Predator: Badlands will be unique in the Predator franchise for a number of reasons, but it shares a specific story detail with only one other Predator movie that is cause for excitement. The upcoming stand-alone entry is directed by Dan Trachtenberg, who breathed new life into the long-running sci-fi action horror franchise with the surprise 2022 hit Prey. Predator: Badlands will feature the franchise’s first Predator protagonist, as the movie will center around an undersized Yautja named Dek as he tries to earn the acceptance of his clan by killing a seemingly unkillable target.

The movie will also star Elle Fanning as Dek’s ally Thia, an android created by the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, a mainstay of Predator‘s sister series, the Alien franchise. As of now, it’s unclear if the new movie will feature a xenomorph or any other characters from the Alien movies, but it seems likely that the focus will remain on the new Predator. While the fresh protagonist angle and a cross-over with the newly-resurgent Alien franchise add some exciting elements to the upcoming movie, there is another story detail that helps set Predator: Badlands apart from many of its predecessors.

Predator: Badlands Is Only The Second Predator Movie Not Set On Earth

2010’s Predators Was The Only Other Movie To Take Place On An Alien World

The trailer for Predator: Badlands revealed that the majority of the action takes place on an alien planet which is loaded with lethal organisms, right down to the spiked, ᴅᴇᴀᴅly plants. That makes it only the second Predator movie to not take place on Earth, with the first being Nimród Antal’s Predators. Predators saw a group of elite killers from some of Earth’s ᴅᴇᴀᴅliest organizations dropped into the jungle on a remote planet and hunted by an equally diverse collection of Predators. While Predators kept the general jungle aesthetic from the original movie, it somewhat explored its unique environment.

Predator: Badlands looks like it will do a much better job of playing in the alien setting, given that it only needs to focus on one Predator, and seemingly only two major characters in Dek and Thia. Again judging by the trailer, it seems like surviving the planet itself is part of what makes Dek’s first hunt so dangerous. While he is chasing a mᴀssive and ᴅᴇᴀᴅly quarry, his lack of armor and smaller size both seem to put him at risk everywhere in the forests of the planet he hunts on, making Predator: Badlands partially a survival thriller.

Why Predator: Badlands Doesn’t Take Place On Earth

The Protagonist Is A Predator Seeking Out The Ultimate Prey

While full story details aren’t yet available, the nuggets that have come out in interviews and promotional materials indicate that Predator: Badlands centers around a young Yautja who is considered a runt, and is underdeveloped based on his almost human-like build and body type. In an effort to prove his worth to the honor-bound clan of hunters that he was born into, the young Predator Dek journeys to a foreign planet to hunt an enemy that is considered “unkillable” by his peers. Judging by the trailer, Dek heads out light in both armor and weaponry.

To provide a threat that even the Predators consider unkillable, Predator: Badlands could never be set on Earth, as there are virtually no creatures that pose a serious threat to a fully-armored and camouflaged Predator. While humans have killed Predators plenty of times in the past, they are well-known to the Yautja and are, objectively speaking, fragile opponents. Even the most cunning and strong human beings are no match for a Predator’s wristblades or shoulder cannon. Dek is seeking something far larger and more lethal, so an alien planet is the natural solution.

Predator: Badlands Taking The Franchise Away From Earth Is Refreshing

It’s Simply Been Done So Many Times Before

Most Predator movies have been set on Earth, albeit across different locations and time periods. In fact, two other Predator projects that are currently in development will return the franchise to Earth. A sequel to Trachtenberg’s Prey is in the works that will theoretically pick up with Amber Midthunder’s Comanche warrior Naru some time after the events of Prey. An animated anthology will release on Hulu a month before Predator: Badlands тιтled Predator: Killer of Killers, which will see Predators go head-to-head with famous warrior cultures from human history.

While both of those projects sound great, and likely will be with Trachtenberg at the helm, a departure from Earth is a welcome change for the franchise. Prey reinvigorated the franchise by taking it in a truly original direction, so it’s refreshing to see more attempts at originality while staying within the general lore of the franchise. Taking things away from Earth and into the future also creates the opportunity for the long-gestating cross-over with the Alien franchise, which is another reason it’s a good idea for the Predator franchise as a whole.

Predator: Badlands’ Non-Earth Setting Can Help It Embrace More Sci-Fi Elements

An Alien World Means Futuristic Tech And Weapons

If it’s not bound to Earthly confines, the Predator franchise can truly step back into its sci-fi roots. Aside from all the alien flora and fauna, Predator: Badlands will have the opportunity to explore a new world of futuristic technology, and most importantly, weaponry. The trailer has already provided a sneak peek at some of the new tech, with a character (presumably Dek) riding some sort of Star Wars-esque speeder bike, heavily-armed gunmen marching on some sort of facility, and the prominently-featured laser-edged swords wielded by Dek and an unknown elder Predator.

Admittedly, the array of weaponry that Dek lays out in the trailer seems to be on the lower end of the Yautja technological spectrum, but the possibility of involvement from the Weyland-Yutani Corporation via Thia holds some promise for a tech upgrade. The android is reportedly an ally of the movie’s Predator protagonist, so she may be a source of weaponry or at least have knowledge of where to find it. There are a ton of possibilities with a movie as wide-open as Predator: Badlands, especially with its particularly smart setting on an alien planet.