Why Predator: Badlands Won’t Be Rated R

Predator: Badlands promises to be a very different kind of Predator movie. The previous Predator movies have all been rated R for strong violence, but during ScreenRant‘s exclusive visit to the movie’s set in 2024, the crew revealed that they are expecting to avoid an R rating for Badlands and settle for PG-13 instead.

Even the animated Predator: Killer of Killers received an R rating, continuing the franchise trend despite its new format. Director Dan Trachtenberg has revolutionized the long-running sci-fi series in many ways since taking creative control in 2022, and Badlands will be no different. However, this lower rating doesn’t mean audiences should expect no violence at all.

Predator: Badlands Doesn’t Feature Any Human Blood


Elle Fanning with white eyes as Thia in Predator Badlands
Elle Fanning with white eyes as Thia in Predator Badlands

Interestingly, Predator: Badlands‘ potential PG-13 rating feels like somewhat of a technicality. While there absolutely will be violence and blood in the film, none of it will be red human blood. Instead, the majority of the characters will either be aliens or synthetics, the latter of which bleed blue. This is how the film hopes to dodge the R rating.

As revealed in Predator: Badlands‘ trailers, Elle Fanning’s character is a Weyland-Yutani synthetic named Thia. Despite losing her legs and getting severely injured throughout the film, all that’s shown is broken wires and blue blood. The film’s other main character, Dek, is a Predator that’s closer to an animal than a man. This is another smart way of avoiding human gore while perhaps not skimping on the violence.

In fact, the entire Weyland-Yutani crew will reportedly be synthetics, which marks a first for the Alien franchise. This sequel is set in the very distant future of the Alien timeline, and the synthetics will allegedly be even more advanced and evolved than those we’ve previously seen in projects like Alien: Earth.

This all-synthetic crew means that Predator: Badlands doesn’t have to shy away from death and violence to maintain its PG-13 rating. While visiting the movie’s set, ScreenRant was shown footage of robotic skeletons and Predator trophy rooms, proving that the R rating was never strictly necessary for the Predator franchise to maintain its dark atmosphere.

All of this indicates that Predator: Badlands won’t receive an R rating after all; being PG-13 means more people can see the movie, and it will hopefully perform even better at the box office. Films with R ratings typically aren’t as commercially successful as those with more universal audiences, so this could be an excellent sign for Predator: Badlands‘ success.

Related Posts

2026 Already Has Its First High-Profile Original Horror Movie After The Genre’s Spectacular 2025

2026 Already Has Its First High-Profile Original Horror Movie After The Genre’s Spectacular 2025

2025 yielded one of the best years ever for the horror genre, with a seemingly endless parade of groundbreaking original movies and high-profile franchise sequels earning both…

New Epic Fantasy Remake Based On ’80s Classic Debuts With Solid Rotten Tomatoes Score

New Epic Fantasy Remake Based On ’80s Classic Debuts With Solid Rotten Tomatoes Score

Deathstalker has won over critics during its opening weekend. The 2025 movie, which was written and directed by Steven Kostanski (Psycho Goreman), is a remake of the…

Bring Her Back Is A Streaming Hit But The Directors’ First Horror Is Even Scarier

Bring Her Back Is A Streaming Hit But The Directors’ First Horror Is Even Scarier

2025 has been a great year for horror movies from Sinners to Weapons and one of the smaller horror films to gain major traction is Bring Her…

Benedict Cumberbatch’s Box Office Disappointment Gets Second Chance With VOD Release Date

Benedict Cumberbatch’s Box Office Disappointment Gets Second Chance With VOD Release Date

Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman are bringing their chaotic, combustible marriage comedy The Roses to viewers’ homes, as their 2025 comedy has announced its digital release date….

Kevin Costner’s Forgotten Military Action Movie With 37% RT Score Tops Free Streaming Chart 19 Years Later

Kevin Costner’s Forgotten Military Action Movie With 37% RT Score Tops Free Streaming Chart 19 Years Later

After sinking into forgotten waters, The Guardian has been rescued from the depths of obscurity and is now swimming laps around its compeтιтion on a free streaming…

Avatar Came Back – So Why Didn’t 3D Movies?

Avatar Came Back – So Why Didn’t 3D Movies?

If you were watching movies in the early 2010s, chances are you were watching movies in 3D. The new format was all the rage throughout the decade,…