Elle Fanning is reportedly being lined up to play the lead role in Badlands, the latest entry in the Predator film series.

Earlier this year, it was confirmed that there was a new entry in the franchise on the way named Badlands. Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane), who directed 2022’s Prey, will also helm the new film, which he has co-written as an original screenplay with Patrick Aison. Principal photography is due to start in July.

And now, Deadline have noted that Fanning is in talks to take on the lead in Badlands. 20th Century Studios have not commented on the report.

Fanning, 26, came to prominence as a child actor in films including Babel, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Somewhere and Super 8. Since then, she has gained acclaim for her role as Princess Aurora in Maleficent and in independent films such as The Neon Demon and 20th Century Women.

From 2020 to 2023, she took on the lead role of Catherine the Great in the Hulu satirical drama The Great, for which she received Golden Globe and Emmy nominations.

Prey was a prequel to the first four instalments in the Predator series, and it was set in the Comanche Nation in 1719, where a highly skilled warrior, played by Amber Midthunder, protects her tribe from an evolved alien that hunts humans for sport.

After its release in 2022 (on Disney+ in the UK), the film was met with rave reactions from critics and audiences alike, with many describing it as the best Predator film since the 1987 original with Arnold Schwarzenegger. It also broke Hulu streaming records on its release in the US.

After the first film, Predator 2 followed three years later with Danny Glover, with later sequels coming in 2010 with Predators and 2018 with The Predator. In addition, there have also been several crossover films, including Alien vs. Predator and its sequel Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem.

The premise of Badlands remains unknown, but it is thought it will be set in the future. It is also not clear whether it will go directly to streaming, as Prey did two years ago.