The next mainline entry in the Predator franchise, Predator: Badlands, is taking some big swings, whether by incorporating the first functional Yautja language or holding back on the rating. Since its inception, the IP has maintained an R-rating, which has been the standard for a Predator movie.
However, Badlands breaks this tradition by going PG-13, as the creators intended to broaden the audience for the franchise. Producer Ben Rosenblatt told IGN:
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. 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.
While on paper, the rating will certainly ruffle feathers, as PG-13 is something fans of the franchise don’t expect from a mainline entry for obvious reasons, this won’t undermine the series’ knack for blood, just this time it won’t be red.
Predator: Badlands‘ PG-13 Rating Won’t Hinder the Violence
It’s important to note that the movie doesn’t feature humans at all. Instead, Predators and Synthetics. Considering the MPAA typically associates an R rating when human blood and gore are involved, avoiding red blood completely gave the creators the edge.
Fans will still be treated to the franchise’s signature violence, and it’d feel similar to any other R-rated entry in the series. Ben Rosenblatt explained:
We don’t have any humans in the movie and so we don’t have any human red blood. So we’re hoping that’s gonna play to our advantage. We’re going to go as hard as we possibly can within those constraints, and we think we’ll be able to do some pretty awesomely gruesome stuff. But in colours other than red.
This was undoubtedly a smart move on the filmmakers’ front, especially in the current box-office climate, where IP-driven movies no longer guarantee success because of the brand value alone.
Predator: Badlands Takes Place Far in the Future
Badlands will not concern itself with the events in the previous Predator and Alien movies, as the producer unveiled that the movie takes place far in the future, adding that it has been the furthest the series has gone.
Elaborating on it, the producer shared that in addition to crafting a Predator movie, they wanted to shape Badlands as an adventure movie where fans can connect with the main characters. On that note, giving Predator a voice was certainly the right decision.
This all takes place way in the future after everything that we know from the universe of Alien and Weyland-Yutani and Predator and Alien vs. Predator; all that stuff. This is the farthest out [the series has] gone.
Hopefully, it’ll renew general interest in the IP, similar to 2022’s Prey, and maybe this will eventually lay the groundwork for the long-anticipated Alien vs Predator movie.
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Predator: Badlands is slated to hit theatres on November 7, 2025.
