Predator: Badlands launched to a record-breaking $40 million opening weekend and an 85% Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, earning praise from Variety as “an inspired new entry that has us rooting for the slayer.” Directed by Dan Trachtenberg, the film reimagines the Predator saga with bold emotional scope, centering on Dek, a young Predator outcast played by Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, who forges an unexpected bond with Thia, a damaged android portrayed by Elle Fanning. Set on the hostile alien planet Kalisk, the story’s blend of action, intimacy, and heart offered the perfect canvas for SDFX Studios to craft its signature brand of 3D Immersive VFX.
Working closely with Emma Webb and the 3D team at 20th Century Studios/Marvel, SDFX Studios handled the majority of the 3D work, tackling some of the film’s most ambitious sequences including dense jungle environments, a razor grass sequence where the landscape itself becomes weaponized, and a climactic industrial showdown between a towering creature and a mech suit piloted by one of Fanning’s dual roles. “We got some of the most difficult sequences,” Bomstein said. “Forest and jungle scenes are always challenging in 3D because they are dense and layered, and audiences know instinctively how they should look. You want them to feel rich and alive but not distracting. It is about enhancing immersion while staying true to the filmmaker’s intent.”
That immersive approach extended to the film’s emotional core. Beneath the spectacle lies a story about belonging and connection; a found family formed between Dek, Thia, and the creatures of Kalisk. “You have these big action moments, but then you have the quiet pauses where they are building trust,” Bomstein shared. “Those scenes around the campfire or under alien skies really anchor the movie. 3D helps draw you into those moments. It gives the intimacy weight, and you feel like you are sitting there with them, surrounded by that world.”
Portraying Dek, the first Predator protagonist in franchise history, also required a new way of thinking about stereo composition. “Predators have such unique head shapes, their mandibles, their mouths,” Bomstein explained. “We wanted it to feel natural and comfortable to watch. If you push that too far in 3D, it can actually strain the viewer’s eyes without them realizing why. So we adjusted the depth to make sure his design felt real and expressive without losing that alien quality.”
Shot largely on location in New Zealand, Badlands relied heavily on practical effects and physical sets that gave the stereo artists at SDFX a tactile foundation to build on. “When you are working with real environments, the depth feels more organic,” said Bomstein. “You can build the space around your actors in a way that feels natural and believable. It makes the world feel tangible and alive.”
That realism heightened the impact of a key sequence later in the film, where Fanning’s secondary character, Tessa, battles a massive alien creature while piloting an industrial mech suit in a sprawling android complex. “It is big, explosive sci fi,” Bomstein said. “You have heavy machinery, sparks, collapsing structures, all of it layered with fast, aggressive movement. We pushed the stereo depth carefully to sell the creature’s enormous scale. You feel the danger pressing in and you understand just how small the characters are compared to what they are up against.”
For Bomstein, Predator: Badlands represents both a creative challenge and a milestone in immersive storytelling. “Sci-fi and fantasy stories are a natural home for 3D,” he said. “They let you put the audience right inside the world.
Whether it is superheroes, monsters, or alien planets, 3D gives you that extra layer of awe and scale. And that is only going to keep evolving.”
From the dense jungles of Kalisk to the quiet, emotional connection between its unlikely heroes, SDFX Studios’ 3D Immersive VFX helped transform Predator: Badlands into a powerful fusion of heart and spectacle. The result is an experience that pulls audiences into the story both emotionally and physically, redefining what the Predator universe can be.
20th Century Studios’ Predator: Badlands is now available on digital, with the Blu-ray release set for February 17, 2026.