The 10 Best Easter Eggs in ‘Predator: Badlands,’ Ranked

Spoiler Alert: This list contains spoilers for Predator: Badlands.Dan Trachtenberg‘s Predator: Badlands is finally here, and it’s on track to become one of the acclaimed installments in the Predator franchise. It follows a lone, outcast Yautja named Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) as he proves himself worthy of joining his clan by landing on an extremely hostile alien world to defeat an apex predator thought to be unkillable. Along the way, he starts an unusual alliance with a damaged Weyland-Yutani synthetic named Thia (Elle Fanning), who helps him along on his journey. But can Dek truly overcome such a formidable creature, and could Weyland-Yutani’s presence on the planet jeopardize his hunt, and what are their reasons for being there?

Featuring thrilling new worlds, unique characters, and a heavier lean towards action, Predator: Badlands takes audiences on a thrilling adventure. It’s also an exciting new story full of clever callbacks to previous films and other popular franchises. Whether it’s referencing moments from past installments or making connections to the Alien universe, this film has Easter eggs, from the most obvious to the most cleverly hidden, laced throughout its story.

10

Weyland-Yutani Is Back Up to No Good

The trailers made no secret of the fact that the sinister Weyland-Yutani corporation was going to play a major factor in this story, playing the main antagonist. And just like in the Alien universe, here they’re up to their same evil goal of capturing and studying different and highly dangerous extraterrestrial species to be used in their bioweapons division.

The synthetics’ mission here, about capturing a wide array of deadly species and transporting them on a ship to be brought back to Earth, echoes a major plot point present in FX’s new show, Alien: Earth, which features a similar vessel that was carrying terrifying aliens from across the galaxy. Who knows, it might be possible that one or more species from this film’s planet, Genna, will appear later in the series.

9

Weyland-Yutani Equipment

Another major thing to note about Weyland-Yutani’s presence here is seeing all of its classic equipment appearing once again. A major criticism of the Alien vs. Predator movies from the early 2000s was that they were set on modern-day Earth, before the company even came to power, so none of the Yautja interacted with them. Now that it’s set in the future, we thankfully can finally see a Yautja fight them and all their advanced, deadly technology.

From seeing their synthetic android guards, the return of the iconic pulse rifle (albeit an altered version of the gun), and even the appearance of the power loader suits last seen in Aliens, it’s a blast to see all these impressive and unique futuristic toys appear once again, this time outside an Alien movie. It’s also great that a lot of the sounds these tools made are reused in this film, showing that these two franchises really do share the same universe.

8

Chewbacca and C-3PO

On their quest to kill the Kalisk, Thia needs to be carried around in the dangerous forest since she’s missing much of her lower half. Eventually, Dek uses some rope to tie her behind him like a backpack. And funnily enough, this technique of carrying the android around looks similar to how Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) carried the damaged C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) in Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back.

There’s no denying this connection: both see a tall warrior who barely speaks as he carries around a comic relief robot sidekick who never stops talking. It’s amusing to see the similarities of this Easter egg, especially since not only are they both iconic and beloved sci-fi franchises, but it seems possible that this is a reference to that film, since both properties are now owned by Disney.

7

Improvised Plasma Caster

One of the Predator’s main and most recognizable pieces of gear is the plasma caster. First scene in Blaine’s (Jessie Ventura) death scene in the thrilling original, this shoulder-mounted cannon has proven to be the Yautja’s most reliable and deadly tool. But since Predator: Badlands follows a rejected Yautja who hasn’t gone through his rite of passage, he isn’t bestowed such an awesome weapon on his first hunt and must improvise.

In his heroic mission to save Thia from the company and her ruthless twin sister, Tessa, Dek finally learns to improve and adapt to his environment; he does this by using some of the planet’s deadly plants and animals to his advantage, including an acid-spitting worm-like creature that he wraps around his body and trains it be his weapon. The creature even shoots acid from Dek’s shoulder, resembling the plasma caster. It’s a creative little nod to an iconic weapon.

6

MU/TH/UR

What made Ridley Scott‘s Alien such a compelling sci-fi masterpiece was how it portrayed technologies in the future. One such incredible and terrifying thing it showed was an AI computer system called MU/TH/UR 6000, which served as a secondary antagonist as it followed company orders which were against the crew of the Nostromo. Here, MU/TH/UR makes a welcoming return, this time as a more advanced upgrade with the number “062578” after its title.

It’s quite interesting to see the technology first introduced in Alien coming back and crossing over into other franchises. Not to mention, hearing the slow, monotonous tone of its voice as it gives out threatens to deactivate Tessa if she continues to fail her mission, is unsettling, and calls back to how cold MU/TH/UR was to the crew in the first film.

5

Head Trophies

One of the biggest things to recognize about the Yautja is how much they love the thrill of the hunt. Across all installments, they pride themselves on who they choose as worthy prey, and after defeating them, they always claim a trophy. Predator: Badlands is no different, as Dek takes several trophies of creatures and androids he’s claimed. But there’s a bit of an unexpected callback when his new little ally, Bud, an infant Kalisk, claims his first kill.

Look closely at the moment when Bud destroys Tessa after she killed her mother, and you can clearly see that, as she rips off the android’s head, Bud makes a stance and roars with the skull raised over her head. This calls back to many of the previous installments, where a Yautja will kill someone and then take their skull and spine, and then give a triumphant roar. It’s a satisfying reference that shows that there are some parts of this franchise that happen in every film.

4

Preparation Montage

After reaching the end of his journey, Dek is finally given the opportunity to face the dreaded Kalisk in an epic one-on-one showdown to prove himself worthy of being Yautja. But, in a pretty intriguing moment, before facing his enemy, he preps his surroundings for the battle and then ignites a fiery explosion and roars tremendously to draw out the Kalisk. If this preparation scene looks eerily similar to you, it’s because it echoes how Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger) drew out the Jungle Hunter (Kevin Peter Hall) near the end of the first movie.

This moment clarifies how the Predator has transitioned into becoming the hero of the story. It’s also a bit ironic, as the same techniques that Dutch used to lure his enemy are used by the same species. There’s even a shot where Dek raises his sword above his head as a fire rages behind him, just like Dutch yelling with a torch in his hand. It’s a truly badass way to elevate the story of the film.

3

Power Loader Fight

The thrilling climax was a major highlight of Predator: Badlands. In an epic struggle to save Thia and reunite Bud with her mother, Dek becomes a one-Yautja army and takes on Tessa’s armed guards. When the androids fail, Tessa uses all at her disposal to kill this annoying foe and suits up in a massive power loader suit to take him on.

As stated before, it’s great to see the power loader suits making a comeback. Except it’s ironic, as the alien is the protector of time, and the power loader is used for nefarious means. Truly, it’s a brilliant reversal of the iconic final battle from Aliens.

2

The Trophy Room

A blink and you’ll miss it moments from the trailer has become one of the most talked about parts of Predator: Badlands is the trophy room shot. Now, with the release of the film, we can see it in all its glory, and it’s littered with fun little references. Not only does it call back to the scene at the end of Predator 2, where the character Harrigan (Danny Glover) sees a wall full of trophies, including a Xenomorph skull, but look closely, and you can see a skull of an alien from another beloved sci-fi action flick.

The one in the center noticeably looks like the skull of a Harvester alien from Roland Emmerich‘s 1996 blockbuster Independence Day. Does this mean there will ever be hopes for an Alien, Predator, and Independence Day crossover film someday? We won’t know for sure, but the thought can lead to endlessly exciting possibilities. Seeing this skull also shows the massive potential of being countless other cinematic monsters to this universe.

1

The Ship Belonging to Dek’s Mother

Finally, the last major Easter egg to mention, fittingly enough, comes right at the very end. After defeating his father and accepting his new clan while on Yautja Prime, Dek, Thia, and Bud realize the fight is not yet over as a large ship hovers over the horizon. Dek prepares for what’s to come as he realizes the ship belongs to his mother.

Not only is this a fun teaser for the next film, but it adds a possible connection to Dan Trachtenberg’s previous film, Predator: Killer of Killers, as the vessel seen here at the end looks similar in design to the one in that film. Could it mean Dek and company will be going on another adventure as a continuation of that story, or is there something else entirely? All we know for sure is that there’s a lot more to explore in the Predator universe. This is only just the beginning.