Two Alien Movies Inspired Elle Fanning’s Predator: Badlands Character
In an exclusive interview, Elle Fanning shared insights into her preparation for the upcoming sci-fi sequel Predator: Badlands, where she plays a Weyland-Yutani synthetic named Thia. Unlike co-star Dimitrius Schuster-Kolomatangi, who immersed himself in Yautja lore for his role as Dek, Fanning focused on exploring the Alien universe.
The actor revealed that her performance drew more inspiration from the franchise’s divisive prequel and James Cameron’s sequel rather than Ridley Scott’s 1979 classic. These films, she said, shaped her portrayal of a more advanced android with evolved emotional capacity.
“I was familiar; I’d seen Arnold [Schwarzenegger]’s movie a while back. But for me, it was more about looking into the Alien Universe. [Director] Dan [Trachtenberg] and I talked a lot about Prometheus and [Lance Henriksen’s] Bishop; we wanted to make sure Thia was distinct but also felt like she could come from that world. Though this film is set the furthest into the future we’ve seen before, so she’s the most advanced android that’s been put on screen before. Her emotions are a bit more human-like, more advanced. She has that empathy in her.”
Predator: Badlands takes place centuries after Trachtenberg’s previous film, Prey. The new story follows Dek, a disgraced Yautja "runt," who seeks redemption by challenging a Kalisk—known as one of the galaxy’s most dangerous enemies—to regain his father’s respect.
Author Summary
Elle Fanning based her android character in Predator: Badlands on Prometheus and Aliens, creating a more empathetic and human-like synthetic in Trachtenberg’s futuristic sequel.