Elle Fanning to Star in Prey Director’s New Predator Movie ‘Badlands’
Emmy-nominated actress Elle Fanning is in talks to star in a role in the new standalone Predator franchise, Badlands. As per the reports, Fanning is in negotiations for the movie, which will be directed by Prey’s director, Dan Trachtenberg, and he wrote the script along with Patrick Aison.
The 20th century has not yet officially confirmed the casting news. Prey was the fifth installment in the Predator franchise and broke many records with its release on Hulu. The actress, Amber Midhunter, was praised for her performance in the film.
The film was nominated for six Emmy Awards and won one for Outstanding Sound Editing for a Limited or Anthology Series. A new sequel, Badlands, was announced in February, and plot details regarding the upcoming movie are currently scarce. The cast details have also not been announced yet, and production is expected to start this year. There is no release date set for the upcoming movie.
Deadline reported that an insider close to the project stated Fanning is a fan of the franchise, and she had a meeting with Trachtenberg, and after the follow-up meeting, she was on board. But the deal has yet to be confirmed.
The lead protagonist in Prey, Amber Midthunder, will potentially return for her role as Naru, a young Comanche woman. The film follows Naru as she sets out to protect her people from a humanoid alien that hunts people.
Elle Fanning started her acting career as a child, and her first role was in the film I Am Sam. She appeared in several films as a child actress, including Daddy Day Care, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Phoebe in Wonderland.
Fanning’s first big role was in the science fiction film Super 8. She also played the character of Aurora in the film Maleficent and its sequel, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil. Her performance in the Hulu series The Great grabbed Emmy and Golden Globe Award nominations.
Her upcoming project is James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown, where she will portray the role of Sylvie Russo opposite Timothee Chalamet.
The first film in the Predator franchise was released in 1987, directed by John McTierman and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. After that, it was followed by three prequels: Predator 2 (1990), Predators (2010), and The Predator (2018).
The prequel Pray was released in 2022, became the most-watched premiere on Hulu, and earned the highest viewing hours in its first three days of release.