Though 2022’s Prey was quick to make a connection to the larger Predator franchise via a fan favorite Easter egg, that film, and all of Dan Trachtenberg‘s other offerings in the series, have maintained an interest in expanding the mythology. It’s one thing to acknowledge the events of other movies in the series, and it’s another to push what fans know (and think they know) into exciting new directions. This weekend delivered Trachtenberg’s second live-action Predator movie and his third overall with Predator: Badlands. The new movie marks a major departure for the series by bucking all conventions, but also with the new lore it adds.
Predator: Badlands follows Dek, a young Predator whose journey takes him from the dire circumstances of the Predator homeworld to another planet where literally even the grass is trying to kill him. Though the film’s structure is one that throws out the expectations of a Predator movie, a human character tries to survive an encounter with one of the Yautja, and instead focuses on how that hunter earns the right to traverse the galaxy and claim his trophies. Along the way, the film makes a lot of things very clear, and they expand Predator lore in big ways. Obviously, Spoilers for Predator: Badlands will follow.
The opening sequence of Predator: Badlands reveals that the circumstances of Dek’s first hunt are not as ideal as one might think. After a quick encounter with his brother Kwei, which reveals to the audience that Dek has a lot of ambition but perhaps unrefined skill, we find out that Dek still has to take his oath and go back himself some big game. In doing so he would earn his place in the clan. That said, the encouragement he gets from his brother to carry out this mission comes from a place of trying to help his brother escape, and not pure encouragement.
Dek and Kwei’s father arrives on the scene and laments that Kwei has not killed his brother yet. According to their dad, Dek is the runt of the clan and not worthy of even being part of the family. Instead, the honorable thing to do would be to kill him so that he cannot bring dishonor to the family through his actions.
This marks a unique addition to Predator lore, especially since Badlands begins with an excerpt from the Yautja Honor Code. It’s long been considered that Predators killing other Yautja is considered a major breach of that code, to the point where there’s even a term for this “Bad Blood.” That in mind, a high-ranking member of a clan plotting his son’s end, despite no real reason beyond how the clan will look to others, is a twist on what fans know.
The opening sequence of Predator: Badlands reveals that a key piece of technology that belongs to the Yautja, their invisibility cloaks, is actually something they have to earn. In the start of the film, it’s revealed that Dek’s brother Kwei already has a cloak, while Dek does not. Kwei further uses this as a reason why Dek needs to go on his hunt, as bagging his first trophy would earn him this key tool and make him an even more effective hunter.
Considering every Predator movie to this point, from the 1987 original to 2022’s Prey, has featured the titular aliens wearing their invisible cloaks, it would be easy to assume that they’re always equipped for it. Though the detail is largely just utilized in this movie to make it so Dek can’t just fall back on being invisible the entire time (how good would the movie be if we couldn’t even see the protagonist?), It’s a narrative beat that expands the scope of the mythology.
This new piece of information does appear to contradict a previous movie, though, as the three Yautja seen in Aliens vs. Predator (2003), all of whom are participating in their initiation hunts, come equipped with the cloaking tech. That said, many fans don’t even consider this movie to be a canon piece of the franchise, so the discrepancy here is an easy one to ignore.
In the realm of the Alien franchise, Synths ride the line between being a part of the crew along with the humans, but also just another piece of tech. Predator: Badlands quickly puts Dek on a path where he collides with a Synth, which reveals he clearly has no idea what she is before understanding that Thia (Elle Fanning) isn’t a living person but an android created by Weyland Yutani. After this revelation, Dek is able to connect the dots that since Thia is not living, she’s like a tool, and as a result, he can fully integrate her help into his equipment repertoire to complete his hunt.
The most important thing about this revelation, that a Predator can equip himself with a Synth and not break the rules of the Yautja Honor Code, is more a meta one than an Earth-shattering lore reveal. By having Dek and Thia team up with each other, it puts the Predator franchise in a position so that eventually Dek and Thia could meet other noteworthy characters from the series, maybe Naru from Prey, or Arnold Schwarzenegger as Dutch once again.
After Dek and Thia begin to bond, the Synth tries to make a point to the Yautja about how his worth to his clan shouldn’t just be defined by how many things he can kill, but how well he can provide. She does this by telling him about the Earth species wolves and the concept of the “Alpha” of the pack. Though her point is made clear and her illustration is valid, the real kicker is that it’s clear Dek has no idea what planet or even what species she’s talking about.
Considering every other Predator movie has appeared to put a semblance of importance on Earth in some way, either that it’s a hotspot for hunting or that it’s a key breeding ground for xenomorphs, it’s surprising that Dek appears to have no knowledge about Earth or its inhabitants. One reason that this could be, though, is that Predator: Badlands is clearly a bit in the future, at least a hundred years, if not more, removed from the present day. As a result, maybe Earth has developed a reputation with Predators for being a place that’s just not worth the trouble. It’s the place where multiple Yautja have met their end after all.
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