Predator: Badlands is out now in theaters, and by most accounts, including our own review, it is excellent. Dan Trachtenberg has proven himself as the Predator whisperer. He’s on the press tour for the film right now and our friend Brandon Davis of Phase Hero sat down with him to talk all things Predator, including the new movie.

They gave us an exclusive preview of their upcoming episode and they talked about the risks taken in the new movie. You can check out their newest episode on Monday morning.

“It was really in trying to figure out what we hadn’t seen yet. After Prey came out, I didn’t want to just make the Part Two of the thing that was really cool. I wanted to think of, ‘Is there another thing as an idea that was also really cool?’ And there was this sentiment that I was quite aware of that is, ‘Why does the Predator always lose?’

It’s supposed to be the greatest hunter in the entire galaxy, and he comes to Earth and he gets his butt kicked every time. So, I started to thinking about, ‘Okay, that’s the untapped thing in the franchise.’ Like, why? You know, could I make a movie with the Predator wins? But I just was not driven to make a slasher movie where in the end, the slasher wins and that that isn’t something that would be special beyond the franchise and that’s when it came, like, ‘Okay, what if I made a made something where the monster, the creature, is the protagonist.’ That’s something that the franchise has never seen. That’s something that sci-fi has never seen. So that was the first idea that we had.”

They also went into detail about how they humanize the Predator in the film and how that makes the audience root for Dek as a character.

Q: [Paraphrased] You took a risk here, humanizing a Predator character and it pays off in the first fifteen minutes but this is a species that isn’t known or popular for being rooted for. How did you walk the line of making the character one we can root for without betraying the lore?

A: It really was paying attention to the very first 15 minutes and making sure that they felt and Dek felt and his clan felt ferocious and monstrous. And so, in a way, when you watch From Dusk till Dawn and you meet characters that are criminals, that are gangsters, but when they’re up against something worse, you’re rooting for them.

Dek, is not defanged in any way, though he’s missing one by by specific circumstances but that’s before the movie even starts… But he still is a total badass. Think about all gangster movies. Hitman movies? If you met, Leon in person, you know, you would be terrified of him and you would think he belongs in prison. But in the context of that story, you are rooting for him to overcome his odds. 

So, really thought hard about finding a more universally rootable story and set of circumstances to put him in. So, we could have let him be a badass. Let him be a rogue like Han Solo or Mad Max or Clint Eastwood, you know, and root for him to just be a little less mean. You don’t have to be rooting for him, to be the ultimate good guy, but just be a little less mean. And then he will have moved.

Predator Badlands

Here’s what we had to say about Predator: Badlands in our 94% review.

Predator: Badlands ends up as one of the best and most satisfying action films on the year and easily places itself among the best in the Predator pantheon. Dan Trachtenberg and the cast and crew on this film did wonders. This is the closest we’re going to get to a modern-day version of those classic 80s and 90s action films that brought together heart, emotion, violence, and made you feel uplifted when they were over.

So go see Predator: Badlands for yourself in theaters right now!

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