The Filmcast After Dark Interview: How Dan Trachtenberg Made 'Predator: Badlands'
Feb 27, 2026
Dan Trachtenberg, director who revitalized the Predator franchise with Prey and Badlands. He talks directing choices and practical VFX. He shares production anecdotes like tweaking the studio logo, making Elle Fanning appear as a backpack, and designing the brothers’ fight. He also discusses rating decisions and small fixes that rescue scenes.
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Tinkering With The Studio Logo
- Dan tried multiple tweaks to the 20th Century logo starting with Prey, including a cloaking/laser sight gag that was ultimately pulled.
- He later used Yautja tonalities to linger on the theme for Badlands after testing variations and studio pushback.
Inspiration From Games And TV For Title Beats
- Dan tracked title-card riffs and late-logo traditions from games and shows, citing The OA, Scott Pilgrim, and video games as inspirations.
- He used those references to shape Badlands' in-movie title placement like a 'tutorial complete' beat.
Handpicking Key Art Preferences
- Dan prefers poster art by Matt Ferguson and fought to feature that Drew-Struzan–style layout across key art packages.
- He gave input but intentionally stopped micromanaging home-video art toward the end.