Keegan-Michael Key is looking to prove himself as a convincing action star following his success in comedy by starring in The Predator. Key recently sat down with Cnet to discuss many facets of Shane Black's upcoming Predator sequel and during the discussion Key chats about why he took the role, as well as what fans can expect from the new film. Below are some excerpts from the interview, but you can read the whole thing over on Cnet!
Cnet: What can you tell us about the new movie?
Keegan-Michael Key: There's been an aggressive gag order [laughs] so let me see what I can share that's vague yet still informative. Thomas Jane and I are ex-Marines and we are in a group with Boyd Holbrook, Trevante Rhodes and Alfie Allen. In the midst of this adventure, they adopt this scientist, Olivia Munn, who happens to be working on revolutionary tech and on finding alien life.
We become a kind of dirty half dozen of burned-out soldiers suffering from PTSD. Shane Black sent us a memo that was quite poetically written prior to shooting, and the gist of the memo was, "I want a bunch of knights — a bunch of knights who were rejects from the Round Table — knocking the rust off their armor and going back into battle."
It's not about a bunch of heroes that are at the top of the game. It's about people who have been through life and are at the end of their careers. And for them to pick up their mantle again is part of the excitement of the film. What else can I share? There's quite a lot of humor. The beginning of the movie is like you're watching six stooges. And it was really a riot, I mean an absolute riot to do.
So this isn't a retelling of Predator so much as a reimagining?
Reimagining is a good word. What we're doing is a chapter of a larger story that we could call The Predator Universe. There are five movies in the Predator canon, and this will be the sixth. You could watch them in any order you want because they all exist in their own right.
Get updates on Predator: Badlands on social media by following us on X, on Instagram and liking our Facebook page!
Dan Trachtenberg's Predator: Badlands released in theaters on November 7th, 2025! Visit the Predator Lore database - for information on the film's different Yautja and characters, the planet Genna, how it connects to Alien, where in the Predator movie timeline the film takes place and more!

Yautja Prime concept art from Predator: Badlands by Alex Nice!
Concept artist Alex Nice has shared a number of submissions he made for Dan Trachtenberg's Predator: Badlands detailing the Predator home world, Yautja Prime!

Check out this crazy early Badlands Predator helmet design by Sean Hargreaves!
Official concept art by Sean Hargreaves for Dan Trachtenberg's Predator: Badlands reveals unconventional helmet design for the Yautja!

Dek rides Dinosaur-like alien into battle in early concept art for Badlands!
Very early concept artwork for Predator: Badlands painted a very different movie, featuring a variety of different creatures and battle sequences!









