Let me get this out of the way right now. The Predator: Badlands trailer is trash.
Watch:
I actually laughed out loud while watching it.
This comment on the YouTube trailer sums up my feelings…
The end of this trailer is not as impressive as 20th Century Studios thinks it is. https://t.co/6AqPa7AaqJ
— Bleeding Fool (@BleedingFool) April 23, 2025
There is speculation that the reason the predator looks so human is that it is a hybrid human/predator made by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation from the Alien franchise. This is an attempt to marry the two franchises as Alien: Earth takes place in… honestly, who cares?
Alex Gherzo from Geeks and Gamers may have said it best when he called Predator a zombie franchise. A dead franchise walking.
Alex says:
“Predator is one of the many franchises that I wish would go away. The movies following Predator 2 aren’t good (with the caveat that I haven’t seen Prey because The Predator was so awful that it killed any interest I had in seeing more of these films; it’s the only Shane Black film I don’t like), and I know they’ll never give it up because it’s a recognizable name, but sooner or later, at least a few of these IPs are going to have to be allowed to fade away. ”
I couldn’t agree more.
Part of the charm of the original Predator movie was the use of practical effects. As the audience, you were in the jungle with Dutch and his band of soldiers. You felt their pain, despair, and fear as they were hunted down by a superior alien being.
The Predator: Badlands trailer looks like a CGI-filled mess that fits in perfectly with Disney’s previous predator movie, Prey. Or honestly, any recent Disney project. They all have the same CGI with a cartoonish aesthetic that they don’t seem to realize is comical at best, or at the very least yawn-inducing. And this is a shame for the Predator franchise, which once had a chance to continue to thrive when many old-school classics have failed.
You Tell Me If This is Predator: Badlands or Star WarsThe Real Franchise Savior
Out of all the classic franchises hack Hollywood writers want to keep alive – Star Wars, Star Trek, Dr Who, Terminator and any 80s TV show – Predator was their best chance. Not because of Prey, a movie lauded by fans and critics, but one that I found was very overrated.
Prey had its moments, but many critics that I respect seemed to gloss over the terrible effects, acting, and girl-boss tropes that permeate most modern movies. No, I mean the 2010 movie Predators which was/is the franchise resurgence movie people pretend Prey and Predator: Badlands to be.
Alex doesn’t agree, since in his article he found the extreme faces in Predators silly, but I feel Predators came closest to what a predator movie should be in terms of cinematography, effects, the feeling of claustrophobia, characters, and world.
For those that don’t remember, Predators starred Adrien Brody as Royce and was directed by Robert Rodriguez. Royce is a soldier who wakes while being parachuted into a strange jungle. After gathering his wits, Royce realizes he’s not alone, and an eclectic group of dangerous humans band together to survive as they’re hunted by violent predators.
The survivors that team up with Royce are an Israeli sharpshooter, a drug cartel member, a Russian soldier with a mini-gun, a Yakuza member, a African mercenary, a death row killer and a weak man who seems randomly placed on the world. None of them recognize the strange jungle, but once they find evidence of previous humans on the planet; they surmise that they are the prey on a hunting planet.
The group must survive predators that employ different tactics to hunt them. One of the main additions Predators bring to the franchise is the different factions within the warrior race that Predator: Badlands seems to be trying to emulate.
But why do it again, when it was already done well fifteen years ago?
The Future?
Predators was dark, gritty, violent, used mostly practical effects, and had a wonderful cast of diverse – not the bad kind – of characters. All the survivors are capable, dangerous, and suspicious of each other from the onset, which adds drama and intrigue as you get to know them. Some you dislike while others you grow to respect despite their past. Sadly, Predators didn’t land, and was a box-office bomb, but I think people should give it a re-watch now that we’re in the Disney era which is taking the predator franchise into zombie territory.
But I could be wrong. Despite my negative take, Prey was a minor hit for Disney. And for all I know, Predator: Badlands is the sequel to Predators I’ve been hoping for. Predators ended on a note that begged for a sequel and maybe in the next few months we’ll find out that Predator: Badlands was born from that ending.
One can hope, but I am not holding my breath that Disney can get this right.
Remember how the first 3 Predator movies were better than the last 3 Predator movies and last three Alien movies? pic.twitter.com/kw9vmVtxUU
— Bleeding Fool (@BleedingFool) April 24, 2025
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