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Prey filmmaker Dan Trachtenberg takes the Predator franchise in a bold, new direction with the upcoming next installment, Predator: Badlands. The new film does something unique for the franchise, using a Predator, or Yautja, named Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi), as the lead character. Dek is a young outcast from his tribe and finds himself stranded on a hostile, remote planet, where he forms an unlikely alliance with Thia (Elle Fanning). Not only is the film’s protagonist a Predator, but it’s the first time that the main Predator will be a “good guy” in the story, unless you technically count the original Alien vs. Predator movie from 2004. The lead Predator, Dek, has an interesting feature indicating that Trachtenberg is possibly adapting a famous Dark Horse comic storyline for the franchise and potentially teasing the live-action return of Alien vs. Predator!
Dek Has a Similar Feature to a Popular Character From the ‘Alien vs. Predator’ Comics
The lead character of Badlands is Dek, who is described as the young “runt” of his tribe by Trachtenberg while speaking to Bloody Disgusting. Outcast from his tribe, Dek seeks to prove himself on the remote planet of Genna, which his race on his home planet of Yautja Prime considers a “death planet.” Among Dek’s features, the newly revealed trailer shows that Dek has a broken tusk on his lower mandible. Some fans have already noticed that Dek’s broken tusk resembles a trait shared by a famous character from Dark Horse’s iconic Alien vs. Predator comics, the first piece of crossover media that thrust the two iconic franchise monsters together. The initial comic storyline featured a young warrior who also had a broken tusk, named Dachande, among the Yautja. Dachande, a brash warrior who also wanted to prove himself, later gained the nickname “Broken Tusk” in the ongoing Alien vs. Predator comic storyline.
Dek’s name is interesting and suggests it could be a shortened version of the Yautja name, “Dachande,” from the Dark Horse Comics storyline. Dachande’s introduction in Dark Horse Comics Presents features Dachande leading a team of inexperienced Yautja warriors hunting Xenomorphs on an alien planet. Later, Dachande takes the side of other humans. At some point in Badlands, Dek allies with Fanning’s character, Thia, who might be a Weyland-Yutani synthetic. The similarities of Dek’s name, plus his broken tusk, appear too similar to Dachande to be coincidences. It suggests that Trachtenberg might be crafting an origin story of sorts for Broken Tusk for the franchise. With all that in mind, it’s too exciting to ignore the potential return of Alien vs. Predator.
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Is 20th Century Studios Building an ‘Alien vs. Predator’ Shared Universe?
Considering that the Alien vs. Predator concept was born from the Dark Horse comics, other Easter eggs in the Badlands trailer suggest that the franchise is building up to an epic crossover event. It looks like Trachtenberg is a fan of the expanded media that gave birth to the crossover concept. Dark Horse Comics published the first Aliens vs. Predator story months before the release of Predator 2 in November 1990, depicting a Xenomorph skull aboard a Predator spaceship. The Dark Horse Comics story kick-started an extended universe that combined both franchises. The extended universe material is now serving as inspiration for the new film. As Trachtenberg informed Bloody Disgusting, “There’s a lot in this movie from the extended universe.” The Badlands trailer also reveals a very important detail regarding the character of Thia. When her eyes turn over, they reveal the Weyland-Yutani logo. Weyland-Yutani is the faceless corporation and recurring antagonist of the Alien film franchise. This means that Predator: Badlands is firmly set in the same universe as the Alien series.
The reveal regarding Thia suggests that the character is a Weyland-Yutani synthetic android, similar to the character of Andy (David Jonsson) from Alien: Romulus. That adds another interesting layer to Thia’s alliance with Dek. In many ways, both characters are outcasts and pariahs, making them kindred beings of sorts. Moreover, the Weyland-Yutani logo is visible on a wrecked, high-tech vehicle when Dek confronts a large, primate-like monster on planet Genna. This further showcases that Weyland-Yutani will have a presence throughout Predator: Badlands. So far, the Badlands footage does not indicate that the Alien series’ iconic Xenomorphs will show up, but perhaps, Badlands is building up to a big return clash for the iconic monsters.
Dan Trachtenberg and Fede Álvarez Breathed Life Into the ‘Alien’ and ‘Predator’ Franchises
All these signs point to a potential return of the Alien vs. Predator crossover, and this time, it looks like 20th Century Studios is taking the steps to pull off the concept the right way. Trachtenberg is a visionary filmmaker and storyteller, as proven by his Predator prequel, Prey. Badlands looks even bolder, more unique, and more ambitious than his previous feature.
Director Fede Álvarez breathed new life into the Alien franchise with the success of his recent installment, Alien: Romulus. Trachtenberg and/or Alvarez potentially working together on a new crossover movie would be a match in cinema heaven. Not to mention, Trachtenberg taking inspiration from the extended universe media makes Badlands that much more exciting.
Ultimately, it remains to be seen how this plays out when Predator: Badlands hits theaters in the U.S. on November 7.
- Release Date
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November 7, 2025
- Director
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Dan Trachtenberg
- Writers
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Dan Trachtenberg, Patrick Aison, John Thomas, Jim Thomas
- Franchise(s)
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Predator
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