The Yard VFX - Directed by Dan Trachtenberg, Predator: Badlands redefines the franchise by placing the Predator at the emotional center of the story. This bold creative shift introduced a major challenge for the VFX: translating nuanced performance and character-driven emotion into a non-human protagonist, while preserving scale, intensity, and visual credibility. The film also made a deliberate choice to strongly differentiate its two worlds. Yautja Prime was conceived as a harsh, arid planet shaped by geological violence, while Genna served as its lush, water-dominated counterpoint.

Overseen by Production VFX Supervisor Olivier Dumont and Production VFX Producer Kathy Siegel, the project relied on a tightly coordinated, multi-studio pipeline, to deal with this large-scale production spanning over 1,400 VFX shots. Wētā FX developed the shared hero assets, which were distributed across vendors, while sequence ownership was carefully defined to maintain quality and creative clarity. This balance of centralized standards and focused responsibility proved essential for handling the film’s technical and creative complexity.

Within this framework, The Yard reached a significant milestone. The studio was entrusted with more than 100 VFX shots, including the opening five minutes of the film, delivering full-CG environments, creatures, digital characters, and FX. It marked The Yard’s first major creature-driven project at this scale, and an opportunity to contribute creatively from the earliest stages of world and creature development.