A new Predator movie is just a month away in Predator: Badlands, releasing on November 7. Though after the popularity of 2022’s Prey, many fans may have thought we’d be getting a sequel to that story rather than the one that offers a game-changing premise teased in Predator: Badlands trailers.
That unique angle to a Predator movie was a big part of why audiences are getting Predator: Badlands ahead of Prey 2, according to one of the movie’s producers. From ScreenRant‘s Predator: Badlands set visit, producer Ben Rosenblatt explained his and director Dan Trachtenberg’s thought process:
“One of the things that was most important to Dan and to me, and what attracted me to Prey, is that it was something unexpected. It was something that people hadn’t done with the franchise before. So I think in thinking about what to do next, Dan was really set on, ‘How do we do the next thing and not make it expected?’ And I think it had been in the back of his mind, as he sort of searched for what that could be, is like, ‘Well, this is the kind of big swing that no one’s taken yet.'”
Trachtenberg, who also directed Prey, oversees this new story about a young Predator named Dek, played by Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, who serves as the hero of this story as he embarks on a hunt to prove himself after being outcast by his clan. Elle Fanning also stars as a synthetic who agrees to help Dek as he searches for a dangerous creature.
Rosenblatt said that jumping directly into Prey 2 may have been “a new version of the same thing.” He added, “You could have done a Prey where it’s, ‘Okay, here’s a different time period.’ But I think for us, we were like, ‘How do we move things forward?’”
Still, Rosenblatt was sure to note that Prey is “not something we’re abandoning,” but that they want to build on the movie’s story.
Prey starred Amber Midthunder as a young Comanche warrior who must protect her tribe when a Predator comes to Earth in the early 18th century. The movie was widely acclaimed, earning a 94% “Certified Fresh” score from critics and was seen as a revitalization of the Predator franchise.
You can stream Prey on Hulu and Disney+.
Prey 2 was previously confirmed in 2024, and Rosenblatt’s comments back up that the project is still on their minds. With Predator: Badlands, Trachtenberg and company seem to have just wanted to continue to explore new areas in the Predator universe before returning for the sequel.
