The new Predator movie, Predator: Badlands, has done what no alien hunter has ever managed before — it slayed the box office and broke the internet in the process. With a massive $80 million worldwide debut, the movie’s opening has marked the biggest in the franchise’s history. But as fans flood theaters, some bros online are clutching their pearls, exclaiming, “The Predator is gay now.”
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Yes, you read that right. The outrage started after critics showered the film with praise for its more emotional, “kindhearted” take on the iconic alien hunter. In his review for The Hollywood Reporter, Richard Lawson called it “the sweetest Predator yet.” The film, starring Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi as the titular alien hunter, Dek, and Elle Fanning as Thia, a humanoid robot, follows a young Yautja (that’s Predator to you and me) who’s bullied for being “too sensitive” and learns the value of empathy. Apparently, that’s all it took to send some bros spiraling into an online meltdown.
Meanwhile, real audiences are absolutely eating it up. With a solid 87% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and an impressive 96% audience approval, Badlands is making fans and dollars alike. And for those crying “Go woke, go broke,” Disney just crossed the $4 billion mark globally for 2025. If this is what woke looks like, then please, sign us up for more.
“Is The Predator Gay Now?”: Some Bros Are Losing It
Maybe it’s the progressive wins across the country recently, or maybe it’s just the idea of an alien monster showing a little softness, but for some, the latest Predator film is too much to handle. Why? Apparently, it’s because the iconic hunter is a bit too… gentle?
Predator: Badlands switches things up by centering on Dek, a young Predator who sets out to prove himself to his father by hunting the monstrous Kalisk on a hostile planet. Along the way, he teams up with Thia, a robot with a heart of steel, and learns a thing or two about compassion. But here’s the kicker: Dek is portrayed as emotionally vulnerable and sensitive—traits some people are oddly equating to queerness.
Critic Richard Lawson certainly leaned into this idea with his review, calling the film’s protagonist “the sweetest Predator yet,” and adding, “This Predator is queer and we should say it.” Now, let’s be clear: Badlands doesn’t explicitly state that Dek is gay, but Lawson makes a solid point. The movie’s softer, cuddlier take on the predator formula does align with themes often found in queer coming-of-age stories. Dek is bullied by his father for not being “man enough,” goes on a quest of self-discovery, and forges deep, meaningful relationships with the women around him. If that doesn’t sound like a queer hero’s journey, what does?
Lawson’s review is full of fun, cheeky moments, joking that Dek “loves Cher and muscle magazines” and is probably working up the courage to kiss the cute boy he met at Musical Mondays at Splash. Whether or not Lawson’s poking fun at the film’s critics (probably), it definitely worked. As expected, the internet has exploded with the usual cries of “Woke garbage” and “Stop forcing politics into everything.”
And we get it—straight dudes love a big, brutish monster, and they really don’t want their Predator to be anything less than a spine-ripping, testosterone-fueled killing machine. But here’s the thing: the franchise has always been about more than just that. Remember the homoerotic tension in the 1987 Predator? A bunch of ripped dudes in the jungle, flexing muscles, exchanging glances… it’s practically a G-string away from a full-on bromance. Maybe they just didn’t know it then, but Predator has always had some serious queer energy.
The “Go Woke, Go Broke” Crowd Doesn’t Know What Hit Them
To make things even juicier, Predator: Badlands isn’t the first time the series has pushed buttons. Back in 2022, Prey—directed by Dan Trachtenberg, who also helms Badlands—saw a Yautja face off against a young Comanche woman, played by Amber Midthunder. That, of course, sent the hyper-macho crowd into fits, railing against the audacity of giving a woman the upper hand. As social media star @hugeasmammoth_ pointed out back then, these same bros are crying about how “woke” Badlands is, but they seem to have forgotten how much homoerotic subtext was packed into the first film.
Now, these critics are back in full force, slamming Badlands for a Predator who’s a little more in touch with his emotions. But as much as they want to make Badlands the hill they die on, it’s unlikely to stop the movie from doing major box office numbers. Despite the knee-jerk “woke” backlash, early reports suggest that the film is heading toward an opening weekend in the $25-$30 million range—second only to the Alien vs. Predator crossover from 2004. And if that doesn’t show that people don’t mind their aliens a little fruity, we don’t know what does.
So What’s Really Going On?
At the end of the day, Predator: Badlands has done something extraordinary: it’s made people talk. And not just about the usual sci-fi action tropes, but about identity, sensitivity, and what it means to be heroic. Whether or not Dek’s Predator is gay, queer-coded, or just trying to be his own monster, he’s breaking down barriers in ways we didn’t expect. And we’re here for it.
If there’s one thing we can all agree on, it’s that Dek is definitely a Predator for our times. The question is, what are you going to do with that information?
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