Director as Dinner Party Host: Dan Trachtenberg on "Predator: Badlands"

"With Predator: Badlands, for the first time the franchise centers the titular predator (called a Yautja) as the protagonist. Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) is a runt eager to prove himself to his clan by traveling to the deadliest planet in the galaxy to kill its most dangerous creature. Along the way, he encounters Thia (Elle Fanning), an android working for Weyland-Yutani Corporation (of the Alien franchise). He begrudgingly works together with her to navigate not only Genna's hostile terrain but also Weyland-Yutani forces."

"Trachtenberg's feature directorial debut, 10 Cloverfield Lane, took the bones of J.J. Abrams found footage monster film and married it to the cadence of a psychological thriller; his short film Portal: No Escape laces in the gunplay of John Woo films. Within the confines of the Predator franchise, he's managed to preserve his own artistic ideas amidst worlds with their own rules and mythology."

Predator: Badlands centers a Yautja named Dek who seeks to prove himself by traveling to the deadliest planet to hunt its most dangerous creature. Dek encounters Thia, an android employed by Weyland-Yutani, and reluctantly teams with her to survive Genna's hostile terrain and corporate forces. The film's landscape cinematography draws inspiration from Terrence Malick and Sergio Leone, while Sarah Schachner's score for the video game Anthem influenced the film's music. Director Dan Trachtenberg blends varied genre influences to preserve original ideas within franchise constraints. The film became the highest-grossing entry in the Predator franchise and spurred reflection on franchise mythology and generative AI.

Read at Filmmaker Magazine