About Njohrr: the Yautja Clan Leader & Dek's Father in Badlands

Who is Dek's father in Predator: Badlands? His name is Njohrr and he is the Yautja Clan Leader of the Tribe Dek and Kwei belong to. Sporting white dreadlocks, enhanced armor and a mask with alien-antlers affixed to either side, Njohrr is an imposing, vicious figurehead within this particular Yautja faction. This article contains information about who Njohrr is and what his role is in Dan Trachtenberg's Predator: Badlands movie. As new information is revealed, this article gets updated.

Yautja Clan Ritual – Becoming Yautja

As part of a Yautja coming of age ritual, all unblooded Yautja must earn their title as Yautja and obtain their cloak by completing their first solo hunt against a worthy prey. Upon success, if they return they are blooded and welcomed into the clan. This first hunt is imperative to their development within Yautja society so the stakes are extremely high. All Yautja have a right to hunt, but the one caveat that exists within their social structure is the need to maintain strength within the clan – this unfortunately means culling the weak from their ranks.

Predator Family Feuds

Njohrr is old school – favoring nature over nurture parenting styles. In Predator: Badlands, Njohrr has two sons – Kwei and Dek. Unfortunately, Dek was born a runt and is physically smaller and disadvantaged compared to his big brother Kwei. Because Dek is the runt of the litter, he is deemed a weakness to their clan.

Njohrr had instructed Kwei to execute Dek, eliminating the weak blood from their lineage. Kwei refused, urging Njohrr to let Dek complete his first hunt as his birthright. Njohrr disagrees and instructs Kwei to kill Dek anyway but Kwei refuses the order and a fight between Njohrr and Kwei ensues - costing Kwei his arm – and his life.

Dek manages to escape, thanks to Kwei's help, to the hostile planet of Genna, where he hopes to slay the Kalisk, hoping it will force Njohrr to acknowledge him as a legitimate Hunter worthy of a position within the ranks of their Clan.

Njohrr Fights with Rage

During the opening sequence trial combat between Dek and his brother, Kwei acknowledges that Dek fights "like their father" – with rage and extreme aggression. This is the temperament Njohrr maintains – quick to rage and also not one to welcome a fair fight either. Every time we see Njohrr engage with Kwei and then Dek later on – he uses his cloak immediately, an act which is seen as cowardly and cheap. The only reason Njohrr succeeded in killing Kwei was due to his cloak, but even with it activated, the skilled Hunter was able to anticipate his location. Njohrr relied too heavily on his cloak and his arrogance got the best of him when Dek outsmarted him in Badlands' final moments – using Kwei's ship thrusters to stir up dust and debris to disrupt his cloak, allowing Dek to have a more fair fight with his father.

Akin to the likes of Star Wars, Njohrr embodies a Dark Side approach to combat – favoring anger and rage as fuel to be more powerful – but at the expense of being more calculated and using environments to his advantage.

Njohrr's Weapons and Armor

While most Yautja featured in film have favored Wrist Blades and Plasma Casters for their arsenal, Njohrr and his Clan seem to favor Laser Swords and Bows - augmented with unique Predator tech, these dated melee approaches deliver serious damage.

For armor, Njohrr is adorned in a black amd gold metallic material, with glowing red accents throughout. These lit-up portions of his armor currently have no noticeable practical applications but may somehow integrate to their weapons, which also sport glowing red lights / lasers.

History and Biography

Little is known of Njohrr's history currently, but more of his backstory and family dynamics with Dek and Kwei will be explored in the Predator: Badlands prequel comic book.

As more information about Njohrr becomes available, this article will be updated.

More Predator Lore Articles