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With Predator: Badlands, director Dan Trachtenberg poses a very interesting question: What if the predator became the prey? Once again bringing his visionary brilliance to the franchise, Trachtenberg has crafted another gripping entry, this time following a young outcast Predator by the name of Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi). Stranded on the harsh and volatile planet of Kalisk, Dek finds an unlikely ally in Thia (Elle Fanning), a Weyland-Yutani Corporation synthetic, as the duo seek out the “ultimate adversary”.
Ahead of the film’s 7 November release, I had the opportunity to sit down with Elle, whose varied career I most definitely consider myself a fan of. From the sharp wit of The Great’s Catherine to a heartfelt turn as Sylvie Russo in Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown, Elle’s back catalogue spans many genres, but she’s never played a character quite like the advanced synthetic Thia.
“I felt like I was stepping into new territory which, of course, can make you feel a little nervous, but I'm always up for a challenge,” Elle told me. “I don't like to be put into a box or told what I can and can't do, and I love sci-fi films. I love that genre and I was a big fan of Prey that Dan directed, so when he presented me with this idea and thought of me for this story, I was like, ‘Oh, this could be interesting’, because, you know, he's such a great director, and when I read the script, it was such a bold take on a Predator film.”
“It’s unprecedented, you know, something we've never seen before, and I wanted to surprise people with that, so I was excited to step into this part,” she continued. “And, of course, there were the physical challenges, but also with being a synth, many actors have played in the Weyland-Yutani universe before, but we wanted to do something different with Thia and Tessa [Thia’s twin, also portrayed by Fanning]. Playing the dual roles I've never done before. You're right, it was new terrain all around for me, but it felt very rewarding to work on it and to conquer that.”
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Thia is incredibly advanced, and it’s so fascinating to see a character not just team up with a Predator, but demand their respect - and that’s exactly what Thia does with Dek. I was curious to get a glimpse at Elle’s interpretation of Thia’s journey throughout this film.
“This film is set the furthest into the future of any of the Alien films, so it means Thia is the most advanced synth that we've seen, and I think what comes with that, Dan and I, we figured out that that makes her feel emotions more than any other android,” Elle began. “She's a bit more humanlike and she does have this very chatterbox, spunky personality and a lot of that comes from her experience on the planet so far.”
She continued, “We find her [and] she's broken; she's in half, and she's been kind of stuck in this one place and it's not until Dek finds her, that she gets freed, but I think her being stuck in that one place and watching over the world has really informed her personality and so she's she's ready to help and she's ready to go. It was balancing being human, and also there's a great comedic element to her as well, with her being a robot too, because there is, you know, this scientific kind of robotic analysis that she does, so we wanted to pitch that in a certain place, but yeah, she is a new synth for sure.”
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Fair to say, director Dan Trachtenberg has somewhat revolutionised the Predator franchise, infusing it with new life following the launch of Prey in 2022. I was reminded of Elle’s recent turn as Tomorrow in Hideo Kojima’s Death Stranding 2: On The Beach. I was interested to learn what challenges arise when working with such visionary directors that task you with inhibiting an abstract world that’s so different to your own.
“That is [difficult], kind of. You know, I talked with Dan before, about lots of things, but he's so sure in his vision, and I think that that confidence is what gains your trust in my case, in a way,” Elle said. “He's so sure, and he has created this world completely, and he's a fan himself, you know, he's been a fan of these from such a young age. He's watched all the Predator films, so I feel like he also has a pulse on what the fans want and where the franchise needs to go next.”
“With Hideo, I mean that was, gosh, he's such a visionary too,” Elle added. “I've never done motion capture, so we got to use the same place where they filmed Avatar and did that for the first time, but yeah, you do have to trust. I also think with every great visionary, it's like they don't just tell you [the vision]; it's a collaboration, and that's what makes both of them [visionaries]. They want your ideas, Hideo and Dan.”
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“Dan is so much like that on set, and he's not just all about the look. He's a real film buff too. He loves iconic movie moments and he's referencing Jaws and all these lines that are iconic and so he cares about the scenes and the acting and that emotional core just as much as the action - and he can pull off both, which not a lot can.”
Predator: Badlands will be released in cinemas from 7 November.
Topics: Interview, TV And Film, Features