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Elle Fanning was daunted to play a Weylan-Yutani synth in Predator: Badlands, but one past Alien actor in particular inspired her performance

Fanning, who plays Weylan-Yutani synth Thia in the upcoming Predator-starring film, says David Jonsson's Andy in Alien: Romulus heavily inspired her role

We know, we know - everyone wants to hear about Alien and Predator beating the hell out of each other - but what about when their relationship is helpful? Or, since a Yautja and xenomorph buddy movie is fairly improbable, at least when the two franchises help each other? If that's something you'd like to hear more of, then you should really listen to Predator: Badlands star Elle Fanning, who recently revealed she couldn't have played her Predator character without an Alien influence.

Fanning recently sat down with Empire Magazine for an interview published online Septemebr 24. In it, the Neon Demon actor admitted that it "was daunting playing Weyland-Yutani synths. Think about the list of people who’ve played one!"

Fanning has a great point - legendary genre actors such as Ian Holm, Lance Henriksen, Michael Fassbender, and Winona Ryder have all stepped into robotic roles to help bring the Alien franchise to life. Hell, some folks at Popverse would even argue that Timothy Olyphant's Kirsch is the best part of Alien: Earth (it's me, I'm folks at Popverse). But for all that those actors made the role seem daunting to Fanning, a much more recent one actually inspired here.

We're talking about The Long Walk star David Jonsson, who's loveable Andy was a huge highlight of Alien: Romulus.

"[Jonsson] is such a great actor," Fanning tells her interviewer. "That was informative for me, to see him step outside of other synths and create his own version [...] It gave me confidence to create my own thing, too."

Now let me ask you this, loyal reader - if one Weyland-Yutani synth can help out another across the divide of Alien/Predator franchise movies, isn't it possible for the monsters themselves to get along? Can't we bury the proverbial high-tech hatchet and learn to live in intergalactic harmony? Don't you want to see that?

Yeah, me neither.

Predator: Badlands is in theaters November 7.


The two greatest sci-fi monsters of all time are crash-landing in the heart of pop culture once again, and Popverse is here to tell you how to survive. Explore the interconnected Alien and Predator universe with:

...and more. Keep your eyes peeled and remember, if anybody can hear you scream in space, it's us.

 

Grant DeArmitt

Grant DeArmitt: Grant DeArmitt (he/him) likes horror, comics, and the unholy union of the two. In the past, and despite their better judgment, he has written for Nightmare on Film Street and Newsarama. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, Kingsley, and corgi, Legs.

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