Predator: Badlands Originally Had 2 Even Bigger Returning Cameos Than Naru, Confirms Dan Trachtenberg

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Although Predator: Badlands was mostly a new story, the filmmakers considered including some characters from earlier Predator movies.

The newest film in the sci-fi action series jumps to the future, following Dek, a young and underestimated member of the Yautja clan. Determined to earn his place, he hunts an seemingly invincible creature on the dangerous planet Genna. He teams up with Thia, a troubled android created by Weyland-Yutani and played by Elle Fanning, and together they attempt to defeat the beast and gain the respect of Dek’s tribe.

To celebrate the release of Predator: Badlands, Ash Crossan from ScreenRant spoke with director Dan Trachtenberg. Trachtenberg revealed that Naru, the popular heroine from Prey, wasn’t the only well-known character considered for a cameo. Early versions of the film, including initial visual effects, actually featured both Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch from the original Predator and the Xenomorph from the Alien franchise. They even considered including the creature known as the backbiter from Killer of Killers.

In the end, the scene had to be significantly shortened, making it difficult for viewers to clearly see the characters, especially since it contained a lot of dialogue. Despite this, the filmmakers, led by Trachtenberg, still wanted to include references to iconic characters that Predators have battled in the past.

Dan Tratchtenberg explained that they expanded on the “Pick Your Planet” concept with a more detailed conversation. This meant adding more holographic elements in the background. The current version also features a softer focus on the foreground elements, creating a slightly blurred effect.

Director Trachtenberg explained that he didn’t want a version of Predator: Badlands where Naru and the Predator worked together. He felt that pairing, while possible, wasn’t original, as similar team-ups between a Predator and a human have been done before – like in Alien vs. Predator. He also pointed out that the trope of a creature as a sidekick or villain is common in science fiction, so he wanted to avoid that as well.

Besides wanting a fresh take on the story, Trachtenberg explained that he intentionally kept Naru’s role limited because he’s saving ideas for her character for a future film. He didn’t want to spoil her potential return to the Predator franchise.

As a huge sci-fi fan, something I’ve always wanted to see – and felt was missing from a lot of the classics – is a story entirely focused on the creatures, told from their perspective, with no humans involved. When we were developing ‘Prey,’ I started brainstorming ideas for what our protagonist, Naru, could do in potential sequels, and I realized there was a really compelling story where she’s stranded on that planet and has to survive, maybe even encountering other creatures. I could see that story so clearly, but I didn’t want to reveal all our cards at once. I wanted to leave room for future installments and build things gradually.

Early in the film Predator: Badlands, a scene shows Dek and his brother Kwei talking about where Dek should go for his first hunt. They’re on Kwei’s ship, looking through records of different planets. A hologram appears, displaying Earth and a quick digital image of Naru (played by Amber Midthunder) in her hunting stance, walking with her bow drawn.

This isn’t the first time Trachtenberg has brought back a character from Prey without a direct connection to the main story. Like in Predator: Killer of Killers, Naru makes a cameo, and we learn she was captured, frozen, and held prisoner on the Predators’ home world. The story also confirms that characters Dutch, played by Schwarzenegger, and Mike Harrigan, played by Danny Glover, from the 1990 film, are still alive and also being held captive on the Predator planet.

Fans hoping for a true sequel to Prey 2 will be happy to hear that director Trachtenberg still has some ideas he’s saving for Naru’s return. Following the success of the 2022 Prey revival on Hulu, he’s repeatedly said he wants to make a sequel, but has also emphasized the challenge of coming up with something completely new and original.

Following the success of three Predator movies, questions arose about the franchise’s future when Trachtenberg signed a deal with Paramount Pictures. However, he recently told ScreenRant that he’s still planning to make more Predator films. He’s currently developing both new projects for Paramount and potential sequels to Predator at the same time.

I’ve been developing new ideas, just like before, and now Paramount Pictures offers an amazing chance to bring those long-held original stories to life – and even release them in theaters, which is fantastic. They also own some really interesting existing properties that I’m excited to explore. So, I’m working on both my own ideas and considering their projects – and I’m currently writing scripts with the hope of making something there.

Now that the director is eager to continue the stories of Naru, Dutch, and Harrigan, the big question is what form the next installment will take. Will it be the previously discussed Prey, or something even more ambitious? If he wants to revisit the characters played by Schwarzenegger and Glover, another animated sequel is the most probable path. However, he’s also interested in developing Dek’s backstory, giving him several options for bringing Naru and other popular Predator characters back to the screen.

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

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2026-02-14 00:09