What’s in this guide
If you are looking for where to watch Predator Badlands, here is the short answer: the new Predator movie opens only in theaters on November 7, 2026. There is no streaming date yet, and this guide will be updated the moment one is announced. Below you will find the full picture: the release date, the final trailer, the cast, why this entry flips the whole franchise on its head, and exactly where to watch it.
Predator Badlands Release Date
Predator Badlands opens exclusively in theaters on Friday, November 7, 2026. 20th Century Studios is giving it a full premium format rollout: IMAX, Dolby Cinema, RealD 3D, Cinemark XD, 4DX, ScreenX and premium screens everywhere, which is a strong sign of studio confidence in a film that takes a real swing.
The film is rated PG-13. It is the second Predator movie from director Dan Trachtenberg after Prey, but where Prey went straight to streaming, Badlands is built for the biggest screen you can find, with a hostile alien planet full of creatures that deserve to be seen large and loud.
Predator Badlands Trailer
The final trailer sells the gamble plainly: a young Predator, small for his kind and cast out by his clan, must prove himself on the most dangerous planet in the universe, where everything is trying to kill him. Then he meets Thia, and the hunt changes completely. The footage is packed with new creatures, razor grass, and set pieces that look made for IMAX. Watch it here:
What Is Predator Badlands About?
Set in the future on a remote planet, Predator Badlands follows Dek, a young Yautja hunter who has been outcast by his own clan. To earn his place, he must face the planet’s deadliest creatures and find the ultimate adversary. Along the way he finds an unlikely ally in Thia, played by Elle Fanning, and the two embark on a treacherous journey where survival means trusting each other.
For the first time in nearly forty years, you root for the Predator.
That is the film’s whole idea, and it is a bold one. Since 1987, the Predator has been the thing in the trees, the nightmare hunting everyone else. Here the camera stays with him: his weakness, his pride, his need to prove himself. The monsters around him are bigger, stranger and hungrier than he is, and for once the galaxy’s greatest hunter is the underdog.
A Predator as the Hero
Badlands is also a quiet crossover event. Thia is a Weyland-Yutani synthetic, the same corporation behind the androids of the Alien films, which places this story in the same universe as Alien for the first time in a Predator solo film. Fans have waited decades for the two worlds to properly meet, and this is the closest the franchise has come.
Director Dan Trachtenberg earned that trust with Prey, which revived the series by going back to basics: a skilled hero, a clear hunt, and tension over noise. Badlands keeps that discipline but goes bigger, trading the plains of 1719 for an entire hostile planet. If Prey proved the franchise still had life, Badlands is the test of how far it can run.
Cast and Crew
Cast photos: Wikimedia Commons
The film is carried almost entirely by its two leads. Elle Fanning plays Thia, the android ally whose loyalties and origins are central to the story, while Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi performs Dek, the young Predator fighting for his clan’s respect. Behind the camera, Dan Trachtenberg directs from a script he co-wrote with Patrick Aison, his Prey collaborator, and produces alongside John Davis, Marc Toberoff, Ben Rosenblatt and Brent O’Connor for 20th Century Studios.
Where to Watch Predator Badlands
Right now, the only way to watch Predator Badlands is in a theater. It opens November 7, 2026, in IMAX, Dolby Cinema, RealD 3D, Cinemark XD, 4DX, ScreenX and standard screens. If you want the full effect, IMAX or Dolby is the pick: the creature work and the planet itself are the stars here.
On streaming, nothing is confirmed yet. Predator Badlands streaming news will follow the theatrical run, and this guide will be updated with the date and the platform as soon as 20th Century Studios announces it. Given the franchise’s recent history, a streaming home after the cinema window is a safe expectation, but until it is official, theaters are the only answer.
Predator Badlands FAQ
When does Predator Badlands come out?
November 7, 2026, exclusively in theaters, including IMAX, Dolby Cinema, RealD 3D, Cinemark XD, 4DX and ScreenX.
Where to watch Predator Badlands?
In theaters from November 7, 2026. No streaming release has been announced yet, and this guide will be updated when one is confirmed.
Is Predator Badlands streaming on Hulu or Netflix?
Not at launch. The film is a theatrical exclusive, and no streaming date or platform has been confirmed. Check back here for the streaming update after the cinema run.
Who stars in Predator Badlands?
Elle Fanning as Thia and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi as Dek, the young Predator at the center of the story.
Is Predator Badlands connected to Alien?
Yes. Thia is a Weyland-Yutani synthetic, the corporation from the Alien films, which links the two universes in a Predator solo film for the first time.
Do I need to watch Prey first?
No. Badlands is a standalone story with new characters, though it shares a director with Prey and the same back-to-basics spirit.
What is Predator Badlands rated?
PG-13, for strong sci-fi action violence and creature mayhem.
The Predator franchise spent nearly forty years as the movies’ scariest hunter. Badlands asks what happens when the hunter needs help, and that single flip makes it the most interesting Predator film in years. Book the biggest screen you can for November 7. And if this season’s big-screen craft is your thing, our Wicker guide covers the year’s strangest love story, also built the practical way.
