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www.postmagazine.com 20 POST MAR/APR 2026 S heldon Stopsack is a visual effects supervisor at Weta FX, Predator: Badlands' lead visual effects house, and says the diverse body of work the studio delivered for the film makes it difficult to pick out a single favorite sequence. "Multiple sequences pushed us into very differ- ent creative and technical territories, each with its own challenges, but if I had to single out one particular sequence, it would be the final se- quence, when Dek returns home to confront his father and bring his journey to its conclusion," says Stopsack. "The scene was originally designed to be much shorter, with a sharp and compact ending. However, as production progressed and after a few test screenings, it became clear that audiences were looking for something more extensive. An ending that felt bigger, more emotionally charged and worthy of the story's arc. With the delivery deadline fast approaching, we worked closely with our clients to explore how the sequence could be expanded in a meaningful way. "Through a combination of client-provided stuntvis and previs work from our motion team, we developed a more expansive version of the scene. This was quickly followed by a shoot on our mocap stage here in Wellington, where we captured the additional performance required." As the scope grew, so did the complexity. Because the decision to add these additional shots came well after principal photography had wrapped, the team needed to create an environ- ment that could function as a fully-digital setting while still honoring the original photography. "We began by building the environment directly from the plates we had, ensuring the level of detail and finish matched what had been captured on-set," Stopsack explains. This helped ground the CG work in realism. As the mood and lighting evolved, the environment continued to develop, and ultimately most of the plate photography was replaced with an all-digital setting." One of the biggest creative challenges, accord- ing to Stopsack, was the sandstorm that defines the sequence. The shot plays with the idea that Dek has matured and now relies on his skills and experience to outplay his father, rather than trying to match his physical strength. "Knowing it would be under intense creative scrutiny, our initial plan was to take a back- end-heavy approach using pre-generated VDBs (Volume DataBase) and particles placed in com- positing — a method I'd relied on before for its flexibility late in the pipeline," says Stopsack. "But as work began, our FX team started prototyping custom, per-shot simulations. Even these early tests brought an incredible sense of energy and cohesion, prompting us to change course. Weta FX shifted to a shot-by-shot approach through FX and lighting, allowing everything to be rendered physically-accurately as a unified system. The resulting interaction of light, shadow and atmosphere — particularly how the sandstorm affects the characters — was driven directly by the large-scale FX caches in each shot. "I really admired Dan (Trachtenberg's) bold creative choice to push the sequence into a darker, grittier space," he shares. "The goal was always to make the audience feel like they were right there in the storm with Dek and his father, and I think that comes through on-screen." For Weta FX's animation supervisor Karl Rapley, the film's third-act showdown is a highlight. The scene features Dek, Tessa in a mechanical loader, and the Kalisk. "It was the first sequence I worked on for Badlands, and it was a dream scenario to fulfil my creature vs. mech fighting fantasy," he shares. "It was also instrumental in guiding the filming of the sequence." Rapley's first meeting with Trachtenberg took place in Auckland, New Zealand, where he pitched his vision of the third-act battle. "We had about five weeks to previs this with a few rounds of iteration and notes from Dan," he recalls. "We were on a ticking clock, as Dan was already filming and this sequence was about to be shot next, which added its own unique pressure." The sequence was quite open in its interpreta- tion and could have spiraled off in a number of different directions. "I'm proud that we were able to hone in on the essence of the action without wasting time ex- ploring dead ends," adds Rapley. "After delivering the previs, I was lucky enough to go on-location to watch Dan film this sequence on a night shoot on a piece of remote farmland in New Zealand, which was standing in for the Weyland-Yutani base. The Kalisk and the Super Power Loader had a lot of different abilities, and with the Kalisk being able to regenerate, we had to find a way that the Super Power Loader could go toe-to-toe with it and even dominate the Kalisk." The Super Power Loader is different from average dock-loading equipment in that it's been repurposed for fighting. "Luckily, it had a huge saw blade attachment that it could fight the Kalisk with and gain the upper hand," says Rapley. "Trying to keep the fight short and punchy while still allowing all of our combatants to have their moment to shine was V I S U A L E F F E C T S & A N I M AT I O N