By BANG – Entertainment News Dimitrius Schuster
Predator: Badlands director Dan Trachtenberg has said protagonist Dek is like Mad Max and Conan the Barbarian.
The 44-year-old filmmaker explained the character – a Yautja hunter portrayed by Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi – was inspired by the stoic outcasts from the Mel Gibson and Arnold Schwarzenegger-starring action flicks.
Speaking with Empire magazine, Trachtenberg said of Dek: 鈥淗e鈥檚 a thing of few words, pretty blunt. He cuts straight to the point. Literally and figuratively.鈥
The director added Dek was seen as the 鈥渞unt of the litter鈥 among his clan, and Trachtenberg wanted audiences to root for the character – who will be the first Yautja protagonist in the Predator series instead of the main antagonist.
Trachtenberg explained: 鈥淭hat feels like a big idea, not just within Predator, but in sci-fi generally.
鈥淚n most sci-fi universes, the 鈥榗reatures鈥 are either bad guys or sidekicks. In [Predator: Badlands] it鈥檚, 鈥榃hat if you were with the creature on this crazy mission to prove itself, seeing everything through its eyes?鈥欌
Looking to the future, Trachtenberg – who helmed 2022鈥檚 Prey and the 2025 animated movie Predator: Killer of Killers – revealed he had a third, unannounced idea for a Predator project.
He said: 鈥淎fter Prey, I had three ideas. One was Killer Of Killers, one was Badlands and one … I haven鈥檛 done yet.
鈥淪o, there are other awesome ideas and time periods it鈥檇 be exciting to explore, and all that鈥檚 been part of our discussion for [what鈥檚 next].鈥
Predator: Badlands follows the young hunter Dek (Schuster-Koloamatangi) after he has been outcast from his clan and sent to a remote planet where he forms an unlikely alliance with Thia (Elle Fanning) as the pair search for the ultimate adversary.
The director previously said he had taken a 鈥渂ig, crazy swing鈥 with the upcoming action blockbuster – which is slated to hit cinemas on 7 November.
He told Bloody Disgusting: 鈥淚t鈥檚 a big, crazy swing, and I think that鈥檚 what drives butts into seats.
鈥淚f you want the same old Predator experience, you can hit play on Predator or Prey or any other, whichever one is your fit.鈥
Although the director didn鈥檛 reveal any specific details about the character Fanning was portraying, Trachtenberg explained he had used story concepts from video games like Shadow of the Colossus to create Thia and the dynamic she has with Dek.
He said: 鈥淎s inspired as I am by movies, I鈥檝e been very inspired by video games [like] Shadow of the Colossus, where you have a protagonist paired with someone else who provides color and connection.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a thing with a horse in Shadow of the Colossus that鈥檚 devastating when you play the game. And so [Predator: Badlands] was a little bit inspired by that in terms of wanting to see the Predator with someone else, this character who鈥檚 the opposite of him.
鈥淗e鈥檚 very laconic, [Thia] is not. She鈥檚 capable in ways that he is not. Physically, she鈥檚 got a real thing that I鈥檓 so excited for you guys to see. But I want to let eventually some of that speak for itself.鈥
Trachtenberg added Predator: Badlands would be more character-driven than previous Predator films, and would centre on the titular alien hunter.
He said: 鈥淚 never thought [the Predator] was Jason Voorhees or Freddy Krueger. They had a code [like] hitmen or crime underworld Goodfellas.
鈥淚 felt like there was something cool to explore within that culture that鈥檚 different than just adding a bunch of stuff on top of it. It felt like we鈥檙e mining [concepts] as opposed to just throwing [more] at the franchise.鈥