PREDATOR: BADLANDS Details Reveal Dek Is a Yautja Warrior Cut From the Conan and Mad Max Cloth — GeekTyrant
This new Predator character is Dek, and he's a misunderstood outcast who's about to carve his name into sci-fi legend.
Dek isn't your average trophy-hunting Yautja. Played by Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, he's what Trachtenberg calls 'the runt of the litter.'
But don't let that fool you, Dek's got the makings of a classic lone wolf antihero. Trachtenberg says: 'He's a thing of few words, pretty blunt. He cuts straight to the point. Literally and figuratively.'
If that sounds like someone who'd feel right at home wandering the wastelands with Max or swinging steel alongside Conan, that's exactly the vibe. Dek is a survivor with something to prove.
Set on a remote planet in the future, Badlands follows Dek as he forms an unlikely alliance with Thia (played by Elle Fanning) on a dangerous mission to find the ultimate foe. While the details are still under wraps, we know this isn't just another hunt. It's a story of personal redemption through battle, and an attempt to shift the franchise's perspective.
'That feels like a big idea, not just within Predator, but in sci-fi generally,' Trachtenberg 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 very cool and interesting direction for the series, and one that Trachtenberg is passionate about. Fresh off his animated anthology Predator: Killer Of Killers , the filmmaker reveals that Badlands is just one part of a larger vision.
'After Prey , I had three ideas,' he says. '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].'
An exclusive still released with this intervide shows Dek and another Yautja, mistakenly referred to as Dek's father in early reporting, though Trachtenberg clarifies it's actually his brother. And judging by the weapon he's holding, it's safe to assume family ties in the Yautja clan are less about hugs and more about honor through violence.
With Predator: Badlands , the franchise is mutating into something wilder, riskier, and character-driven. Predator: Badlands opens exclusively in movie theaters on November 7th.
Source: Empire
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