SAN DIEGO (AP) — “Predator: Badlands” belongs to a long-established cinema subgenre: two opposed people reluctantly stuck together with a common purpose.
The film, the seventh in the franchise (not counting the “Alien vs. Predator” offshoots), has the buddy comedy energy that comes with that dynamic. It also belongs to the narrower subgenre of people quite literally stuck together, like 1958's “The Defiant Ones,” in which Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis were fugitives united by chains.
And, in a scenario that provided special challenges for stars Elle Fanning and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, “Predator: Badlands” belongs to a still narrower subset it may share only with “The Empire Strikes Back”: movies with a broken android worn like a backpack by a tall and powerful creature as they face peril in a strange corner of space.
“The real physical inspiration for it was C-3PO strapped to Chewbacca’s back,” director Dan Trachtenberg told The Associated Press in an interview where he was joined by the film's two stars. “But I think the fun of this is that it’s not Chewbacca. It’s not a friendly, well-intentioned creature, it’s a Predator.”
The apt working title of the movie, which will be released Friday by 20th Century Studios, was “Backpack.”
For much of the New Zealand shoot, Fanning and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi were every bit as close as they appear to be in the film, where the top half of her artificially intelligent character, Thia, was back-to-back with Schuster-Koloamatangi's young Predator, Dek, who is out to prove himself on a hunt against a seemingly unkillable megamonster.
“His Predator braids would, like, whip me in the face all the time in our action sequences,” Fanning said with a laugh.
Trachtenberg and the crew used an array of practical ways to make the backpack setup work.
“Any way you can think of making the rig, we tried,” Schuster-Koloamatangi said.
“Through the mud, through the water, through rivers,” Fanning added.
She said at times her co-star pulled her in a wheelbarrow, and at other times they'd do it on foot.
“I would really pretend to be a backpack swinging around,” she said. “We’d have to coordinate our steps, I’d be walking backward and it would be like, ‘OK, left, right, left, right.'”
In the scenes when they weren't back-to-back, Trachtenberg wanted them to be genuinely face-to-face.
“We developed this system where he wore a suit, but his face was open,” the director said. “And that way Dimitrius could really be driving the performance, and he and Elle could work off each other in moments, though fleeting, when they were actually facing each other.”
He said the “whole reason for making the movie was to really emotionally connect with this crazy thing. So it really demanded that we had a different approach,” and that the process “allows us to be far more expressive and do things the other entries in the franchise couldn’t do with its creature.”
Trachtenberg, a 44-year-old Philadelphia native, has taken over the franchise that began in 1987 with the Arnold Schwarzenegger original. He has taken it to entirely new times and places, with entirely new approaches.
His first time at the helm was on 2022's “Prey,” which was set in 1719 on the Great Plains in the Comanche Nation.
His animated “Predator: Killer of Killers” from earlier this year includes vignettes set in 9th century Scandinavia, 17th century Japan and World War II.
“Predator: Badlands,” which he co-wrote with his “Prey” writing partner Patrick Aison, is set in the distant future on a new planet.
Trachtenberg said at a Comic-Con showcase of the film that one inspiration was the realization that “The Predator never wins.” He wanted to see what that would look like, without making a slasher film.
Fanning, who also plays other identical androids, and Schuster-Koloamatangi were two of only three credited cast members.
She has been acting since she was a preschooler, and is already a veteran pro at 27, but she's relatively new to franchise filmmaking — 2014's “Maleficent” being the exception — and entirely new to space-based sci-fi.
“I guess I’ve always been on Earth, or a fantasy realm,” she said with a laugh. “I think the approach to story and character and the script, it’s very much the same.”
She had more credits by age 5 than her 24-year-old co-star has had yet in his brief career.
Schuster-Koloamatangi was a local hire in New Zealand and a special find for the filmmakers. While there was nothing comfortable about most of the shoot, he appreciated being on familiar terrain.
“Home turf, baby,” he said with a laugh.
Elle Fanning arrives at the premiere of "Predator: Badlands" on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, at TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi arrives at the premiere of "Predator: Badlands" on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, at TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, left, and Elle Fanning arrive at the premiere of "Predator: Badlands" on Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, at TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)
DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Apr 1, 2026--
Barrell Energy Inc. and Barrell Lithium LLC (the "Companies") are pleased to announce a significant expansion of their strategic footprint in the premier lithium-producing region of the United States. Through aggressive, geologically-driven leasing efforts, the Company has now reached 52,000 net mineral acres across its two core Smackover Formation lithium projects.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260401059104/en/
In tandem with this acreage milestone, Barrell Lithium LLC has successfully closed its Series B funding round, which was met with significant demand and finished oversubscribed. Supported by an elite group of private investors, this capital raise enables the Company to continue expanding its lithium leasing and solidify its large strategic position within the high-concentration lithium brine fairway of East Texas.
East Texas Drilling & Testing Results
Recent published reports confirm record-high lithium concentrations within the western portion of the Smackover Trend of East Texas. With values ranging from 600 to 806 mg/L, these concentrations are nearly double those observed in southwestern Arkansas. Furthermore, significant associated minerals were noted, with bromine levels reaching 3,700–4,800 mg/L and potassium concentrations between 11,100 and 16,800 mg/L.
Strategic Expansion & Geological Precision
The Company’s approach remains defined by a geologically focused methodology. By leveraging four decades of geological expertise and over five years of Smackover-specific evaluation into lithium source rock, structure, and reservoir quality, the Company targets high-potential prospects with precision. This effort is spearheaded by a local, seasoned land team based out of the Company’s leasing office in Atlanta, Texas, fostering strong community ties at the geographic center of the play.
“We are aggressively expanding our acreage across the Smackover Lithium Play, a pace that underscores our absolute confidence in this asset base," said Kirk Barrell, President of Barrell Energy. "By leveraging our deep geological expertise alongside a high-performance local land team and a seasoned investor group, we are scaling our footprint with maximum efficiency. Our priority is securing the strategic acreage required to expand this project and power the next generation of American energy.”
Market Dynamics & Domestic Security
The global energy market continues to underscore the vital significance of lithium. Over the past year, lithium prices have more than doubled, reflecting the relentless demand for critical battery minerals. As the United States remains firmly focused on securing US-sourced critical minerals, the Companies’ Smackover projects represent a vital contribution to domestic energy independence and the reduction of reliance on foreign supply chains.
Strategic Partnerships
With a robust land position, the Company is preparing for the next stage of development. The companies plan to formally commence the process to identify an operating partner in the third quarter (Q3) of 2026. This partner will work alongside the Company to drill, deploy advanced extraction technologies, and bring these domestic resources to market.
About Barrell Lithium LLC
Barrell Lithium LLC, a Texas company, was formed in 2024 by Barrell Energy Inc. to explore and develop lithium brine resources within the Smackover Formation in East Texas.
About Barrell Energy Inc.
Founded in 1997 by Kirk Barrell, Barrell Energy Inc. is a Texas-based private energy firm built on 40 years of geological and land acquisition expertise. The Company specializes in identifying and securing early strategic positions across a diverse energy portfolio, including oil and natural gas, lithium brine, carbon sequestration, and utility-scale solar. Our reach extends into natural gas power generation, battery storage, and data center development. Over the past 15 years, Barrell Energy and its portfolio companies have successfully executed $477 million in transactions covering 890,000 acres
CAUTIONARY STATEMENT
This press release contains certain forward-looking statements regarding lithium brine leasing, exploration, development and production activities, anticipated and potential production and the economic potential of properties. Accuracy of these forward-looking statements depends on assumptions about events that change over time and is thus susceptible to periodic change based on actual experience and new developments. Barrell Energy Inc. and Barrell Lithium LLC caution readers that it assumes no obligation to update or publicly release any revisions to the forward-looking statements in this press release and, except to the extent required by applicable law, does not intend to update or otherwise revise these statements more frequently than quarterly. Important factors that might cause future results to differ from these forward-looking statements include adverse conditions such as well drilling that could lead to mechanical failures or increased costs, variations in the market prices of lithium products, drilling results, unanticipated fluctuations in flow rates of producing wells, lithium carbonate reserves expectations, the ability to satisfy future cash obligations and environmental costs, and other general exploration and development risks and hazards.
Smackover Lithium Trend
