Thia (Elle Fanning) and Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) of ‘Predator: Badlands’
20th Century Studios
Predator: Badlands makes a bold move, presenting the iconic predator species, Yautja, as the protagonist—a franchise first.
Like Terminator 2, which famously flipped the antagonist of the first film into a hero, Predator: Badlands attempts to find the heart inside the merciless race of alien hunters.
In Predator: Badlands, nothing is as it first appears, and the film is packed with twists, all the way until the final scene.
Warning—Spoilers Ahead.
What Is The Plot Of ‘Predator: Badlands’?
Our hero, the Yautja “runt” known as Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) is tasked with hunting down the most dangerous creature known to his race, the seemingly unkillable Kalisk, to prove himself worthy to his clan.
Dek’s mission is really one of revenge, as his older brother, Kwei, sacrifices his life to save Dek, after their ruthless father, Njohrr, demands that Dek be executed for his weakness.
Instead, Kwei chooses to spare Dek and send him on his hunt, only to be swiftly murdered by Njohrr for his disobedience.
The scene shatters viewers’ conceptions of Yautja society, showing that empathy and love can exist within this fierce culture of warlords and hunters. As soon as Dek crash-lands on the dangerous planet of Genna, he finds himself surrounded by predators of all shapes and sizes.
Every animal, insect and plant has the capacity to kill Dek, and he quickly finds himself overwhelmed by the sheer hostility of the planet’s life.
Luckily, Dek encounters Thia (Elle Fanning), a synthetic who has been severed in half, waiting for someone to come along and cut her loose, almost like the scarecrow in The Wizard of Oz.
Thia is sentient, highly empathetic and an expert in predatory lifeforms—she understands how to manipulate Dek into bringing her along.
Knowing Yautja must hunt alone, Thia argues that she is not a person, but an object—a tool.
Dek surely knows that Thia’s loophole isn’t exactly airtight, but he agrees, understanding that he will not survive without her. Dek is determined to treat Thia as a tool, but her cheery persistence proves more powerful than his icy demeanor.
Dek soon opens up to her, explaining the tragedy behind his arrival on Genna. Thia reveals that she has been separated from not only her legs, but her favorite person, fellow synthetic Tessa (also played by Elle Fanning).
Dek understands their relationship as sisterly, and Thia delights in the notion of having a sister. Thia explains that her body was sliced in half after her encounter with the Kalisk, and she can help Dek track the creature down.
As they traverse through the planet, the two form a deep, trusting bond. Soon, they find an unexpected ally in the form of a strange, ape-like creature which Thia names “Bud.”
Bud is very attached to Dek, but Dek rejects the creature, vowing to continue his hunt alone, with his tool.
Unknown to Dek, Thia and her sister are seeking to capture the Kalisk for the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, and Tessa and her team of synthetics are swiftly tracking them down.
On the way, Tessa uncovers Dek’s ship and is intrigued by the range of exotic alien weaponry, stealing a deadly set of ice bombs.
Once Dek and Thia reach the site of the Kalisk, Thia attempts to repair her body and sends a signal to her sister, revealing their exact location to the team of synthetics.
Thia admits to Dek that she betrayed him, and asks him to leave for his own survival.
Dek is furious that his “tool” turned the tables and used him, and attempts to take down the Kalisk singlehandedly. The creature is huge and powerful, capable of regenerating almost any injury.
Dek fights well (despite being the runt of his family) and slices off the Kalisk’s head, but the creature pulls itself together and heals instantly. The Kalisk almost kills him, but hesitates after smelling the scent of its own child on Dek.
The delay is enough for Tessa and her team to arrive, paralyzing them both with ice bombs and capturing them. Tessa seeks to experiment on Dek’s body, but Thia seeks to spare him.
Tessa views her sister’s empathy as a weakness, and orders that Thia be deactivated.
In desperation, Thia helps Dek escape into the wilderness of Genna.
While Dek’s life was spared due to his brother’s love, Thia has no such luck—her sister is as coldly mechanical as the corporation she represents. Interestingly, the film implies that even the brutally violent Yautja warriors are kinder than the agents of Weyland-Yutani.
In the wilderness, Dek is reunited with Bud, and realizes that the small creature is the Kalisk’s child. Dek then uses the survival skills taught to him by Thia to arm himself with weapons, and prepare for the final fight.
It’s a clever inversion of the typical Predator trope, in which the human protagonist uses the tools of nature to take down the heavily armed Yautja.
The Ending Of ‘Predator Badlands,’ Explained
Following Thia’s severed legs, Dek and Bud attack the Weyland-Yutani base, efficiently destroying the team of synthetics.
Thia frees the Kalisk, and Tessa faces it inside a mechanical power loader mech (another Alien connection), but is swallowed by the creature.
Then, Tessa manages to blow the creature apart from the inside with the last of her ice bombs, which proves to be one of the few methods in which the Kalisk can truly be killed.
Tessa then attempts to murder her sister, but Dek and Bud step in to take her down. Despite being rejected by his father, Dek has created his own clan, an unlikely, but highly effective trio of warriors.
Time passes, and the newly armed, highly skilled Dek returns to his home planet with Bud and Thia. Notably, Bud has grown quite a bit.
Dek tosses the severed head of Tessa to his father, who dismisses the trophy, confused. Dek demands to be honored with his own cloaking device for completing his hunt, but Njohrr laughs him off.
Dek swiftly disarms his father, using the same technique Njohrr used to kill Dek’s beloved brother, before Bud bites off Njohrr’s head.
With the murder avenged and Dek’s status confirmed, the three look to the horizon in triumph, only to see a huge, intimidating spaceship.
Dek reveals that the ship contains his mother—it seems that Dek’s Shakespearean family drama has only just begun.
Will There Be A Sequel To ‘Predator: Badlands’?
It’s certainly a possibility, but a Predator: Badlands sequel has yet to be announced. Director Dan Trachtenberg was cautious to confirm a follow-up in an interview with Variety, stating:
“What I love about that ending is that it works as a final twist on the story that we’ve just been seeing, but also sets up an expectation for something that I think is pretty groovy. If I were to go forward, I don’t think that would be the whole reason, but that would be a very cool element to include.”
When asked if he would want to continue Dek’s story, Trachtenberg said:
“What’s so great is we now have all these interesting characters, and who knows what the next one is?”
The twist revealing the arrival of Dek’s mother might remain a mere joke, but it could well inspire a sequel to the film—a Yautja with mommy issues has never been done before.