20th Century Studios
Following the overwhelmingly positive response to Prey in 2022, 20th Century Studios essentially handed the keys of the Predator franchise to director Dan Trachtenberg, as he has not one but TWO Predator films releasing this year: the animated Killer of Killers and Predator: Badlands in November.
Predator: Killer of Killers was released on June 6 and has proven to be another smash success for Trachtenberg, as the film has a 97% critics and 90% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, and is being hailed as one of the best entries in the franchise so far.
The response to Killer of Killers certainly means fans are going to be all the more thrilled for Predator: Badlands, which Trachtenberg teased during an exclusive interview with BroBible’s Post Credit Podcast.
Given that the Badlands trailer contains overt references to the Alien franchise — Elle Fanning playing a Weyland-Yutani droid, for one — we asked Trachtenberg about the skeletons fans are think they are seeing in the trophy case, specifically, mentioning a Xenomorph, Xenomorph queen, and an Engineer (from Prometheus).
“There are really fun Easter eggs in that trophy room. I think I saw a lot of people not getting it right, and then I saw some people getting it right,” an understandably coy Trachtenberg said about the trophy wall seen in the first trailer for Badlands.
Eric Italiano, Brobible: Because you guys have leaned into the alien-ness of it, and it’s explicitly referenced in the trailer and on the clothes you wear… Is Blade Runner also in this world? Because in Aliens, Dallas’s bio says that he worked for Tyrell. Now, that’s not something that’s ever been expanded on explicitly in the story… But because of how much you guys are leaning into this, I had to ask—has the Blade Runner part of it ever come up?
Dan Trachtenberg: “It’s worth mentioning that our composer for Killer of Killers is Benjamin Wallfisch, who’s incredible—and made a great score for Blade Runner 2049, which we temp with all the time. I think Ridley [Scott] said something about them being connected. I personally feel that they are very, very, very connected.”
“Steve Asbell, who runs 20th, I think feels differently. Also, they can never really be connected until they’re under the same movie studio. There is a bit of a difference in ‘replicant’ and ‘synth,’ you know? But it’s pretty muddy. Replicant even in and of itself is kind of muddy in the way we’re meant to think of them. And all these things can change, per whoever the author is at the time. But I’ve always certainly felt that they were—at least spiritually—quite connected.”
EI: I’m glad you indulged me on that one. Before I wrap up, I’ve got a real quick one about Badlands — one that’s a bit less get us both in trouble. Since ‘Prey’ and ‘Killer of Killers’ have both been about—not just underdogs—but people who can die… Talk to me about how you approach that challenge in ‘Badlands’ now that Elle is playing a synth.
Trachtenberg: “Really, the way we approached that challenge is less with Elle… and more with the main character in Badlands. The Predator is that movie. The fun of Badlands—like all these movies I do that really have this tightrope—is allowing the Predator to be a brute and a badass.”
“Very — you know, I see them as having a very Conan-like, Spartan culture. And yet also making him the underdog in this story. So it’s very much an inversion. He is the Arnold of the movie. And yet Elle plays a character that is incredibly unique—not just for the franchise, but in all movies. Really fun idea for a character. And the way that they go on a journey together is really unexpected… and fun.”
Content shared from brobible.com.