The Star Wars Movie That Inspired The Creation Of Predator: Badlands

Dan Trachtenberg's first "Predator" film, "Prey," was centered on Naru (Amber Midthunder), an 18th century Comanche girl who wanted to prove herself as a hunter and warrior. Trachtenberg's next picture, the upcoming "Predator: Badlands," also features an underdog protagonist underestimated by their peers. This time the underdog is a Predator themselves — specifically, young Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi).

Dek has come to the planet of Genna (a name that resembles "Gehenna," an ancient term for Hell) to hunt an unkillable prey and prove himself. This is a break from previous "Predator" films, since the 1987 original, which have largely depicted the Predators as villains hunting human prey.

In a new interview with Empire magazine, Trachtenberg revealed one seed for his idea to turn a Predator into a hero: the original teaser for "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," which opened on sand dunes before John Boyega's Finn burst into frame in Stormtrooper armor. The shot revealed that one of the heroes of this new trilogy was going to be a Stormtrooper, previously depicted as disposable grunts for heroes to blast away. 

"I think about that moment a lot," Trachtenberg said. "The possibilities of what it meant bloomed out in your mind. That moment is absolutely part of my interest in pursuing unique protagonists."

Now, many (Boyega included) feel the "Star Wars" sequels didn't live up to that potential in the end. Boyega has said that Finn's arc should have culminated with him inspiring a rebellion of the indoctrinated Stormtroopers, which was part of Colin Trevorrow's scrapped script for the sequel trilogy conclusion, "Duel of the Fates." 

Trachtenberg has proven himself a reliable director, though, so hopefully "Badlands" can make the most of its Predator as a hero premise.

Dek's partner, and the human-looking character for the audience to relate to in "Predator: Badlands," is the android Thia (Elle Fanning). Thia is a Weyland-Yutani android, making this the most blatant onscreen crossover between "Alien" and "Predator" since "Alien vs. Predator: Requiem."

The trailers and promotional material for "Predator: Badlands" have shown that, at one point, Thia is going to be cut in half. Since she's an android, she still functions, and Dek will carry her on his back. That visual has brought comparisons to another "Star Wars" movie: "The Empire Strikes Back."

After C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) is blasted to pieces in Cloud City, Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) finds C-3PO and reassembles him. Due to a rushed job, Chewie puts C-3PO's head on backwards and doesn't reattach his legs, instead carrying him on his back like a knapsack. Firming up the comparison is that Thia is a robot as C-3PO is, while Dek is a bestial alien who communicates in roars, just like Chewie.

In his Empire interview, Trachtenberg admitted the comparison to "Empire" is there, while also comparing Dek and Thia's partnership to classic buddy movies like "Midnight Run" and "Lethal Weapon." Trachtenberg, though, drew a dividing line between C-3PO's characterization and Thia's.

"C-3PO is a nervous Nellie. Thia is unflappable — she's positive, no matter what. That's a funny character to be stuck with an [a-hole]."

We'll see if, by the end of "Badlands," Thia's optimism has rubbed off on Dek. 

"Predator: Badlands" releases in theaters on November 7, 2025.