This is quite surprising. “Predator: Badlands,” Dan Trachtenberg’s upcoming Predator movie, won’t be R-rated. It has a PG-13 rating. Wait, what?
Don’t worry—its creators hope it will feel like an R regardless, and they maintain the film is still “very violent.” No, this is far from a joke; for a franchise that prides itself on gore, this is a very strange twist. Even Trachtenberg’s “Prey” was R-rated.
Still, producer Ben Rosenblatt, now doing damage control, tells IGN that fans shouldn’t freak out over “Predator: Badlands” earning its PG-13 rating. He says the reason why the film didn’t get an R is because there are no humans in the movie, so there’s “no human red blood.” In fact, not a single human character is harmed throughout the entire movie.
“We’ll see where it ends up, but our hope for it is that it can be a PG-13 that feels like an R,” Rosenblatt said. “That’s kind of our hope. And really, what that’s about is just being able to broaden out the audience for a movie like this.”
Overall, this is a bit concerning for fans of the franchise, many of whom have now gone online to revolt over the PG-13 rating.
Then again, it actually makes a certain kind of sense when you consider who owns the franchise now. Since Disney acquired 20th Century Fox in 2019, the Predator series falls under the Disney umbrella—specifically through its 20th Century Studios label. With that comes a stronger incentive to make the property more accessible to wider audiences. A PG-13 rating opens the door for younger viewers and bigger box office returns. The Predator franchise may now very well be watered down for mass appeal.
This new chapter stars Elle Fanning and takes the franchise in an unexpected direction. For the first time in the series, the Predator—this time named Dek—is positioned not as the antagonist, but as a protagonist. The story sees Dek forming an uneasy alliance with Thia (Fanning), a brilliant but inexperienced scientist. Together, they navigate a hostile alien wasteland on a distant, tech-ravaged planet. The trailer promises a mix of high-concept sci-fi and stripped-down survivalism.
“Prey” was a rare straight-to-streaming success story, generating strong word-of-mouth and pulling in record-breaking numbers for Hulu. The film had many scratching their heads over why it wasn’t given a proper theatrical release. Now, 20th Century has apparently learned its lesson, and “Badlands” is heading to theaters this fall, with a November 7 release date locked in—but the catch is that it won’t be rated R.