Predator: Badlands 2’s Design of Dek’s Mom Gets Major Update

Dan Trachtenberg has briefly addressed how the sequel to Predator: Badlands may handle the arrival of an important new presence.

The director suggested the team is still determining who Dek’s mother will be before locking in how she will appear. He kept specifics to a minimum and signaled that the process remains early as development continues.

Introduction and design of Dek’s Mom teased for Predator: Badlands 2

Predator: Badlands director Dan Trachtenberg teased plans for Dek’s mother in a sequel during an interview with ScreenRant. He said a female Yautja has only “been portrayed in comics” and that the team “haven’t quite gotten into design [planning] yet,” focusing instead on who she is “character-wise.”

Trachtenberg added that he wants her introduction “to be a little unexpected” and to “avoid the tropes as much as possible.” He explained it will be “more intentional and focused on the cool of what the Yautja culture” offers and that they may not “be pulling straight from how they’ve been rendered in the comics.”

As Trachtenberg noted, female Yautja have appeared across comics and novels expanding the franchise. The only apparent canonical entry to feature them is Predator: Hunting Grounds, which lets players choose such a hunter in multiplayer matches.

One image in the ending showed Dek’s mother arriving as the Yautja gathered his sword and looked ready to engage in another fight. Trachtenberg confirmed he is working simultaneously on the next Predator movie while remaining in the ideation process.

He has discussed ideas including Prey 2, the Badlands follow-up, and continuing from Predator: Killer of Killers’ cliffhanger. The director said he will be developing the sequel alongside projects under his Paramount Pictures deal.

Predator: Badlands stands as the franchise’s highest-grossing entry, making additional Dek stories more likely. With Naru held on Yautja Prime, a future installment could pit him against his mother.

The film streams on Hulu and reaches 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD on February 17. It stars Elle Fanning as Thia and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi as Dek. Dan Trachtenberg directed the movie, which premiered November 5, 2025, with a runtime of 107 minutes.

Source: Comingsoon.net