Dan Trachtenberg’s Predator Franchise Is Just Getting Started

It all began with an image of Chewbacca carrying C-3PO on his back. That one image from The Empire Strikes Back would inspire one of the best Predator movies ever, a fresh reimagining of the sci-fi horror franchise that turned the slasher monster into the protagonist. But while Star Wars will always be a north star for director Dan Trachtenberg, he didn’t make Predator: Badlands with the ultimate goal of making a Star Wars movie — not that he would say no to one.

“I've had various exciting thoughts for Star Wars over the years, and maybe one day that is a thing,” Trachtenberg tells Inverse. “Or maybe it will continue to fuel things I do elsewhere.”

Trachtenberg’s guiding principle is inspired by a story about how George Lucas and Steven Spielberg conceived of Indiana Jones. Spielberg was upset that he wasn’t allowed to direct a James Bond movie because he was American. But then Lucas gave him something better: an idea that would eventually become Raiders of the Lost Ark. “And it was like he made his own James Bond,” Trachtenberg says.

“You know what? I'm just going to make it on my own.”

“Funny enough, almost everything I've done... has come from no’s,” Trachtenberg continues. “That has fueled some of the movies I have made already and things that I'm looking forward to making. ‘Well, they said no to this thing. So you know what? I'm just going to make it on my own.’”

It’s how Trachtenberg has found himself steering the Predator franchise into brand new territory since 2022, when his lean historical thriller Prey brought fresh blood to a waning series. In an interview with Inverse, Trachtenberg teased (very cryptically) what’s next for his vision of the Predator franchise, whether we could see more Alien crossovers down the road, and what impact his Paramount deal will have on it all.

This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

Where did the idea of a Yautja being the protagonist come from? What sparked that?

It came from a couple different places. On the one hand, it was thinking about simultaneously what hasn't been done in the Predator franchise. Kind of thinking after Prey, "What do we do now?" But also wanting to find a way to make a movie that's something I'd want to do anyway, that wasn't just Part Two of a cool thing. What could be a cool thing in and of itself?

And stirring those things together was, "Well, the Predator has never won before." That was a big sentiment in the Predator fan community. Why does this thing go to Earth and get its butt kicked all the time? And so I was thinking of Predator wins. But I didn't want to just make a slasher movie, which is sort of the genre outline that the Predator most closely follows traditionally, and have, like the bad guy wins. That sparked this other notion that not just Predator, but all of sci-fi, our favorite characters are creatures. They're the sidekicks, and they're the villains, and there never has been a movie where they're the center of it, and they're not just assisting a human doing a thing. So those things swirl together to forge the early premise of Badlands.

After Prey put a new spin on the Predator franchise with its historic setting, Badlands with the Yautja protagonist conceit, is there another fresh conceit you'd like to explore? Would you even go back to the Yautja as an antagonist?

Yeah, there's multiple things we're into right now that are other unique ways into the franchise. Surprisingly, we have found there are still some stones left unturned. And thinking of the old format of Predator, how could that feel new again with Predator as antagonists?

Is there any way you could tease or hint at any of those ideas that are sort of coming together, or is it a mystery for now?

Well, yeah. I would want to unveil it in a way that could be more exciting than just my words.

I saw the behind-the-scenes footage of how Elle Fanning was harnessed to be on Dimitrius' back. What was the biggest technical challenge of shooting a movie where one of your leads is being carried the entire time?

There was no respite. There was no scene [that] doesn't have visual effects. This one doesn't have something complicated surrounding it because in a Star War, you have a bunch of visual effects and then you have the cockpit with Han and Luke talking or whatever. And it's like, "Okay, just people having a conversation in this scene. Okay, great. On a set, and then we're good." And for us, everything, even the walk and talk, involved incredibly complicated stunt wire work and visual effects. Even their campfire scene meant we had to figure out a way to hide Elle's legs. And of course, Dimitrius and Bud are complicated practical and visual effects.

“There was no scene [that] doesn't have visual effects.”

So there really was no uncomplicated scene, but certainly Elle, we can see the behind the scenes, there are so many different rigs that we tried. Each one suited a particular challenge. And there was a scene that we shot in this eel-infested trench in New Zealand. Friendly eels! And they had these cable-cam wires running through harnessed on trees, and she was carried on a wheelbarrow. Then there's one scene where we had to pick Elle up from off the ground, and put her on his shoulders while they're talking. And I needed several beats of coverage to pull off that effect.

And Elle was noticing how much I love to get stuff in camera. She was like, "What if I tried to do this just with acting?" And I was like, "Okay, sure, let's see." And she did it just moving her body in this weird way to make it feel like her weight is being distributed. And then they walked back-to-back, timed their walks. And it looks awesome and was better than most of the other techniques we employed. And unfortunately, for Dimitrius, we only discovered that in the last week of shooting. Had it been discovered earlier, we would've done it so much more frequently, and is all a credit to Elle's wonderful acting.

The effects of the movie, especially the visuals of the Death Planet are so amazing too, especially with how every element of the planet's designed to kill you. Were there any sequences or elements that were part of the concept but were never able to be shot because of just the technical challenge or just like they had to be cut or something?

On the Blu-ray... not only is there some deleted scenes, but I've included all of the pre-vis that we did. Frequently I will sometimes pre-vis before we've even written a script pages for a sequence yet. Sometimes that's what helps me think through some creative ideas. Also, our schedule was like, "Let's start to figure this stuff out." So on that, you will see pre-vis for a different sequence where we met Elle Fanning's character, Thia, and we meet her in a sandpit where we can't touch the ground because there's these creatures in the sand. And very, very cool. They're almost like upside-down spiders, where their legs are sticking out of the sand and their heads are under ... Yeah, it was gross and cool.

And then there's also a different ... The sequence where we fight the Kallisk for the first time in the movie that was originally going to be the first conflict between Dek and all the synths, and then the Kallisk would interrupt that. And so that is an entirely figured-out fight sequence that's in pre-vis with placeholder dialogue. That's on the disc as well. And those were all both just changed for different narrative drives. We did want to meet the synth so soon; we wanted to make it like he's finding the Kallisk, that's all coming to a head, and then get subverted, which is why we changed that scene. And then the Elle meeting was actually more location-based. We couldn't quite find a location that fit what we needed for the sandpit stuff. And then I started to get this other idea for something that would have the same kind of suspense just require different things.

“We'll see which one gets to carry the torch first.”

Predator: Badlands was conceived as a standalone movie, but the ending clearly sets up a battle with Dek and Thia and Bud, against the clan led by Dek's mom. Are there any sequel plans or even just other media that would follow-up this cliffhanger ending?

Yeah, I think that's all in the hopper of the multi-prong. There's a very exciting “what is next” literally as a Part Two to Badlands, and there's also some other entry points that, just like Killer of Killers and Badlands, I've started to conceive at around the same time, and wasn't sure which was going to go first. And they ended up both [going] at the same time. So I think similarly here, we're figuring out a few different next things, and we'll see which one gets to carry the torch first.

Speaking of Killer of Killers, it has that post-credit scene with several of the Predator protagonists, including Naru in cryo-captivity. Is there any chance we could see Naru or those protagonists cross paths with Dek and Thia?

I'm saying there's a chance.

You recently made a three-year deal with Paramount. How does that impact your plans for the Predator franchise?

Well, I started working on Predator stuff obviously before the deal, but I'm also, now that this has happened, incredibly excited for the things that I've been talking to Paramount about, getting to make next. So we'll certainly just have to see what shakes out. But of course, Killer of Killers and Predator: Badlands happening so quickly is a rare exception to me sort of taking a little bit of time to develop and figure stuff out. So we'll just have to see what movie I can really get ready swiftly. But I will say Predator-wise, multiple exciting things, and Paramount-wise, very exciting conversation with them about not just stuff that they have over there, but stuff they were excited for me to bring to them.

I wanted to ask about the Alien crossover potential in the Predator franchise. We have Weyland-Yutani in Badlands, obviously, but is there any other crossover potential, especially with the ongoing Alien franchise, both on TV and in movies? Have you seen Alien: Earth? There's a lot of synth stuff going on in there.

It sure is. Awesome synth stuff in that show. Yeah. Absolutely. It's full of potential. That was part of what was so exciting, was to also just kind of show or to see if we could prove out that you can take elements from franchises, I hate using corporate terms, and weave those together as opposed to just like the Alien, the Predator, Jason. But what if we just took elements and interwove them? And that's been very rewarding to see pan out with Badlands. And I think both franchises are a really healthy place now, and would definitely be cool to keep on interweaving them.

Predator: Badlands is now available on 4K Blu-ray and DVD, and is streaming on Hulu.

What new features does the Predator: Badlands Blu-ray have?

Bonus features include:

• Deleted & Pre-Visualization Scenes with Optional Audio Commentary:
• Sand Trap – An early animatic version of Dek’s very different first encounter with Thia.
• Squirt Canyon – The full version of Dek and Thia traversing the water-filled trench while trying to survive Genna…and each other.
• Tessa vs. Abe – Tessa faces off against a superior synth in this deleted scene and storyline.
• Razor Grass – The original previsualization of Dek, Thia, and Bud’s first hunt together…sort of.
• The Outpost – Thia takes Dek to a small Weyland-Yutani field facility where they experience a few things that ended up being used elsewhere in the final film.
• Super Power Loader Extended – Special additional moments during Dek’s climactic final battle with the Super Power Loader and the Kalisk.
• Featurettes:
• Embodying the Predator – Meet the talented team of designers, performers, and effects artists responsible for bringing one of cinema’s most terrifying creatures to life on screen in ways we’ve never seen before!
• Authentic Synthetics – Get up close and personal with synths Thia and Tessa as star Elle Fanning walks us through the process of crafting two characters who may look the same but have evolved in surprisingly unique ways.
• Building the Badlands – With razor sharp grass, killer trees, and terrifying animals, never has a planet been more deadly than Genna. Uncover how a team of artisans built this threatening landscape, transforming real locations into the dangerous environments seen on screen.
• Dek of the Yautja – For the first time ever, director Dan Trachtenberg has given audiences an extended peek at Predator culture. Follow the evolution as filmmakers reveal the process behind developing the Yautja’s home world, spacecraft, and family dynamics.
• Audio Commentary: Watch the film with audio commentary by Director Dan Trachtenberg, Producer Ben Rosenblatt, Director of Photography Jeff Cutter and Stunt Coordinator Jacob Tomuri.