Predator: Badlands (November 7th, 2025)

karamazov80 said:

Not really disagreeing with your point, but I say the main reason no other predator movie will compare is that the original was peak john mctiernan. He was in God mode making that, die Hard, and red October.

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I agree that the movie is very well done. But the feeling of wondering what is the Predator and then finally seeing it is a cool looking Alien with advanced weaponry hunting for trophies just because it is part of their culture will not be able to be replicated ever again. And any other Predator movie after that will never be on that level no matter how good the script is.

I would say that the only thing that might feel refreshing is the Predator homeworld. Granted, we did see a small glimpse in AVPR, but knowing more of their culture and maybe throw female Preds...

The first Pred felt like and action version The Thing.

MxBxM said:

I agree that the movie is very well done. But the feeling of wondering what is the Predator and then finally seeing it is a cool looking Alien with advanced weaponry hunting for trophies just because it is part of their culture will not be able to be replicated ever again. And any other Predator movie after that will never be on that level no matter how good the script is.

I would say that the only thing that might feel refreshing is the Predator homeworld. Granted, we did see a small glimpse in AVPR, but knowing more of their culture and maybe throw female Preds...

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All true and I wouldn't mind seeing more of the Predator homeworld either, provided they make it weird and leave plenty of mystery. Their world shouldn't make immediate sense to us beyond the hunting culture aspect. Part of the fun of the first film is figuring out what makes the creature tick.

As for female Predators, I don't think it's a good idea for two reasons. One, it replaces mystery with a sexual binary we're already very familiar with here in Earth. Two, if they look anything like what fan art has depicted over the last two decades (Predators with curves), it's even more unoriginal.

I used to want a homeworld Predator film but it's become increasingly obvious at least to me, that it's too late for that to happen at this point.

Look at the state of filmmaking today. Be it the writers, producers, directors, studio interventions, and lack of overall talent within the industry.

This would be another unremarkable let down. A amazing idea for a film that fans would love to see play out on screen, only to be wasted.

Let them keep pumping out mediocre Predator Hunt films. Leave the Homeworld idea alone until the film industry matures again, if ever. I'd really be super pissed to see a wasted effort on that particular film/story.

Nick D said:

Having rewatched both original films this week after a year or something -

Man the original ALIEN is an absolute masterpiece in every sense of the artistic word.............After a rewatch of Cameron’s Aliens, I’m not a fan. The only part of his film that I truly like, are the Marines in it, the added comedy they bring, everything else is lackluster in comparison.

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a-dev said:

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I mean in comparison to the original.

Nothing can compete with it,
it’s such a beautifully shot film that
anything else falls flat for me.

Rewatch the last act of ALIEN just before Ripley becomes the last survivor on the vessel, beginning to start the detonation of it. All of those colors, flashing set lights, theatrical smoke, that gorgeous blue hue.
Perfect amount of lighting stretched across its canvas, the restraint to not use CGI.
The fact that it was only Scott’s second film with such a minuscule budget only filming in two studios.
Only to follow it up with Blade Runner, just brilliant.

Ridley Scott really made art with it, something that’s lacking in everything that came afterwards. I also don’t care for Cameron’s Terminator electricity effects appearing here. He turned it into an action film rather than a suspenseful horror film.
He just didn’t have the creative force that Scott had envisioned. Aliens is much more like Predator, whereas ALIEN is a creative force.

Nick D said:

I mean in comparison to the original.

Nothing can compete with it,
it’s such a beautifully shot film that
anything else falls flat for me.

Rewatch the last act of ALIEN just before Ripley becomes the last survivor on the vessel, beginning to start the detonation of it. All of those colors, flashing set lights, theatrical smoke, that gorgeous blue hue.
Perfect amount of lighting stretched across its canvas, the restraint to not use CGI.
The fact that it was only Scott’s second film with such a minuscule budget only filming in two studios.
Only to follow it up with Blade Runner, just brilliant.

Ridley Scott really made art with it, something that’s lacking in everything that came afterwards. I also don’t care for Cameron’s Terminator electricity effects appearing here. He turned it into an action film rather than a suspenseful horror film.
He just didn’t have the creative force that Scott had envisioned. Aliens is much more like Predator, whereas ALIEN is a creative force.

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He used to get praise for doing that (what I've highlighted in bold), for not simply trying to make a carbon copy of Alien. For changing the genre while still making a film that was believably in that same universe and expanding on the story of Ripley in a compelling and thrilling way. Whatever was sacrificed in artistry, for me, was aptly compensated for with everything else.

It's like with T1 and T2, I never know why people have to set them against eachother. I simply love both films.

Yeah I also made that same point about how Cameron knew not to tread old ground here,
which I wholeheartedly respect him for doing,
but in the end it just doesn’t measure up to the original.

Which is why any sequel to the original isn’t worthwhile to me. He did what was logical to do,
but not necessary.

This does nothing for me, there’s no suspense.

Absolutely gorgeous.

Nick D said:

Yeah I also made that same point about how Cameron knew not to tread old ground here,
which I wholeheartedly respect him for doing,
but in the end it just doesn’t measure up to the original.

Which is why any sequel to the original isn’t worthwhile to me. He did what was logical to do,
but not necessary.

This does nothing for me, there’s no suspense.

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We'll just have to leave it there

a-dev said:

We'll just have to leave it there

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Haha no worries man.

It’s still one of the best films made,
no question. I just can’t hold it in the same light as the original. Aliens is by no means on par with all of the garbage that came after.

If it makes it any better,
I view Aliens how I view Halloween II 1981,
it offers more of the night if you want it,
but it isn’t needed.

Still, Halloween II in my mind is the only canon sequel if I need one, just as Aliens would be the only canon sequel if I needed it.

However, ultimately the two sequels between both of them water down the originals. They both explain too much that the audience doesn’t need to be informed about. The subtle nature of both originals helped your mind to race.

I like the idea of Ripley and Jonesy in the escape pod and leaving it there. But the added comedy and humanity Cameron brings is a nice touch.

crows said:

might be like avatar. alien face prosthetics because of the company they hired for the effects
alien face prosthetics

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No my point was, I don't want to see humanoid aliens (aside from the Predator) in a Predator movie. Really don't want to see Avatar like aliens.

I quite liked Prey. I put it in 3rd behind P1 and P2 (but it's a very close thing between Prey and Predators) but I don't necessarily want every Predator project for the next decade to be made by the same guy. How about giving him 1 project at a time not 3.

Rotfish said:

All true and I wouldn't mind seeing more of the Predator homeworld either, provided they make it weird and leave plenty of mystery. Their world shouldn't make immediate sense to us beyond the hunting culture aspect. Part of the fun of the first film is figuring out what makes the creature tick.

As for female Predators, I don't think it's a good idea for two reasons. One, it replaces mystery with a sexual binary we're already very familiar with here in Earth. Two, if they look anything like what fan art has depicted over the last two decades (Predators with curves), it's even more unoriginal.

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As long as they do not make the Predator homeworld as sucky as the Engineer homeworld...

As for the female Pred, I guess I think it will add some of the feeling of the first one, not as much, just introducing something we have not seen yet, though we pretty much have an idea of what they could look like.

But I agree that talent and imagination are just lacking with the franchise

MxBxM said:

As long as they do not make the Predator homeworld as sucky as the Engineer homeworld...

As for the female Pred, I guess I think it will add some of the feeling of the first one, not as much, just introducing something we have not seen yet, though we pretty much have an idea of what they could look like.

But I agree that talent and imagination are just lacking with the franchise

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That "talent and imagination" is there, for both the Alien and Predator franchises, just not as front-and-centre in some movie scripts as it should be.

When you consider the various writers & artists that created the dozens of Dark Horse graphic novels and novels (some ingenious ideas and storylines in those), and master sculptors like Narin Ergudom (whose unique designs and kits never cease to amaze), you can find people who truly care about these universes.

When it comes to Hollwood, it seems that any "talent and imagination" that exists is all-too-often constrained and over-controlled by those in the machine that haven't got a clue what the fans want, or what to do with our "beautiful monsters". Those controllers are disproportionately driven by money & deadlines, and simply don't understand how to create quality, meaningful, entertainment while working within realistic budgetary parameters.

I enjoyed "Prey", it served its purpose to keep the franchise alive, but it's in no way comparable quality-wise to "Predator", "Predator 2", "Predators" (or even the 1st half of "The Predator"). I also enjoyed "Alien: Romulus", and I'll gladly watch it again, in the same way I'm happy to re-watch all 4 of the initial Alien movies.

We'll eventually get associated movies or TV shows that will rise to the top of the pile, it's not like these franchses will EVER die . . . they have too large a fanbase, with others being added all the time.

In the meantime, I'm just glad to be along for the ride


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Nick D said:

Absolutely gorgeous.

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personally I do need a sexy female pred. just imagine the figures

Mr. Awesome said:

Perhaps Androids, would be an interesting way to reconnect the two franchises again.

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I was reading through the thread and was just gonna post the same but you already did.

I think synths are what is meant by non human. May tie the Alien and Predator franchises together more and allow for more gore minus red blood rasing the rating. May allow them to hit that coveted pg13 rating while avoiding the "tame" criticism.

Holy F-ing Balls! According to a newly leaked photo "Badlands" is actually gonna be a crossover. While I'm super excited we're getting a brand new practical suit/design, I will reserve judgement until I see it in action...

Isn't "Badlands" a term often used in Westerns? So is this going to be bad-ass Cowboys vs Predator?

Wor-Gar said:

Isn't "Badlands" a term often used in Westerns? So is this going to be bad-ass Cowboys vs Predator?

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No sorry. You're getting "unflappable" sisters vs Predator instead. Bad-assery levels unknown at this time.