Predator: Badlands (2025) – Finally a Predator Movie That Made Me Care About a Predator

Predator: Badlands (2025), directed by Dan Trachtenberg, is pure childhood dream come true. I’ve loved the Predator franchise since I was a kid, and getting two Predator movies in one year felt unreal. I already gave the highest score to Predator: Killer of Killers for taking us to the Yautja homeworld, but Badlands? Man, this one is special in a completely different way. Zero humans for most of the runtime, yet I was 100 % emotionally invested in a 7-foot alien hunter. Visuals are insane, character growth is real, and it’s easily one of my favorites in the whole series. 9/10, no question.

Starring Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi as Dek the young outcast Yautja and Elle Fanning as Thia (and her evil twin Tessa), this sci-fi action epic takes the Predator formula to a deadly alien planet and flips everything I thought I knew about these creatures.

The Plot: From Hunter to Hunted to… Something More

Dek is the runt of his clan—smaller, weaker, basically the family disappointment. His own father wants him dead. To prove himself, Dek gets exiled to Genna, a “death planet” full of nightmare creatures, with one mission: kill the unkillable apex predator called the Kalisk.

He crash-lands, gets hunted by everything that moves, and then meets Thia—a damaged Weyland-Yutani android (Elle Fanning) who’s also fighting for survival—and Bud, a weird little local critter that becomes the cutest alien sidekick ever. What starts as a solo hunt turns into an alliance nobody saw coming. Dek goes from cold-blooded “Yautja hunt alone” killer to someone who actually cares about his new friends. And yeah, there’s the usual evil corporation trying to capture everything that breathes, but this time it barely matters because the real story is Dek’s transformation.

Why This One Hit Different

• First Predator movie with almost no humans, yet I cared more about Dek than most human characters in the franchise. Watching him go from “caring is weakness” to protecting Thia and little Bud? Straight-up character development gold.
• Planet Genna is breathtaking. Deadly plants, giant monsters, toxic storms—every frame looks like a painting from hell. The CGI and practical effects are next-level.
• Dek’s journey from hunter → hunted → hunter again feels epic. The action scenes are brutal, creative, and you actually root for the Predator!
• Elle Fanning playing both the good and evil android is awesome, and Bud steals half the scenes he’s in (yes, a random alien creature made me tear up).
• We learn so much cool Yautja lore—family dynamics, clan rules, honor code—without it feeling like an info dump.

My One Tiny Complaint (Seriously, Tiny)

The evil Weyland-Yutani corporation doing evil corporation things is the most cliché part of the whole franchise at this point. We’ve seen it a million times. It’s a small speed bump in an otherwise fantastic ride—didn’t ruin anything, just made me roll my eyes once or twice.

Ratings and Critical Reception

• IMDb: 7.5/10 (45,000 votes)
• Rotten Tomatoes: 86 % critics (259 reviews) / 95 % audience (5,000+ ratings)
• Box office: $166 million worldwide on $105 million budget—highest-grossing Predator ever

Critics and fans agree: this is one of the strongest entries since the original. Dan Trachtenberg did it again after Prey.

A Must-Watch for Every Predator Fan (And Everyone Else Too)

At 9/10, Predator: Badlands is bold, beautiful, and surprisingly emotional. If you love the franchise, you need to see this. If you think Predator movies are just mindless action, this one will change your mind. I walked out grinning like a kid again.

Predator on his own planet, making friends, finding family—2025 is the best year for Yautja fans ever.

What did you think of Predator: Badlands? Did Dek become your favorite Predator too? Was Bud the real MVP? Drop your thoughts below—I read every comment!

And hit me with the next movie suggestion. After two Predator bangers this year, I’m ready for anything sci-fi, action, or just plain wild.

If this review got you hyped, smash that like, follow, share—let’s keep hunting great movies together. See you in the next one!