PREDATOR: BADLANDS made its outing at San Diego Comic-Con 2025 with a panel that featured cast and crew to talk about the eight big-screen debut for the iconic franchise.

Here’s some of what we learned at the “Predator: Badlands” panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2025.

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The panel was moderated by the filmmaker Kevin Smith and featured stars Elle Fanning, and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, plus director/producer Dan Trachtenberg, and creature designer Alec Gillis to discuss film’s themes and creative choices.

Below are some of the highlights.

  • PREDATOR: BADLANDS is set in the future on a remote planet where a young outcast Predator teams up with Thia (Elle Fanning) in search of the ultimate adversary.
  • The film is set on a hostile alien planet deadlier than the Predator itself—likened to “Australia in space”
  • Director Dan Trachtenberg went from Comic-Con fan to panelist and filmmaker, emphasizing that fandom can lead to creative careers.
    • He met Kevin Smith in 2006 when Dan was a podcaster; their roles have since reversed with Dan now directing major films like Prey and Killer of Killers.
    • He also revealed a new alternate A post-credits scene featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny Glover which is now canon.
    • He touched on his interest in repositioning the Predator as an anti-hero with this latest entry.
      • “In the ‘Predator’ movies, the Predator never wins. They are supposed to be the greatest warrior in the galaxy, and they are always the bad guy,” says Dan Trachtenberg. “The Predator is not a friendly creature…it is ferocious, a bad ass, and very much an anti-hero. And I was really interested in switching that up and pairing a Predator with someone totally unexpected and taking these two unique characters on an incredibly emotional and visceral journey.

  • Elle Fanning

    was reveling in being not just at San Diego Comic-Con but also her first time in Hall H.

  • Demetrius Grosse, who plays the Predator, trained heavily and learned the Yautja language, which was fully constructed for the film.
  • More crossovers with Alien are possible and likely if the franchises continue to succeed. The Wayland-Yutani company appears in Badlands, connecting the Predator universe to Alien (again) without fully merging the franchises
  • The film features groundbreaking practical effects: a new facial rig created with Weta Workshop allows the Predator to display a wide range of emotions.
  • A 7-foot-tall Predator character appeared live and used heat signature effects to interact with the audience.
  • A new extended ending of the animated film Predator: Killer of Killers was also released
  • Fans were shown the first 15 minutes of the film during the panel.
  • Attendees received an exclusive SDCC “Predator: Badlands” poster and Predator masks
  • PREDATOR: BADLANDS opens in theaters November 7, 2025.

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San Diego Comic-Con takes place July 24 – July 27, 2025.

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