The newest Predator movie, Predator: Badlands, from Prey and Predator: Killer of Killers director Dan Trachtenberg is finally here. The 2025 blockbuster has already enjoyed a successful opening weekend at the box office – giving it the biggest financial debut of the franchise to date. However, not everyone is happy, as Predator: Badlands is facing “woke” criticisms on social media.
Both disappointed fans and internet trolls are targeting Predator: Badlands in an effort to bash the otherwise beloved sequel. The new movie goes in a wildly new direction by giving fans the franchise’s first Yautja protagonist. Though comics have attempted such narratives in the past, it’s a first for Predator movies on the big screen, and many fans have enjoyed the change.
Of course, that also means the movie is made to be more accessible, sporting a PG-13 rating and a more “family-friendly” narrative than past installments. To get away with the rating, however, the film does have plenty of creatures and androids in place of humans. While they’re still hunted and disposed of in brutally creative ways, it’s done in a way that doesn’t upset the MPAA.
Likewise, because the film’s Yautja protagonist is the main character, fans are given more insight than ever before to the iconic movie monster’s culture and motivations. While this Yautja, named Dek, is still quite brutal and mean – it’s a character that does learn to step away from certain rituals and traditions that have otherwise defined the fictional alien race over the decades.
The combination of these issues, in addition to the film’s moments of comedic relief (which, to be fair, is still a staple of past Predator movies), is enough to get social media users fired up. Here are some of the complaints that have surfaced online so far:
Predator Badlands perfectly demonstrates how The Great Feminization has destroyed culture. The Predator is guided by a female character on an emotional journey, helping him become vulnerable, get in touch with his feelings and choose friendship over family. pic.twitter.com/7MXpCyQdIB
— DespotofAntrim (@Despotofantrim) November 6, 2025
Just watched Predator: Badlands in theaters. Utter woke nonsense. They turned Predators woke
— tony brazil (@faussemente) November 10, 2025
The choice is yours fellas.
Predator for real men
VS
Predator for feminists and soy boys pic.twitter.com/tn7v8jBSfj
— No room for wokeness! (@Wokenessisevil) November 8, 2025
Predator: Badlands was a generic, almost Disneyfied sci-fi movie. Entertaining, but ultimately forgettable and not really consistent with the overall franchise.
Frankenstein: Beautiful, well acted, but I wish Del Toro had done a bit less tinkering with the source material.— Trebuchet of Truth, Catapult of Chaos (@metaburgeon) November 10, 2025
Fortunately, many other fans have come to the film’s defense, as Predator: Badlands has earned the support of the franchise’s fanbase. With installments like The Predator having been so negatively-received that they seemingly spelled death for the Predator franchise, many fans are happy to have a movie as successful as Predator: Badlands, and they’re not going to let complaints of the sequel being “woke” or “Disneyfied” stand in its way.
Obviously it is a very different kind of Predator movie. For director Dan Trachtenberg, however, that’s exactly what he was going for. After the release of both Prey and Predator: Killer of Killers, which both offered new and unique ideas for the franchise, it’s clear he intended to do the same for Predator: Badlands. And for fans that appreciate the heavier sci-fi narratives of the franchise’s wealth of comics, novels, and video games, then the new movie certainly delivers on that front.
Hopefully Predator: Badlands continues to do well and leaves its own mark on pop culture history. Likewise, one can hope that there will still be room in the Predator franchise for darker or more violent installments following this blockbuster’s success. If the animated film Predator: Killer of Killers released just this year is any indication, however, then it’s likely that the franchise’s R-rated nature will continue as expected in other projects.