Predator: Badlands is now playing in theaters in most regions, and we're breaking down the events of the movie's final act and the mid-credits (well, mid-title) scene, and how the ending lays the groundwork for a potential sequel.
If you haven't watched Badlands yet, major spoiler follow.
Dek's quest to hunt and kill the seemingly unkillable Kallisk leads to some big revelations, as Thia admits that her team of Weyand-Yutani synthetics arrived on Genna to capture the creature themselves in order to harness its incredible regenerative abilities. The Kallisk was the beast that destroyed their outpost, ripping Thia in half and leaving her "sister" Tessa in pretty bad shape. We also learn that Bud, the indigenous alien that joined our protagonists earlier on, is actually the Kallisk's infant daughter.
A reprogrammed Tessa and her synth crew ultimately mange to capture Dek and the Kallisk, but when Thia realizes that her twin plans to experiment on and likely kill her companion, she facilitates his escape. Dek, who has now come to regard Thia as much more than just a "tool," rescues his friend - with quite a lot of help from Bud - but Tessa manages to kill the adult Kallisk before she herself is destroyed.
Some time later, Dek and his new clan make their way to Yautja Prime, where he faces his father in single combat. Despite his bastard of a dad using every dirty trick in the book, his "runt" son prevails and earns his cloak, as a now much bigger Bud finishes off the Yautja leader by... eating his head.
At this point, the screen fades to black for the title, but we instantly return to Yautja Prime, as Dek, Thia and Bud watch a fleet of ships approaching in the distance. Thia asks who could be leading them, to which Dek replies: "It's my mother."
Though we have seen female Predators in the comics and possibly the animated Killer of Killers movie (they weren't featured, but there must have been a few ladies in that massive crowd), they have yet to appear in live-action. Though we don't actually get to see Dek's mother, something tells us she won't be congratulating her son on his victory!
Some expanded universe material describes female Yautja (Yautjas?) as being more dominant and aggressive than males, so it'll be interesting to see if a potential Badlands sequel takes a similar approach.
Predator: Badlands is helmed by returning director Dan Trachtenberg (Prey, 10 Cloverfield Lane) and marks the franchise’s highly anticipated return to the big screen with a story that expands and redefines the Predator Universe.
Set in the future on a deadly remote planet, Badlands follows a young Predator outcast (played by newcomer Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) who finds an unlikely ally in Thia (Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Elle Fanning) as he embarks on a treacherous journey in search of the ultimate adversary.
Produced by John Davis, Dan Trachtenberg, Marc Toberoff, Ben Rosenblatt and Brent O’Connor, Predator: Badlands opens exclusively in movie theaters on November 7 in IMAX, Dolby Cinema, RealD (3D), Cinemark XD, 4DX, ScreenX and premium screens everywhere.