The director of Predator: Badlands, Dan Trachtenberg, has revealed that an earlier version of the film featured surprise cameos from characters from the Alien and Predator franchises. The movie, which focuses on a young Yautja named Dek and his reluctant alliance with a damaged synthetic android named Thia, almost included references to Arnold Schwarzenegger's Dutch, the Xenomorph from Alien, and the creature from Killer of Killers. However, due to a shortened dialogue scene, these cameos were ultimately cut.
Trachtenberg explained that the scene was truncated to the point where the audience could barely see the characters. He also mentioned that he had other ideas for how Naru, the character from Prey, could be incorporated into the story, but decided not to include them to maintain the focus on the creatures.
Despite the cut cameos, Predator: Badlands still performed well at the box office, earning $184.6 million worldwide with a budget of $105 million. The film stars Elle Fanning and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi and is set in the future on a remote planet, where a young Predator outcast embarks on a treacherous journey in search of the ultimate adversary.
Predator: Badlands is available on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray on February 17th. The director's thoughts on the future of the franchise and the possibility of another Alien vs. Predator crossover movie are also discussed, leaving fans excited about the potential for further exploration of the Yautja and their universe.
