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Credit: 20th Century Studios
I’m psyched for Predator: Badlands’ release amid the 2025 movie calendar, especially with all the mounting questions about the movie that have emerged as we learn more. Amidst the chatter of the significance of Alien references and critiques about the new look of the Predator species, we should be talking more about Elle Fanning’s Thia. Just recently, the actress discussed the “dolls” that were used for her character on set and provided more insight.
Fanning took some time to speak with SFX on CinemaBlend about her role as Thia, a Weyland-Yutani synth on the remote planet on which the film takes place. She also plays many of the other synths, which resemble her and, as such, the production needed a lot of dummies made for Predator: Badlands. Fanning shared her reaction to seeing her face everywhere she looked, and it sounds like she had a blast:
It was hilarious. There were dolls of me lying around – some were plushy, some were hard. I would take photos with myself all the time.
I feel like I would do the exact same thing, so points to Elle Fanning for making the most of the situation and snapping lots of pictures. We’ll get to see plenty of her in the movie as Thia (and maybe even a dinosaur fight). Needless to say, I’m stoked for Predator: Badlands!
What’s interesting is that Thia spends a good chunk of Badlands with her body cut off at the waist. Of course, Elle Fanning’s body is still very much intact so, for obvious reasons, director Dan Trachtenberg and co. had to do a bit of Hollywood magic to make her legs disappear for scenes. Fanning explained how that was achieved:
There were action sequences that I couldn’t be on the back for, but most of the time we were in harnesses. I had the blue leggings and we had this harness for my legs so they could stick straight out from me because if they were on normally then they would get in the way of his legs. We were hooked together and we’re flying through the air. Then we would have these scenes walking up a hill. We had some wire rigs and we also had this rig that was like a wheelbarrow almost, where I was on the wheel and he’s pulling me and we’re rolling up. So, yeah, Dimitrius [Koloamatangi] had a lot of heavy lifting. It was called Backpack, that was the fake name– now I think people know why.
As she mentioned, Kek actor Dimitrius Koloamatangi had to carry Elle Fanning throughout those sequences. I’d imagine that may have been challenging at times given he also had to act in those scenes. Good on both of them for managing to make it work, and kudos to them and the post-production team for making it look so seamless in the footage that’s been revealed thus far.
More On Predator: Badlands
A screaming young Predator in Predator: Badlands
Predator: Badlands takes the franchise in another unique direction, on the heels of the success of the movie Prey. The film greatly centers on Kek, a young Predator on his first hunt who’s looking to prove he’s more than just the runt of the batch. It’s a bold new direction for Dan Trachtenberg, who could’ve just produced Prey 2, but decided against it.
Ultimately, I’m a fan of this direction, especially with the ties to the Alien franchise as Alien: Earth plays out on FX. Assuming this movie is a hit in theaters, I would love to see a resurgence of both franchises and what would happen should they do another collaboration where we have Predators and Xenomorphs dueling it out yet again. Any attempt has to be better than the first attempt, right?
Of course, I’m also curious as to how Thia’s story will play out. We’ll have to see and, at the same time, I’m also hoping Elle Fanning will post some of those doll pictures she snapped while on set. Predator: Badlands hits theaters on November 7th. In the meantime, why not prepare yourself by streaming Prey with a Hulu subscription now.
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