Elle Fanning explains why she was “more nervous” to play villainous synth Tessa than “big personality” droid Thia in new sci-fi Predator: Badlands: “You can fall into a cliché”

Actors often say that playing a villain is more fun than playing the hero, but it’s not often that they get to test that theory out in the same movie. In Predator: Badlands, Elle Fanning gets the rare opportunity, as she brings both chatty, optimistic synth Thia and colder, company-loyal droid Tessa to life.

“I played Thia day-to-day on set. I was her most of the time, so then Tessa would dip in and out. It’d be like, ‘Ooh, it’s a Tessa day,’ but I was more nervous to play Tessa,” Fanning recalls to GamesRadar+. “Thia, I could fully understand; Tessa is a little more closed off with her emotions and more scientific and a little more, traditionally, robotic, just because of her history as opposed to her sister. We call them sisters but they’ve had a different journey, and that’s why their personalities are so different.”

Directed by Prey’s Dan Trachtenberg, Predator: Badlands follows Yautja “runt” Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi), who travels to Genna, otherwise known as ‘the Death Planet’, to take down the galaxy’s most feared foe: the Kalisk. Many Yautja have died trying to make it their trophy but Dek is determined; not only to prove himself a worthy hunter but avenge his brother Kwei, who was executed by their ruthless, clan-leader father for saving Dek from a similar fate.

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(Image credit: 20th Century Studios)

During his hunt, he crosses paths with Thia, a Weyland-Yutani synth who’s encountered the Kalisk once before – and lost her legs in the process. At first, Thia’s perky personality rubs Dek up the wrong way, but when he realizes how knowledgeable she is about Genna’s flora and fauna, she agrees to let her tag along as his “tool”.

Predator: Badlands is in cinemas now. For more, check out our list of the most exciting upcoming movies in 2025 and beyond.