Badlands’ Come Out? All About the Seventh Film

There’s a new Predator movie on the way!

Predator: Badlands stars Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi as Dek, a young Predator who embarks on a solo mission in a dangerous land of other Predators. However, along the way, he bonds with the android Thia (Elle Fanning).

The film “is set in the future on a remote planet, where a young Predator, outcast from his clan, finds an unlikely ally in Thia (Fanning) and embarks on a treacherous journey in search of the ultimate adversary,” according to the official synopsis.

On July 21, Predator: Badlands, which is the seventh film in the main franchise, released its official trailer that shows the two characters battling Predators while also forming a friendship.

Here’s everything to know about Predator: Badlands.

What is Predator: Badlands about?

Predator: Badlands follows the young Predator Dek who finds himself in unfamiliar territory after being cast aside by his clan. As he embarks upon his dangerous journey, he meets the android Thia, who offers to help him.

The film centers around the two characters as they venture through “the most dangerous planet in the universe” filled with even more intense Predators. The unlikely duo venture together to take down the “definitive apex Predator.”

“Here, you’re not the Predator. You’re the Prey,” Thia tells Dek in the trailer.

Unlike past films in the Predator franchise, the Badlands film solely focuses on Thia and Dek’s journey battling other Predators, instead of humans fighting the extraterrestrials. The film’s director, Dan Trachtenberg, previously explained that he wanted to focus more on the culture of the Predator species in their own world.

“Really, what it is, it’s an inversion of the premise of now the Predator is on a planet. He’s going to be hunted by things and has to use his guile to figure out stuff,” Trachtenberg said on a panel in April 2025, per ComicBook. “While we were writing, we were doing concept art and things like that to figure out the world-building of it all.”

Fanning also teased how the film is different from its prequels and said at CinemaCon in April, “I was so intrigued and so struck by Dan’s vision for this film, and I think it’s really his ability to break new ground within the Predator universe that it just speaks to his creativity and his passion for this world.”

Who is in the cast of Predator: Badlands?

Predator: Badlands stars Fanning as android Thia and Schuster-Koloamatangi as Predator Dek.

Fanning spoke about her character at CinemaCon and explained that part of the reason she wanted to play Thia was because it was “very different than the work that I’ve done in the past.”

“Something unprecedented happens in this movie and my character is not the one being chased,” she added. “My character actually teams up with the Predator and you get to see him in a completely new light.”

As for Schuster-Koloamatangi, Trachtenberg explained that they wanted to create a character who both embraced the qualities of a Predator while also still being vulnerable.

“He’s still badass, but there’s something there that touches you emotionally too,” Trachtenberg told Empire in November 2024. “Creating a character you connect with but are also super-intimidated by has been challenging, but exciting.”

Trachtenberg later explained that they were “very specific” when casting Dek and initially thought they wanted a stunt man who was “like seven-foot-six,” he said in April 2025. However, after meeting with Schuster-Koloamatangi, they changed their minds.

“Dimitrius came up and the way he moved just had a great swashbuckle to it,” Trachtenberg said at a press event, per ComicBook. “He just was so cool. We set up a little physical obstacle course. That’s how we cast him. Then he did some dramatic stuff from the movie and it was awesome. I was not at all prepared for what he actually does … I could not believe, how did we luck into this guy? It’s crazy that we found him.”

Who is directing Predator: Badlands?

Trachtenberg directed Predator: Badlands.

He also co-wrote the film alongside Patrick Aison, who wrote Prey in 2022. Trachtenberg is not a stranger to the franchise, as he also directed Prey and Predator: Killer of Killers (2025).

Is there a trailer for Predator: Badlands?

The first teaser trailer for Predator: Badlands was released in April 2025. The one-minute teaser showed glimpses of Thia and Dek battling dangerous obstacles and Predators on their journey.

“You’re hunting something that can’t be killed,” Thia tells Dek of the ultimate Predator.

In July 2025, 20th Century Studios released the official trailer for Predator: Badlands. In addition to some light-hearted banter between Thia and Dek, the trailer also gives viewers a look at the treacherous journey ahead of them.

“I am Prey to none!” Dek declares to the Predators hunting him, while Thia teases later on, “We might not be alone on this hunt.”

When will Predator: Badlands be released?

Predator: Badlands premieres in theaters on Nov. 7, 2025.

In the meantime, the Predator movies can be streamed on Hulu.