The People vs. Predator: Badlands
Defendant: Predator: Badlands (2025 film) Charges: Lore distortion, predator pacification, narrative neutering, cultural dishonor, systemic betrayal of Yautja code, and absolute mockery of blooded rites
Not going to lie, I was extraordinarily excited for this one — keyword: was.
There was one giant, looming cloud over Predator: Badlands that never cleared. Was this going to be the film where the Predator and Alien franchises finally merged meaningfully? Where the Yautja code would be honored, brutality respected, and lore taken seriously?
No. What we got instead was a slow death of canon.
Let’s break it down.
🪓 Violation #1: The Father-Son Bloodbath That Shouldn’t Have Happened
The central drama hinges on Dek, a young Yautja labeled a "runt" by his father, Njohrr — who, by the way, should've lost his leadership status the moment he started thinking like a cartoon villain. The Yautja code is clear: weakness isn’t killed off; it’s outgrown, tested, pushed through hunts. If a Yautja dies during a trial, that's honorable. But you don't get to skip the trial and declare your kid prey. (That’s against the code.)
Njohrr should’ve sent Dek on a hunt. That’s the code. That’s the rite. That’s the only acceptable way.
Instead? He orders his other son to kill Dek in his sleep. You read that right. Not only is that dishonorable, it’s full-on war crime energy in Yautja culture. Even suggesting it would strip a leader of status — yet somehow this man’s still running the clan?
🤡 Violation #2: Dishonor on Your Cloak
Let’s talk cloaking. Using it during a duel against your own son is basically an honor felony. It’s cowardly, it’s cheap, and it goes against everything the Yautja believe about worthy battle. Njohrr not only uses it — he relies on it.
If anyone saw that, the Enforcers would’ve had his skull on a pike by sundown.
This is a man who killed his own blood, denied redemption, mocked tradition — and then begged for mercy when finally bested.
🐾 Violation #3: Bud, the Friendship Ending
Dek’s pet Bud — a huge alien dog-lizard-thing — is the one who ultimately bites Njohrr’s head off. Cool visual? Sure. But let’s unpack that. In Yautja culture, trophy kills matter. Technique matters. Ritual matters. Bud’s killing blow erases Dek’s victory. It turns a symbolic rite into a glorified pet trick. It erases the honor of killing his father for redemption and revenge in honor of his brother. (Cough his entire f***ing goal.)
Dek didn’t win with strength or cunning. He brought a plus-one and let it finish the fight.
Not to mention: he threw a synthetic’s head at his father’s feet as a trophy — not the creature he was assigned to kill. Meaning? He failed his hunt. He’s not Blooded. No ritual, no mark, no status.
🚫 Final Thoughts: Everyone Here is Dishonorable
Njohrr violated the code by attempting to kill his son, and again by fighting dishonorably.
Dek dishonored the hunt by using tools, creatures, and proxies.
The supposed “redemption arc” is hollow. Dek didn’t kill the beast. He didn’t earn the cloak. He didn’t follow the rite.
This movie tries to serve us a warm and fuzzy Predator fable — but Predator was never supposed to be that. It was about violence with rules. Ritual with weight.
What we got? Space Lion King, but everyone cheats.
Verdict: Guilty. Erased from the clan memory. Bring in the Enforcers.
Honestly? Hated it. And I’m becoming convinced no one actually reads lore anymore.
Personal Note
The more remakes and continuations of beloved franchises come out, the more disappointed I get — not just as a fan, but as a person. This one hit especially close to home. My grandfather was the one who introduced me to all of this — Indiana Jones, Blade, the first steps into DC and Marvel, and most importantly: Predator vs. Alien.
He handed me a controller in elementary school and let me wrestle through Ocarina of Time. That was character-building. He gave me stories that challenged me. That respected me. That didn’t talk down to me.
Watching this franchise, one he and I loved so deeply, get mangled like this? It’s not just disappointing. It’s insulting.
He used to talk about this very thing — when people in charge forget the soul of a story. When they rewrite tradition without understanding it. When ego replaces honor.
I miss him. And I miss when storytelling still had a spine to rip out.