It’s a great time to be a Predator fan. While the ‘80s original remains one of the most beloved macho sci-fi actioners of all time, recent entries h
It’s a great time to be a Predator fan. While the ‘80s original remains one of the most beloved macho sci-fi actioners of all time, recent entries have proved that the series is in extraordinarily rude health. Director Dan Trachtenberg brought new life to the saga with Prey, a 1700s-set film in which a Comanche warrior faced off against a dreadlocked ‘Yautja’, with thrilling results. This year, he’s returned with a one-two punch – the deliriously gory animated anthology Predator: Killer Of Killers, which recently hit Disney+, and the upcoming live-action Predator: Badlands. This one is set to be Trachtenberg’s biggest swing yet, set in the future, with the Predator as its lead.
Yes, meet Dek, a Yautja who – by the brutal standards of his tough-as-nails race – is seen as the “runt of the litter,” Trachtenberg says. Cue a mission to prove himself. The filmmaker puts Dek – played by Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi – in the lineage of stoic outcast heroes like Conan The Barbarian and Mad Max. “He’s a thing of few words, pretty blunt,” Trachtenberg teases. “He cuts straight to the point. Literally and figuratively.” Since that’s Dek’s father wielding that weapon in our exclusive image above, you can guess how our protagonist has ended up that way. (We’re guessing there’s not a lot of nurture in this particular Yautja family.)
For Trachtenberg, getting audiences to root for a protagonist like Dek was the whole point. “That feels like a big idea, not just within Predator, but in sci-fi generally,” he explains. “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?’” It’s a fascinating idea. And Trachtenberg has plenty more of those up his sleeve. “After Prey, I had three ideas,” he explains. “One was Killer Of Killers, one was Badlands and one… I haven’t done yet. So, there are other awesome ideas and time periods it’d be exciting to explore, and all that’s been part of our discussion for [what’s next].” Who’s up for another hunt?
Read Empire’s full Predator: Badlands story in the Tron: Ares issue, on sale Thursday 3 July. Pre-order a copy online here. Predator: Badlands comes to UK cinemas from 7 November.
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