Credit: Inside the MagicFrom Haley Mills to Zac Efron, many iconic movie stars got their start with The Walt Disney Company. However, Princess Aurora might be trading in her beauty for bloodshed as she steps off her throne for a lead role in Badlands.
Although the studio is known for its princess movies and animated masterpieces, the Disney name has expanded tremendously since Walt’s day. Thanks to acquisitions of studios like 20th Century Fox and streaming platforms like Hulu, Disney has branched out into new genres and mediums. That said, a Predator sequel with one of its leading ladies was not on our bingo cards.
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It was recently revealed that Elle Fanning, recently seen as Princess Aurora in Disney’s Maleficent series, was in talks to play a lead role in the upcoming Badlands. The sci-fi action film would be the latest entry in the Predator franchise following Hulu’s Prey (2022). To say that this is indeed a genre shift for the actress would be putting it lightly.
Badlands: From Princess to Predator
An official report from Deadline shared that Elle Fanning has been approached to play a lead role in the upcoming film. While the intimate details of the production are still vague, the studio is reportedly expanding the lore and lifespan of the galaxy’s deadliest bounty hunter.
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Per Deadline,
“After announcing that the studio would be expanding on its Predator universe earlier this year, 20th Century and Dan Trachtenberg’s next standalone pic Badlands looks to be gaining momentum with some serious star power. Sources close to Deadline say that Elle Fanning is in negotiations to star in the film with Trachtenberg directing. Trachtenberg co-wrote the script with Patrick Aison.”
After the success of Prey, which reimagined the Predator and pitted him against a tribe of Comanche natives, it makes sense that the studio would want to revisit the timeline and play with the non-traditional sci-fi movie setting. There’s something satisfyingly primal about watching Naru and her allies battle a gruesome alien monster with arrows and tomahawks while the Predator comes at them with his high-tech toys.
But Wait, There’s More!
That’s not the only sci-fi treat Disney/20th Century Studios has in store this year. Before we can watch the predator try to rip Elle Fanning limb from limb and harvest her skull, we’ll get to venture into a derelict space station for a new encounter with the Predator’s fiendish rival, the Xenomorph.
Fede Alvarez will bring viewers Alien: Romulus on August 16, 2024, and it feels highly suspect that a new Predator film follows on the clawed heels of a new Alien flick.
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Although we can’t say for sure that we’re getting a new Alien Vs. Predator feature, the pieces are certainly there. While 20th Century Studios has made no comment regarding the casting or development of Badlands, 2024 is shaping up to be a buffet of sci-fi creature features with an action movie twist.
Do you think we’re in for a new intergalactic threat? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!