Entertainment
In 4 Years, Dan Trachtenberg Has Already Reinvented the Predator Franchise 3 Times
For decades, the Predator series operated on a simple premise: drop a Yautja into a new setting to fight elite warriors. The original science fiction movie turned that formula into action-horror perfection, but its successors mostly repeated the beats without expanding the mythology or emotional core. That changed when Dan Trachtenberg took the reins. In just three years, he’s revitalized the franchise not once, but in three distinct ways. Prey, Predator: Killer of Killers, and Predator: Badlands each broadened what a Predator movie can be, finding new emotional, aesthetic, and narrative angles. Trachtenberg has not only revived the series, but also given it room to go anywhere.
‘Prey’ Rewound Time and Reframed the Hunt
Prey rewound the clock to the 1700s and followed Naru (Amber Midthunder), a young Comanche woman determined to prove her worth as a hunter. On the surface, it still features a Yautja stalking a seasoned fighter. But by setting the story centuries before modern weaponry and pitting Naru’s instincts against Yautja technology, Trachtenberg reframed the conflict as one of wit, adaptation, and survival. He built an entire film around the concept of the original Predator’s climax, in which Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch abandoned guns and engaged in a primal battle.
Visually and tonally, Prey is patient, in addition to being a badass action film. The sweeping plains become as important as the creature itself, underscoring the power of observation and strategy. Midthunder plays a character with something to prove and a legacy to claim, not just a muscled-up commando or a cop on the edge. The heart of the story was as much Naru’s evolution from underestimated tracker to resourceful survivor as it was her battle against an otherworldly threat.
Prey distilled the Predator franchise to its essence. But it’s also more layered than previous entries, emphasizing character and culture over spectacle. The drama grows as much from Naru’s struggles within her tribe as from her battle with the Yautja, giving the franchise a mythic quality. Trachtenberg demonstrated that Predator isn’t limited by time, technology, or continuity; it can thrive wherever human determination meets alien ferocity. The franchise gained a sense of humanity it had long lacked, and there’s an argument that Prey is the series at its best.
‘Predator: Killer of Killers’ Expanded the Universe
After Prey, Trachtenberg pivoted with Predator: Killer of Killers, an animated anthology that leaped across eras and continents. Each segment explored a different confrontation between Yautja and warriors throughout history, such as Vikings, samurai, and World War II pilots. The stories were self-contained, but together they reinforced Prey’s core idea: Predator could take place anywhere, at any time. Animation lets Trachtenberg push the series visually. The Yautja’s movements became faster, their weapons more intricate, and the violence more fluid and visceral than live action could easily portray while maintaining an R rating. The anthology embraced sweeping visual ambition without the constraints of elaborate sets or globe-spanning shoots. Far from feeling like a cheap tie-in, Killer of Killers matched and sometimes surpassed the impact of several live-action installments.
Trachtenberg easily could have spent the next decade expanding each of the segments into full films. But through the anthology format, he avoided diminishing returns. A string of similar “Yautja vs. history’s greatest warriors” movies might have grown stale quickly, but placing them together instead made the film bold, inventive, and new. In the process, however, Trachtenberg may have exhausted the premise introduced by Prey. Which might be why he changed it all again.
‘Predator: Badlands’ Sets a New Future for the Franchise
After establishing a new template, Trachtenberg upended expectations with Predator: Badlands. Set on a planet where every creature has evolved to kill, Trachtenberg centers the story on Dek, a young Yautja whose devotion to his clan’s ideals is tested while hunting a dangerous trophy in a hostile environment.
The Predator series has always suggested that the Yautja possess a code of honor, but beyond the idea that they’re game hunters, the franchise hadn’t ventured into their culture or values. Badlands finally does. Through action rather than exposition, Trachtenberg introduces ideas such as hunts as rites of passage, cloaking technology as something earned, and tribal systems that cull their weakest members. Focusing the narrative on Dek gives the Yautja dimension the franchise has long lacked. As the runt of his clan, Dek is expected to fail. But his encounters with the synthetic Thia (Elle Fanning) force him to question doctrines that prize brute strength over thoughtfulness and connection. His arc isn’t about domination but doubt and, ultimately, about redefining leadership and trusting new allies. Dek finally emerges not just as a warrior but as the first truly multidimensional Yautja in the franchise, and Predator: Badlands‘ conclusion sets up further stories in Dek’s world. And while its PG-13 rating rankled some franchise purists, the film opens itself up to a broader audience without sacrificing its brutal appeal.
Trachtenberg also lays careful groundwork for a more organic link between the Predator and Alien universes than the Alien vs. Predator films attempted. The inclusion of Weyland-Yutani is overt enough to tie the franchises together, but Badlands never treats it as a gimmick and never gives into hinting at the Xenomorph in the climax or a post-credit reveal. It acknowledges a shared universe without demanding crossover spectacle, leaving the door open for future films to either explore or ignore the connection.
Redefining the ‘Predator’ Legacy
Across these three projects, Trachtenberg has redefined the tone, structure, and emotional core of the Predator universe while maintaining its primal DNA. Prey perfected the formula. Killer of Killers tested the series’ visual and narrative flexibility. Badlands deepened its mythology and gave it emotional weight. Trachtenberg’s success lies in his balance of reverence and reinvention. He respects what made Predator iconic, but refuses to let nostalgia trap it. Under his guidance, the Yautja are no longer faceless monsters but characters with emotions, codes, and arcs. His films use the franchise’s framework to explore strength, honor, and identity. In the process, Trachtenberg has reshaped the franchise into one of modern science fiction’s most flexible, thrilling, and unpredictable sagas.
Predator: Badlands is now playing in theaters.
- Release Date
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November 5, 2025
- Runtime
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107 minutes
- Director
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Dan Trachtenberg
- Writers
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Dan Trachtenberg, Patrick Aison, John Thomas, Jim Thomas
- Producers
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Brent O’Connor, John Davis, Marc Toberoff, Dan Trachtenberg, Ben Rosenblatt
- Franchise(s)
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Predator
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Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi
Dek / Father
