Predator: Badlands director Dan Trachtenberg has opened up about the upcoming action sci-fi movie’s main hero, Dek, who is described as a young Predator outcast. The film is currently scheduled to arrive in theaters on November 7, 2025.

The movie is directed and produced by Trachtenberg, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Patrick Aison, based on the characters by Jim Thomas and John Thomas. The cast is led by Elle Fanning as a young android named Thia and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi as Dek. It is produced by John Davis, Marc Toberoff, Ben Rosenblatt, and Brent O’Connor.

“Set in the future on a remote planet, the film follows a young Predator, outcast from his clan, who finds an unlikely ally in Thia and embarks on a treacherous journey in search of the ultimate adversary,” reads the synopsis.

What movies influenced Predator: Badlands?

During a recent interview, Trachtenberg shared new details about Predator: Badlands’ main character Dek, revealing that he is inspired by stoic outcast heroes like Conan the Barbarian and Mad Max. According to the filmmaker, Dek is part of the brutal Yautja clan, who have decided to cast out the hero for being the “runt of the litter.”

“He’s a thing of few words, pretty blunt,” Trachtenberg teased. “He cuts straight to the point. Literally and figuratively.”

For the first time in the franchise’s history, fans will get to see the story from the titular creature’s point of view, which has always been part of Trachtenberg’s ideas following the success of Prey.

“That feels like a big idea, not just within Predator, but in sci-fi generally,” the director explained. “In most sci-fi universes, the ‘creatures’ are either bad guys or sidekicks. In [Badlands] it’s: ‘What if you were with the creature on this crazy mission to prove itself, seeing everything through its eyes?’”

(Source: Empire)

Originally reported by Maggie Dela Paz on SuperHeroHype.