The Predator: Badlands teaser trailer revealed that Elle Fanning’s character, Thia, is a Weyland-Yutani synthetic. But Thia won’t be the only character Fanning will play in the upcoming installment. Empire Magazine confirms that Fanning is playing not one but TWO characters in Dan Trachtenberg’s live-action follow-up to Prey. While we know a bit about Thia, Fanning’s other […]
Thia (Elle Fanning) in 20th Century Studios’ PREDATOR: BADLANDS film. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
“And so [Predator: Badlands] was a little bit inspired by that in terms of wanting to see the Predator with someone else, this character who’s the opposite of him. He’s very laconic, [Fanning] is not. She’s capable in ways that he is not. Physically, she’s got a real thing that I’m so excited for you guys to see. But I want to let eventually some of that speak for itself.”
Of course, the teaser revealed that Thia isn’t human at all. While that leads to obvious speculation that Fanning’s second character will also be a Weyland-Yutani synthetic, Trachtenberg’s comments to Empire confirm it.
“I always wanted no humans in this movie,” Trachtenberg tells Empire, “so I thought it might be fun to have the Predator with a robot. Then I thought, ‘I know a company that makes robots…'”
The newest entry in the franchise is set on a remote planet where a young Predator, outcast from his clan, finds an unlikely ally in Thia (Fanning) and embarks on a treacherous journey in search of the ultimate adversary.
Fanning stars alongside Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, who plays protagonist Dek. Trachtenberg (Prey, 10 Cloverfield Lane) directs from a script he co-wrote with Patrick Aison (Prey).
Predator: Badlands will be released in theaters on November 7, 2025.
