Elle Fanning took the stage at CinemaCon 2025 in Las Vegas today to tout her upcoming Predator movie, Predator: Badlands, which will feature… a Predator who’s a good guy!
Yes, this Predator is a young warrior who has been cast out and comes to work with humans… or at least one human that we know of so far – Fanning! Before unveiling the trailer for the film, which was played exclusively for CinemaCon, the actress teased a bit of the movie’s plot.
“Something unprecedented happens in this movie,” the A Complete Unknown actress told the assembled crowd of reporters and theater industry folks. “My character is not the one being chased. My character actually teams up with the Predator. And you get to see him in a completley new light. And… I’ll stop there!”
The trailer was then unveiled, which showed Predator relices on a ship. “I didn’t think he survived,” someone says. We see the Predator standing on the shore… but this is not Earth. It’s another planet. We also see the Predator isn’t wearing his helmet. At another point he’s surrounded by giant deadly monsters. Fanning’s character says, “You’re something that cannot be killed.”
The trailer features the tagline “The director of Prey welcomes you to a world of hurt,” and ends with the Predator facing down a massive creature running at him, smashing through trees. Standing his ground, the Predator roars at the creature, ready to fight.
Predator: Badlands was directed by Dan Trachtenberg and co-written by Trachtenberg and Patrick Aison. It’s designed to be a standalone entry in the franchise even though Trachtenberg also directed 2022’s terrific Prey and is working on an as-yet untitled third Predator film as well.
Predator: Badlands will be released on November 7, 2025.
Reporting by Jim Vejvoda and Eric Goldman.
