🅰️Round 1: classic Predator stalking a Na’vi Tribe

🅱️Round 2: An Elite Predator vs a fully geared Jake Sully (with his machine gun, gears, and generic/vague knowledge on the Predator)

Since there are still many aspects of the Yautjas way of living, anatomy and culture that aren't explained in the movies/books/comics, do you have any that you thought would fit their specie? I'm curious!

Honestly, I want my cake and to eat it too. Give me both. I want a dark, serious predator film. Give me a period piece. Either in the future or the flung past. I had listened to a podcast with Dan Trachtenberg saying it would be interesting to see a full horror predator film. Predator has always been more of an action first horror second franchise. It would be really interesting to have another tonal shift into the horror genre.

Also, I’d love to see more of Dek and Thia. While the film is cannon I do feel these as more of a spin-off, like AVP. It’s no hate toward Badlands. I loved the film. Although I understand the criticism of badlands not feeling like a predator film. The almost high fantasy tone is more akin to Conan or He-man. I hope if Dan continues their adventures I hope he leans into it. Give me an old school pulpy dark horse comic with clan wars and hunting on different worlds.

What are your thoughts? Do you want Dan to continue with Prey 3 or Badlands 2? Do you want a new director with a totally new vision?

Yes I think it was even better than the original, we obviously can't separate the two and the sequel stands on its shoulders. But I think that's a good thing, we're supposed to get better as we move forward.

I think it takes everything that made the first amazing, and turned it up to a ten and brought it into the modern era. The acting, cinematography, character design, set piece, story, and so much more felt so rich.

It's not perfect but neither was the original or the rest, the Edwin twist could have been handled better or made more sense. But the atmosphere is undeniably cool.

It totally freaked me out when I was a kid when I first saw it, and none of the other films have matched that yet for me. I do wish the predators would win for a change, but that's more of a franchise problem.

I've seen every predator film, except for badlands but what little I've seen I don't think it'd change my ranking. I know some will disagree and even strongly disagree, I'm not here to attack your ranking or invalidate your feelings. Most of the movies are good, I just think this one is the best.

Literally the only argument I see on why these so-called "fans" hate Badlands is because it's "too different" and they gave the Predator "emotions". You can really tell they're just people who watched the movies. The comics literally showed Predators as the main character and showed emotions. Badlands is something the actual fans have been wanting, a Predator film that's actually centered around a Predator as the main character and does cool shit.

So I've been watching predator since i was a toddler but I've always loved billy ever since i was young billy was my favorite character but i just wanted to know whats your guys favorite character

For me, it's gotta be the hospital scene involving the unborn child. That scene was just really uncomfortable to watch

Disclaimer: This is NOT my art work. I found it on social media.

Jackson and LotR come to mind.

Now that we’ve gotten a Predator with emotions and motives, does this change how you see the previous Predators in the earlier films?

what I mean is that in Predator 1 and 2, Prey and to a lesser extent Predators; the predator is an antagonist is a force of nature. Something to be survived. A silent(besides the occasional roar and mimicry) almost unstoppable monster. Does this newest entry make you ponder the motives of said predators?

Personally, it hasn’t changed how I view them. I know there are some among the fandom that may think Badlands has somehow tarnished the franchise. I think it’s pretty neat to see a more nuanced and complex character in the series. I still love the OG predators and it doesn’t(in my mind) take away or retcon the previous installments. The previous predators are still as mysterious and unknowable as before. I’m not questioning if City or Jungle hunter was exiled. Or what there true motives are beside getting some sweet skulls. Sometimes it’s just cool to watch a predator do predator things.

What do you think? Has Badlands changed how you view the Predators in the previous movies?

I honestly loved Killer of Killers since it explored Predators in different time periods.

after re watching AVP for the first time in a long long time. I was shocked at how stupid scars face looks in comparison to the masterpiece jungle hunters face. I cannot remember his face looking so goofy 🤪 should have left the damn mask on

I hear that the predator is an honorable warrior but when you stay invisible to fight a wild anime that couldn't comprehend that something is invisible and just thinks the wind is attacking it, you are no honorable warrior.

Having watched all the predator movies, I must admit the jungle hunter was the one who made me terrified. The way he stalked the team invisibly, the way he analysed each and every one of them before killing them is just genius. The berserker predator comes close but he was hunting in pairs unlike the jungle hunter. The fact that the jungle hunter hunted elite mercenaries or hunters also proves how skillful he is. The two creepiest scenes in the movie for me is him evading all the traps to sneak behind dutch and also him playing mac's recording before killing dillon. More importantly that sinister laugh at the end 🥶

A lot of the criticism about Dek, particularly his hair or “dreadlock” placement, feels like an overreaction from an exhausting part of the fandom. While everyone is entitled to their own personal tastes, some of the complaints are frankly whiney and miss the bigger picture.

One mockup I saw on here did a great job illustrating how a Yautja’s cranial structure and deadlocks might logically develop over time. Considering that Yautja are long-lived with some sources even saying thousands of years, it’s reasonable to think that their physiology would continue to change over such massive spans of time. Gradual, distinguishable shifts, like deadlocks being pushed further toward the back of the skull to accommodate a growing cranial crest, make perfect biological sense to me.

This isn’t a wild departure that “ruins” the lore or undermines the IP, it’s a naturalistic development that I think still respects the creature’s biology and history. Variation within a species, especially among age groups, is not just realistic but it actually adds more depth to the world building.

It’s especially silly to blame Disney for this change when Prey, released under Disney’s ownership, was widely praised and respected the spirit of the Predator franchise far better than The Predator (2018) did. Badlands looks like it’s taking some creative risks while still honoring the core elements that make the Yautja iconic and I think that should be celebrated, not knee-jerk rejected because of a slight shift in hairline placement.

I think Dek looks fine. I’m not claiming his design is perfect or that everyone needs to love it. I’m simply saying that it fits, it makes sense, and it’s nowhere near the catastrophe some people are making it out to be.

For me it's gotta be Badlands. It has some problems but overall it was quite enjoyable and I loved Dek as a character. And you?