Predator: Badlands’ Canceled Original WWII Movie Plan Revealed By Dan Trachtenberg

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Before the movie Predator: Badlands focused on a team-up between a Predator and synthetic humans, director Dan Trachtenberg considered several ways to tell a Predator story with the creature as the main character. One idea involved setting the story during World War II, which would have echoed the military themes of the original 1987 Predator film.

During a conversation with ScreenRant’s Ash Crossan, director Dan Trachtenberg shared that an initial idea for Predator: Badlands involved the Predator hunting Nazis. This concept came about as Trachtenberg explored ways to position the Predator as the hero of the story. To make the Predator victorious, he needed to find a group of villains that audiences wouldn’t want to see succeed.

We started by looking at what previous movies in the series had done. Fans had often wondered why the Predator kept losing – he’s meant to be the ultimate hunter in the galaxy, but he always ends up defeated!

As a huge cinema fan, I started thinking about a ‘Predator’ story where the creature actually wins, but I didn’t want a simple slasher flick with a villainous victory. I tossed around ideas like pitting it against Nazis, but nothing felt right. Then, it hit me: what if the story was about a Predator within an incredibly fierce, brutal clan, all trying to prove themselves? That felt like a really compelling angle.

As a long-time fan, I’ve always understood the Predators’ code: they hunt the deadliest fighters out there to prove their own skill and gain honor. That’s why we’ve seen them go after such a wide range of opponents throughout the movies – from the soldiers in the first Predator, to cops and cartel members in Predator 2, skilled killers on the game preserve in Predators, troubled soldiers in The Predator, and even Comanche warriors and French trappers in Prey. They’ve even hunted warriors from different time periods in Predator: Killer of Killers! But even with these formidable hunters, I’ve always found myself hoping the humans would win, or at least survive – there’s usually a good reason to be on their side.

Movies about hunting Nazis, like Inglourious Basterds, Sisu, and the series Hunters, have consistently been popular with audiences. This idea would work well with the core concept of the Predator franchise – a battle between skilled hunters. It’s surprising that, despite often featuring military characters, the Predator series hasn’t yet explored a large-scale World War I or II setting as the backdrop for the Yautja’s hunts.

Although the Predator: Killer of Killers anthology included a segment, “The Bullet,” set during World War II, it was just a short animated story. It featured a Navy pilot fighting a Predator who was attacking both Allied and Axis forces. While we’ve seen a Predator briefly involved in a wartime battle, we haven’t yet seen a full-length film focused on a Predator specifically hunting soldiers during one of the World Wars.

Dan Trachtenberg is thinking about a future Predator movie after Badlands, but a World War II story featuring the creatures hunting Nazis probably won’t happen soon. He’s interested in exploring new directions for the franchise, so the next film will likely be very different from his ideas for Badlands.

In the end, Trachtenberg landed on a strong idea for Badlands that allowed him to thoroughly explore the Yautja culture and develop the Predator into a sympathetic main character with a relatable underdog story. He intentionally kept human characters out of the film to ensure the Predator remained heroic.

Before hitting theaters on November 7th, Badlands earned incredibly positive reviews and now boasts the third-highest score of any film in the Predator series on Rotten Tomatoes. This highlights how well the idea of focusing on the alien Yautja and taking creative risks paid off. While it doesn’t take place during World War II, director Trachtenberg’s Predator: Badlands provided the Yautja with challenging opponents, definitively showing why they’re known as “the galaxy’s greatest hunters.”

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2025-11-05 19:39