- PG-13
- 107 min
- Directed by
-
- Dan Trachtenberg
- Story
- Patrick Aison
- Premiered
- November 5, 2025
- Language
-
- English
- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $100,000,000.00
- Country
-
- United States of America
Predator: Badlands
- Production
-
- 20th Century Studios
- Lawrence Gordon Productions
- Davis Entertainment
- Toberoff Productions
- TSG Entertainment
Synopsis
Cast out from his clan, a young Predator finds an unlikely ally in a damaged android and embarks on a treacherous journey in search of the ultimate adversary.
The thrilling saga kicks off on **Yautja Prime**, where brothers Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) and Kwei (Mike Homik) engage in a brutal training battle. Their fierce combat through fields and caves culminates when Kwei sends Dek tumbling, costing him his helmet. Dek desperately strives to carve his own path among the formidable **Yautja warriors**, aiming to live up to the legacy of his and Kwei's father. However, Kwei perceives his brother's efforts as overly strenuous, believing Dek tries too hard to validate his identity as a hunter. Kwei then reveals details of Genna, a notorious "death planet" rumored to harbor the unkillable **Kalisk**. Dek immediately fixates on the creature, convinced that slaying the Kalisk and returning with it as a trophy will cement his status as a true **Predator**.
Their clan leader, Njhorr (also Dimitrius), Dek and Kwei’s father, soon returns from his own hunt. Despite Dek's fervent desire to impress him, Njhorr coldly questions Kwei about Dek's continued existence. Dek, smaller and yet to secure a significant hunt, faces scorn as the clan's weakest member. Njhorr commands Kwei to execute his brother, but Kwei defies his father. He instead frees Dek, launching him onto Kwei’s ship bound for Genna. Enraged by this disobedience and Kwei’s perceived weakness in caring for Dek, Njhorr attacks his son. Kwei fights back but loses an arm, securing Dek’s escape just as his ship takes off. Dek can only watch, helpless, as Njhorr brutally decapitates his brother.
Dek's ship crash-lands on Genna, a planet defined by its deadly environment and dangerous inhabitants. Instantly, living vines ensnare him, but he fiercely chops and slices through them to escape their grasp. He also encounters small, explosive worm creatures, a precursor to the planet's many perils.
Pushing deeper into the hostile landscape, Dek discovers Thia (Elle Fanning), a Weyland-Yutani Synthetic. The Kalisk previously severed her legs. Thia adapts her language to communicate with Dek, warning him about paralyzing thorn-shooting plants. As another massive monster charges Dek, the plants strike, leaving him paralyzed. Thinking quickly, Dek tosses Thia one of his weapons, allowing her to free herself. She dispatches the monster, applies an antidote to Dek, and then reveals her primary mission: to locate the Kalisk. Dek, seeing her as a valuable "tool," carries her along on his perilous journey.
As they trek through the alien wilderness, Dek crafts a harness for easier transport of Thia. She continuously bombards him with questions, eventually revealing her separation from a twin Synthetic, Tessa. Thia also shares that her extensive study of other life forms has caused her to develop emotions.
The pair soon falls into a Luna Bug’s trap. There, they meet a small, blue, monkey-like alien creature with impenetrable skin. This creature cleverly helps Dek and Thia navigate a field of razor-sharp grass before luring the Luna Bug to its demise. Later, as the three set up camp, Thia affectionately names their new companion "Bud." Bud quickly bonds with Dek, marking him as part of its own. Dek, however, struggles with this emotional attachment, viewing feelings as a sign of weakness. He recounts losing Kwei but omits the grim details of his brother’s death.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Weyland-Yutani recovers Tessa's body and repairs her. She reports to MU/TH/UR, acknowledging the failed Kalisk mission and her renewed directive to complete it. A scan also identifies Dek, deeming him a significant threat to their objectives.
Resuming their journey without Bud, Dek and Thia press on until they discover the remains of Thia's crew, along with her original legs. As Thia begins repairing herself on the wrecked ship, the Kalisk makes its terrifying appearance. Dek immediately engages the beast. The Kalisk, a massive and ferocious adversary, initially falls to Dek's blade, its head severed. Yet, to Dek’s horror, the creature begins to regenerate and heal itself. The fight continues, with the Kalisk eventually pinning Dek. It pauses just short of delivering a killing blow, sensing Bud’s scent on him. Suddenly, Tessa arrives with a contingent of Synthetics, freezing both Dek and the Kalisk. They then transport them aboard their ship, also recovering Thia.
Tessa commands the Synthetics on their return to Earth, intending to deliver the Kalisk to Weyland-Yutani for exploitation of its regenerative properties. They also plan to study Dek, despite him not being essential to their primary mission. Thia attempts to appeal to Tessa as a sister, but Tessa cruelly dismisses their kinship, revealing she never intended to retrieve Thia, only her recorded data, and plans Thia’s decommissioning. Tessa then begins torturing Dek, but Thia intervenes, disabling the machine. Once Tessa departs, Thia cleverly tricks a Synth into grabbing one of Dek's bombs, creating a vital opportunity for his escape.
Dek soon finds Bud standing in a massive Kalisk footprint, sparking a profound realization: the Kalisk is Bud's mother. In a symbolic gesture, Dek marks Bud as part of his own clan, reciprocating Bud’s earlier act. He then systematically gathers all the dangerous items he discovered on Genna, weaponizing them for his impending assault against the Synthetics.
Dek and Bud infiltrate the Weyland-Yutani base just before its departure for Earth. They decimate most of the Synths, liberating Thia and reuniting her with her legs. Fully restored, Thia joins the fight, and together they obliterate the remaining Synths. Tessa emerges in a formidable mechanical suit, launching a ferocious attack on the heroes. The Kalisk, now freed, tears into the suit with the combined efforts of Dek, Bud, and Thia. The beast devours Tessa before she can land a fatal blow. The Kalisk then reunites with Bud, and Dek now treats the creature as an ally. However, Tessa, still active within the Kalisk, activates her weaponry, causing the mighty beast to freeze and then explode, definitively killing the Kalisk. Tessa, having survived the explosion, prepares to finish Thia, but Dek impales her, and Bud, emulating a true Predator, tears out her head and spine.
Dek returns to **Yautja Prime**, presenting Tessa’s skull as his triumphant trophy—a clear signal of his completed hunt and his challenge for his father's cloak. Njhorr, refusing to accept Dek’s return, orders his guards to kill him. Dek swiftly dispatches the guards before engaging his father in a brutal duel. Njhorr attempts to vanish with stealth technology, but Dek shrewdly uses his ship to blast dirt, exposing him. Dek disarms his father, bringing him to his knees. The clan leader suggests Dek yield and claim his rightful place, but Dek firmly declares his allegiance to a new clan. At that moment, a fully grown Bud emerges from the ship, violently chomping off Njhorr’s head. Thia, witnessing this final act of defiance and triumph, declares Dek officially **Yautja**.
Before Dek can savor his hard-won victory, other Yautja warriors suddenly arm themselves as another ship descends upon the planet. Dek recognizes the vessel: it belongs to his mother.
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