One of the biggest mysteries surrounding Predator: Badlands is Elle Fanning’s new android character, Thia. Directed by Prey filmmaker Dan Trachtenberg, the upcoming movie Predator: Badlands follows Thia and the young Predator Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) as they embark on a journey on the latter’s home planet and face the most dangerous game in the galaxy. Thia is an android created by Weyland-Yutani, the megacorporation featured in the Alien franchise, which previously had crossovers with the Predator movies.

The inclusion of Fanning’s android character has enormous implications for the new story. Considering Weyland-Yutani’s villainous history in the Alien movies, the company could have sent Thia to the Predator’s planet for a nefarious purpose, which could make her a secret antagonist. However, Predator: Badlands seems to set up a different story as Thia and Dek cross paths on the alien battleground, which could lead to her having a more heroic role instead. With so many paths that she could follow, Thia’s character in Predator: Badlands has been made all the more intriguing.

1

Thia Is Searching For Predators

Weyland-Yutani May Be Looking For More Aliens

Knowing the Weyland-Yutani corporation’s villainous acts in the Alien franchise, it is likely that this shadowy organization is up to no good once again in Predator: Badlands. Just as they had the android Ash (Ian Holm) try to bring a Xenomorph back to Earth, Weyland-Yutani potentially sent Thia to capture a Predator so they could study it. However, like with the Xenomorphs, the company may intend to weaponize the Predator by generating clones to serve as their highly skilled alien soldiers. Thus, Thia might pursue Dek in the wilderness to bring him back to her creators.

2

Only Thia Could Survive On The Predator’s World

Thia Was Chosen For Her Advantages As An Android

Since the story of Predator: Badlands takes place on the Predators’ homeworld, it is likely that humans can’t survive in this alien environment due to the atmosphere, at least not without wearing a spacesuit. Being a synthetic android, Thia may be able to survive in this world without having to breathe oxygen. Previous Weyland-Yutani androids like Ash and David (Michael Fᴀssbender) have survived without anything below the neck, so it looks like they don’t need lungs to live.

For this reason, Thia may have been chosen to travel to this planet, where she can roam unencumbered by the atmosphere and complete whatever mission that Weyland-Yutani has ᴀssigned her, which could also extend beyond simply acquiring a Predator. While the company could still have human soldiers join her, they may rely more on her and her special abilities to get the job done.

3

Thia Is The Sole Survivor Of An Expedition

Thia Appears In The Aftermath Of Her Crew’s Mᴀssacre

It’s unlikely that Thia would have traveled to the Predator’s planet on her own. Even with her enhanced capabilities as an android, the number and variety of hostile creatures living on this world would likely be too much for her to handle on her own. Like the characters in the Alien franchise, for whatever reason, she may have been sent by Weyland-Yutani to this planet with a human crew.

However, considering the alien beasts and the skilled Predators on this world, it is also likely that she was the crew’s only survivor after they were picked off by the planet’s inhabitants. Such an experience would understandably create some hostility between her and Dek, creating conflict before they bond and become partners. This would add an extra layer to Predator: Badlands‘ already unique central dynamic.

4

Thia Will Be Invisible To The Predators

As An Android, Thia May Trump One Of The Predator’s Greatest Skills

One of the things that has made the Predators so ᴅᴇᴀᴅly is their ability to hunt creatures with helmets that can track their body heat. This power has been used against them in the past, with characters coating themselves with substances like mud to render themselves invisible to the alien hunter. It’s one of the scariest things about the Predators themselves, and it has been used to great effect in previous movies.

Since Thia is an android, it is possible that her body doesn’t generate as much heat as a human, if she does at all. As a result, Predators like Dek may have trouble tracking her with their heat-seeking helmets in Predator: Badlands, which could make her a tough target for them to find in the film. This would allow the movie to explore new kinds of action sequences and increase the suspense in certain moments considerably, particularly if they are being viewed through Dek’s perspective.

5

Thia Is Part Of A Colonization Effort

The Film Features A War For The Predators’ Planet

Given Dan Trachtenberg’s last film, Prey, dealt with the horrors of colonialism, Predator: Badlands could stay consistent with its predecessor by touching upon similar themes. The Alien franchise has shown that Weyland-Yutani is trying to help set up colonies on alien worlds for humanity, as seen most recently in 2024’s Alien: Romulus. This would give Predator: Badlands the opportunity to share any new developments about these colonization efforts while still keeping the focus on the Predators themselves.

The Predators’ world could be one of the corporation’s next targets, which could actually make the humans the true villains of this Predator movie. It’s worth nothing that the film’s trailer did show several armed human soldiers cornering one of the Predators. Perhaps they are all part of an effort to wipe out the planet’s indigenous lifeforms as they make way for human settlements, and Thia is intended to aid in this. However, something would then likely change her mind about her mission, since she’ll later align with Dek.

6

Thia Attacked The Predator’s Clan

The Predator May Have A Score To Settle With Thia

If Thia is part of a plan to colonize the Predator’s planet, it is possible that she participated in an attack on Dek’s clan in the film. This attack could’ve been what she was referring to when she said in the trailer, “I didn’t think you survived.” While the film’s synopsis states that Thia and Dek team up at some point, that doesn’t mean that their relationship will start out so nicely. In fact, it could even begin in a deeply antagonistic place.

Should Thia end up being a participant in such a mᴀssacre in the movie, it is possible that, unlike previous Predators in the franchise, Dek is out for revenge against Thia and her crew for wiping out his clan. This would put Dek in an even more unique position as the protagonist of this Predator film, putting him in the position of a victim and survivor rather than aggressor. It would also lend the movie a deeper emotional core and make Dek’s eventual partnership with Thia even richer.

7

Thia May Rebel Against The Company

Thia May Be On A Journey Towards Freedom In Predator: Badlands

While they have often been villains in the Alien franchise, some of the androids built by Weyland-Yutani have acted as heroes. Some of these androids have even gone against the company’s wishes for the greater good. Most recently, Alien: Romulus saw the android Andy struggling with his programming as he tries to protect Rain and her friends from the Xenomorphs. As part of her character arc, Thia may end up going against her directive from Weyland-Yutani as she faces the horrors of the Predators’ planet.

Thia’s eyes do turn white in the trailer for Predator: Badlands, similar to Andy when his programming changed in Alien: Romulus. This could signify that Weyland-Yutani has changed her directive after she discovered the Predators on their planet. However, it could also mean that she is breaking away from the company as she tries to pursue her own path. The relationship she forges with Dek may be what drives her down this road to freedom from her corporate overlords.