Naru from Prey was almost Dek's companion on Genna instead of Thia!

Predator: Badlands NewsBy Chris Nov 5, 2025Comments

Did you know: Dan Trachtenberg at one time considered having Amber Midthunder's Prey character Naru be the companion Dek finds on Genna in Predator: Badlands? Early on in development for Badlands, Trachtenberg admits he thought about bringing Amber back to reprise her role as the Comanche warrior to assist Dek on his mission to hunt the Kalisk but ultimately decided against it, opting to save Midthunder's return for the proper Prey sequel he's also planning.

Image for Naru from Prey was almost Dek's companion on Genna instead of Thia!

The revelation came from a video interview with ScreenTime, where Dan admits the following when asked about thoughts of bringing Naru back for Badlands:

I think I would say there’s a bigger plan down the line. I did think about the pairing of, before it was Thia, but then I thought well, now, then I’m not doing the premise, and I really wanted to do the premise. The Predator’s protagonist, and no humans in the movie, and so it became, further down the line we can do some cooler things, maybe...

Naru made her subtle return in Trachtenberg's Predator: Killer of Killers anime film, which opened the door for reviving many iconic Predator franchise characters. Prior to this, Dan had expressed great interest in continuing Naru's story and a follow-up to his 2022 film Prey is definitely something on his radar.

Both Killer of Killers and Badlands expand heavily on Predator world-building; expanding the franchise's cinematic universe and bridging gaps between entries. There's even talk of Arnold Schwarzenegger's Dutch making a return in some capacity down the line. Now that Badlands is making its theatrical debut this weekend, we know Trachtenberg has plans to stay on-course and tackle another Predator film right away. Paired with the overwhelming positive feedback Baldands has received already, we anticipate Disney and 20th Century Studios will be eager to keep the momentum going and ride the Yautja hype train a little further, green-lighting Dan's next Predator project in no time.

Catch Predator: Badlands in theaters THIS FRIDAY!

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Dan Trachtenberg's Predator: Badlands released in theaters on November 7th, 2025! See how well the film performed at the box office, here! Be sure to also browse the Predator Lore database for information on the film's different Yautja and characters, the planet Genna, how it connects to Alien, where in the Predator movie timeline the film takes place and more!