Film

Badlands Sequel Teased By Dan Trachtenberg

15 February 2026

Even with his father dead, Dek still has some family problems to face in the Predator: Badlands sequel.

Being the runt of his Yautja clan, Dek was thoroughly scrutinized by his father Njohrr, narrowly escaping an execution as his brother Kwei sacrificed himself while sending the Predator hero to the infamous death planet Genna. Having survived his adventure there with Elle Fanning’s Thia, the Predator: Badlands ending not only saw Dek successfully defeat his father and claim his cloaking device, but also watched as his mother flew in over the horizon.

Now, in an interview with ScreenRant‘s Ash Crossan for its home media release, Dan Trachtenberg has offered some insight into what’s to come from Dek’s mom after Predator: Badlands. Acknowledging that a female Yautja has never been in a film before, having only “been portrayed in comics,” the director said that he and his production team “haven’t quite gotten into design [planning] yet,” as he is currently focusing on what her introduction should be “character-wise.”

However, Trachtenberg did share that he wants Dek’s mom’s introduction “to be a little unexpected,” while also wanting to “avoid the tropes as much as possible.” Instead, he says that her appearance in a Predator: Badlands sequel will be “more intentional and focused on the cool of what the Yautja culture” can bring to the screen. He also indicated he and his team might not “be pulling straight from how they’ve been rendered in the comics,” and instead go their own route.

Dek roaring in Predator: Badlands — A Predator roaring in Predator: Badlands

As Trachtenberg notes, female Yautja have been seen in other media, namely the various comics and novels that have expanded the lore of the franchise. That being said, the only apparent canonical entry to feature the female Yautja is that of Predator: Hunting Grounds, with the multiplayer action game allowing players the option to take on such a hunter as they square off against other players.

Given the lore has varied on their natures, particularly since even expanded media has rarely explored them, this gives Trachtenberg a lot of leeway for how he could introduce Dek’s mom in the next Predators movie. One thing that seemed clear from the Badlands ending is that Dek’s mom would also be bringing with her conflict in the way Njohrr did to the protagonist, as the Yautja gathered his sword and looked ready to engage in another fight.

But while Trachtenberg clearly has thoughts about bringing Dek’s mom to the screen, it’s currently unclear where that will actually land. The director did confirm to ScreenRant that he would be working simultaneously on the next Predator movie and new projects under his Paramount deal, but stated that he’s still in the ideation process for the next installment. Some of the ideas kicked around have included both the long-awaited Prey 2 and the aforementioned Badlands sequel, as well as picking up from Killer of Killers‘ cliffhanger ending.

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Predator Complete Movie Timeline Explained

The Predator movie franchise covers five main entries and two crossover films, and here’s its tangled timeline and continuity explained.

Given Predator: Badlands became the highest-grossing installment in the franchise, it does seem likely that 20th Century Studios will want to try and capitalize on this success with more Dek-focused stories, therefore paving way for Trachtenberg to think up a story for Dek’s mom to appear. With Amber Midthunder’s Naru being kept prisoner on Yautja Prime, and Dek now having a very different approach to Yautja clan culture, a new film could see Dek teaming up with Naru and others to combat his mom and create a new future for his species.

Be sure to dive into some of ScreenRant‘s other Predator: Badlands-related coverage with:

Predator: Badlands is now available on Hulu and will arrive on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD 2/17.