Badlands? Lead Cast Details, Release Countdown & How to Watch

Dan Trachtenberg is bringing us the seventh film in the Predator franchise, Predator: Badlands. In the film, the Predator plays the protagonist as opposed to the previous films, where the creature was an antagonist. Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi will play the role of Dek, a young Predator outcast from his clan.

The movie earlier released a stunning teaser and trailer, where we got a first look at the protagonist, Yautja. Trachtenberg, who earlier directed another Predator franchise film Preytells a standalone story in his new movie. Here are all the details you need to know about the upcoming movie.

Predator: Badlands Cast Details: Who Are the Leads in the Movie?

Stuntman Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi will join Elle Fanning as the two protagonists in Predator: Badlands. Elle Fanning plays Thia, a damaged Weyland-Yutani synth (yes, the fictional corporation from the Alien franchise appears in this film).

Dek, the outcast Predator, and Thia team up to defeat an ultimate adversary in the film. Fanning also plays Tessa, another synth who opposes the lead pair. Schuster-Koloamatangi will wear a creature suit designed by Studio Gillis to bring the physical appearance of a Yautja.

His face was digitally enhanced to bring out the more subtle expressions. Interestingly, the film will dive deeply into the Predator culture, and it developed a verbal language for the Predators, with the help of the linguist who created the Na’vi language for Avatar. Schuster-Koloamatangi learned the new language for his role.

Dan Trachtenberg co-wrote the story of this film with Patrick Aison. Brian Duffield, Bryan Fuller, Patrick Somerville, and Ben Schwartz are also credited for additional literary material. Sarah Schachner and Benjamin Wallfisch composed the music for this movie.

Trachtenberg will also be a producer in this film, alongside John Davis of Davis Entertainment, Marc Toberoff of Toberoff Entertainment, Brent O’Connor, and Ben Rosenblatt.

Predator: Badlands Release Date & Watch Details

Predator: Badlands will be released in theaters in the U.S. and the U.K. on November 7, 2025. Earlier, Dan Trachtenberg’s film in the franchise had a direct-to-streaming release. Prey was released on Hulu and received critical acclaim. With this film, Trachtenberg went big and made a film for the big screen. The movie is also looking to grab as many IMAX screens as it can.

The film will be released in most international territories on the same date. However, it will be released in countries like France and Sweden on November 5. Other countries like Australia, Brazil, and Germany will release the film on November 6.

Fans are excited for the new film, especially after the record-breaking debut of the animated film, Predator: Killer of Killersback in June. The film, again helmed by Trachtenberg, had a 95% Tomatometer score, which is the best for the franchise.

The Hulu-released film had a budget of $50 million. The story of Badlands already has fans excited for an even better film. According to The Walt Disney Company, the official synopsis of the film read:

In the future on a remote planet, a young Predator, outcast from his clan, finds an unlikely ally in Thia and embarks on a treacherous journey in search of the ultimate adversary.

The final trailer revealed that we would get some giant robot fights and some predator vs predator action sequences. It also introduces the most dangerous planet in the universe, where we see many new creatures, including a giant kaiju. Dek and Thia will have to battle a series of increasingly difficult enemies in this movie.

Trachtenberg confirmed that the movie would take place on the home planet of the Yautja, called Yautja Prime. He revealed during a preview screening of the movie in April (via ComicBook):

That’s one of the cool things of the movie, is that, outside of very brief glimpses in other films, we’re on Yautja Prime, what is known as Yautja Prime mainly from extended universe stuff.

Dan Trachtenberg has already revealed several details on what Predator concepts and lore he intended to touch upon in the movie. It all makes us believe that the movie is his tribute to the entire franchise, as well as the Alien vs Predator franchise.

What Did Director Dan Trachtenberg Say About Predator: Badlands?

Dan Trachtenberg confirmed that he wasn’t going to make Predator: Badlands into a “lore-focused” movie instead of a “story-focused” movie. While he shared that he would add a “little sliver” of the lore, he promised that the movie wasn’t all going to be about “the inner workings of the Yautja culture.” He shared about how he flipped the narrative from the earlier Predator movies:

Really, what it is, it’s an inversion of the premise of now the Predator is on a planet. He’s going to be hunted by things and has to use his guile to figure out stuff.

Trachtenberg also shared that he did not depend on special effects too much for his central character. He shared that Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi wore a practical suit so that people could “bond with a horrific-looking creature.” However, the director had to depend on digital technology for his face, sharing, “The face is all digital, largely handled by Weta Workshop.”

He also talked about landing the actor for the role, sharing that they wanted a proper stunt guy to do the role of Yautja. He shared that Schuster-Koloamatangi had “a great swashbuckle” to his movement. He shared that they had set him “a little physical obstacle course.” The actor surprised Trachtenberg, as the director shared:

Then he did some dramatic stuff from the movie and it was awesome. I was not at all prepared for what he actually does, it’s so … I could not believe, how did we luck into this guy? It’s crazy that we found him. Then he gave so much to the movie and learned the language… He would learn it that morning, if we changed lines or whatever, and it was incredible.

During another interview at the SDCC 2025, Trachtenberg shared that he was cautious about not pushing for a crossover with the Alien franchise immediately.

What do you think of this new installment from the Predator franchise? Let us know in the comments below!

Predator: Badlands hits theaters on November 7, 2025. Other movies in the franchise are now available for streaming on Disney+.