are also super-intimidated by, has been challenging. But exciting.”

He continued, adding that, the reason the Predator will play the role of protagonist instead of antagonist this time around was 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.”

Hopefully, the film will be another exciting venture into the expansive world of the Predator, paving a new path for different avenues of telling its tale while not feeling too constricted by referencing its past films and losing the essence that made Prey such a standout along the way.

Predator: Badlands is set to release in theaters November 7.

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