Predator: Badlands (2025)

Something genuinely exciting is happening with the Predator franchise right now, and I don't think enough people are talking about it. After Prey (2022) reminded everyone why this series matters, and Predator: Killer of Killers (2025) kept that momentum going, Predator: Badlands arrives and I'm starting to feel like we might genuinely be in the best run this franchise has ever had. That's not a sentence I expected to be writing, but here we are.

I'll be honest with you though: the opening stretch had me worried. It has this very "monster of the week" energy, the kind of episodic, slightly flat storytelling you might recognise from mid-tier Mandalorian. A threat appears, someone fights it, move on. I was settling in for something perfectly watchable but forgettable, the sort of film you'd half-enjoy on a Friday night and struggle to recall by Sunday morning.

But then it shifts. And when it does, Badlands earns itself something more interesting than I'd given it credit for. What emerges from beneath that shaky first act is a story about alliances built from necessity, betrayal that actually stings, and, most importantly, the idea that maybe forcing yourself to belong to a clan that doesn't respect you is its own kind of defeat. Finding your people, or building them from scratch, turns out to be the emotional engine driving the whole thing. It's not a theme you'd necessarily expect from a Predator film, and that's exactly why it works.

There's real warmth in that theme too, sitting alongside all the carnage. The film seems genuinely interested in what it means to forge loyalty on your own terms rather than chase acceptance from those who've already decided you don't measure up. Handled clumsily, that could feel like a lecture. Here it feels earned, because the action around it gives it weight.

The visuals deserve a proper mention as well. Badlands looks good. There are stretches of this film where I was just happy to sit and stare at what was on screen, which isn't something I could say about large chunks of the franchise's more forgettable middle period. And crucially, for anyone who's been waiting years for it, we get actual Yautja lore. Proper exploration of the culture, the hierarchy, the mythology behind these creatures. It's been a long time coming and it makes the world feel genuinely richer rather than just decorative.

Is it a perfect film? No. That first act wobble is real, and there are moments where the pacing feels slightly uneven even after it finds its footing. But the back half is strong enough that I came out of it with a smile on my face and a genuine eagerness to see where this series goes next, which, given where we were a few years ago with this franchise, feels close to miraculous.

Three and a half stars. The Predator series is back, and right now it's making better films than it has any right to. Get into it.

Rating: ★★★½  | Year: 2025  | Watched: 2026-04-06

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Where to watch

Watch in the UK
Stream: Disney Plus
Rent: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video
Buy: Apple TV Store · Rakuten TV · Amazon Video · Sky Store
Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi

Watch in the US
Stream: Hulu
Rent: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Buy: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Physical: Amazon US

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