Predator: Badlands Ending Explained – What’s Next for the Series?

Let’s make this simple. You want to know if there are any mid- or post-credits scenes in Predator: Badlands; the answer is ‘not really.’ A title card flashes on-screen at the end of the movie, and then one last scene plays out right after that before the credits roll.

Full spoilers follow for Predator: Badlands. If you haven’t seen the film yet, check out our review first!

It’s time to grab your cloaking devices and wristblades, sci-fi fans, because Predator: Badlands is now in theaters. The seventh mainline entry in the Predator franchise (or ninth if you count the Alien vs. Predator films), and the third to be directed by 10 Cloverfield Lane alum Dan Trachtenberg, Badlands looks to be another winner for this new era of the franchise that started with Prey and continued with the animated installment, Predator: Killer of Killers. Badlands brings the series back to the big screen (as opposed to the last two entries, which were released straight to streaming), with Elle Fanning playing the Weyland-Yutani synthetic, Thia, alongside relative newcomer Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi as the lead Predator, Dek.

The movie is heading into its opening weekend with great reviews, including an 8/10 from IGN’s Clint Gage, who said the film’s use of a Yautja main character “highlights what’s been great about this franchise in its better moments.” So how does Dek and Thia’s journey pan out? Let’s get into it.

Predator: Badlands Ending Explained

As the first film starring a Predator as the protagonist, Badlands finally fills us in on more about the Predator homeworld and their culture. We meet our hero Dek on the planet of Yautja Prime, where he is engaged in a trial by combat with his brother Kwei. We quickly learn that Dek is spry and crafty, but is still considered a weakling in the eyes of his father, Njohrr. To prove himself and avenge Kwei (Njohrr kills Kwei when he tries to protect Dek from execution), Dek travels to Genna, also known as the “Death Planet.” Genna is full of otherworldly monstrosities, the greatest and most unkillable one being the Kalisk – a beast even Njohrr is said to fear. A crash landing and a couple of mishaps later, Dek winds up traveling alongside Weyland-Yutani synthetic Thia, who is strapped to his back like C-3PO because she lost her legs in a confrontation with the Kalisk.

The unlikely pair journey across the planet’s surface, tracking the Kalisk and getting into various scrapes with local wildlife along the way. Thia becomes friendly with a small creature she names Bud, and we also learn about Thia’s companion synth, Tessa (also played by Fanning), whom Thia was separated from after their encounter with the Kalisk. Tessa is recovered and repaired by the company, who want the Kalisk captured for their bioweapons division; she subsequently becomes the film’s main antagonist, leading a small army of synthetic soldiers (the film doesn’t feature any humans) in their hunt for the creature. The rift that forms between Thia and Tessa mirrors the growing disillusionment Dek experiences with Yautja culture. He slowly learns the value of caring for others because of a story Thia tells him about the wolves of Earth, where the “Alpha” wolf is the one who best protects the pack instead of the one who gets the most kills.

With this new philosophy in mind, Dek abandons his mission to kill the Kalisk in order to rescue Thia, who’s been recaptured by Tessa. Using a variety of new weapons and tools he’s obtained during his quest, Dek infiltrates the Weyland-Yutani compound and wipes out Tessa’s soldiers. He also helps free the Kalisk after learning that Bud is in fact a baby Kalisk, reuniting mother and child. Thia’s torso is reattached to her legs, and Dek and Tessa have a final battle where Tessa drives a construction mech that feels like a jumbo version of the exosuit Ripley used to fight the Alien Queen in Aliens. The freed adult Kalisk eats Tessa, but the villainous android detonates a freeze grenade inside its stomach, killing the creature. Tessa is ultimately destroyed, and Dek returns to Yautja Prime to confront his father. He duels and kills Njohrr in front of the clan, but refuses to rejoin, instead standing alongside Thia and a much bigger Bud (I guess they grow fast?), proclaiming them as his clan.

In the final moments, the three turn to see another Predator ship approaching over the horizon. When Thia asks who’s coming, Dek responds with…“my mother.” The end!

What Does Predator: Badlands Mean for the Future of the Franchise?

With three Predator features now under his belt, Dan Trachtenberg has cemented his status as the franchise’s custodian. Badlands exemplifies what Trachtenberg does best: a strong setup and pay-off; creative action sequences; and demonstrating a love for the conventions of classic science fiction while finding new ways to express them. Yet he also ensures the film has an emotional core, namely Dek coming to reject the toxic aspects of Yautja culture and instead forming new bonds with Thia and Bud. Making a science fiction film with no human characters, and with a lead that looks as menacing and, well, alien as the Predator, that works dramatically and not just as action spectacle is a hell of a task, but it’s one Trachtenberg pulls off to good effect. If you were worried about the film’s lack of an R-rating, don’t worry; there’s plenty of carnage, and the blood isn’t just red this time. Honestly, Badlands being as violent as it is on a PG-13 rating goes to show just how arbitrary the MPAA rating system really is.

As for future installments, while the film does end on a cliffhanger with Dek’s mother about to arrive, we don’t know when or where this thread will be picked up. Dek and Thia both survive the film, and will presumably appear in a prospective Badlands 2 should Disney pursue a direct sequel. There aren’t any other threads introduced in this movie that aren’t tied up, with Badlands working as a fairly self-contained adventure. Don’t expect any cameos of the characters frozen in ice that we saw in Killer of Killers, or any crossover with the Alien franchise besides the existence of Weyland-Yutani as a plot element. Although Trachtenberg has addressed the possibility of an AVP crossover down the line, admitting that his approach to the franchise was inspired by the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Badlands doesn’t directly set up a new AVP. But with an incoming sequel to Alien: Romulus that will continue the story of Cailee Spaeny’s Rain and David Jonsson’s Andy, the tease of Amber Midthunder’s Naru in Killer of Killers, and now Dek and Thia, we wouldn’t be surprised if some or all of these characters wind up running into each other in a future AVP film. It really does just feel like a matter of time.

Is There a Predator: Badlands Post-Credits Scene?

There is not, but as noted above, a title screen does pop up at the end before the final scene where Dek and his friends see a starship that belongs to Dek’s mother heading towards them.

What did you think of Predator: Badlands? Let us know in the comments!

Carlos Morales writes novels, articles, and Mass Effect essays. You can follow his fixations on Twitter.