Dan Trachtenberg reinvigorated the action-horror Predator franchise with a trio of fantastic entries, culminating in the most recent live-action spectacle, the excellent Predator: Badlands. Prey builds on the franchise's limitless potential by pitting a Yautja against a Comanche community in 1719, and the animated anthology Predator: Killer of Killers pits different Predators against Viking and Samurai warriors, alongside a crafty World War II pilot.
Predator: Badlands followed suit, continuing to find new directions for the franchise by following a young Yautja, Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi), who travels to a dangerous planet full of deadly beasts in search of the unkillable kalisk. Dek finds the top half of a Weyland-Yutani synth, Thia (Elle Fanning), who is searching for her sister synth (and her legs). The pair head off together on a journey that gets more perilous as they go.
To celebrate the digital release of Predator: Badlands, The Direct was invited to a Predator training workout, where we interviewed Schuster-Koloamatangi. He took us deeper into the world of Badlands and told us about the movie monster he'd most like to see Dek take on: the massive Offspring Creature from Alien: Romulus.
"What would be a good challenge for him?" he replied when asked what creature he'd like to see Dek battle in a sequel, "I feel like a lot of movie monsters, he would just [dispatch]." After a second of thought, Schuster-Koloamatangi knew his answer. "What's the one in the last Alien? The big, tall hybrid one from Alien: Romulus," he answered. Reminded that these films certainly share a universe, he put out a request to Trachtenberg: "So hook it up, Dan. What's going on?"
Predator: Badlands Required Animalistic Fight Choreography
"It Was Interesting... Trying to Mix the Animalistic Aspects of the Character With Fight Choreography."
The Direct: "On the Predator: Badlands press tour, it was great to see you casually drop Yautja language. Clearly significant prep went into the role, and the combat was well-executed. What were your training and combat preparation like?"
Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi: It was a lot of combat practice, and just getting the shapes and movements of the Predator right. Initially, it was just a month of physical training and prep that they had given us, but when I had known I had gotten the role, I had about 3 months, so it was 2 months of just trying to find the character myself. There was a lot of strength training. There was a lot of cardio training, just trying to be at the level of fitness I needed to be to withstand the whole shoot in a suit.
It was quite interesting trying to find, not a martial art, but trying to mix the animalistic aspects of this character with fight choreography. [To not] make it look too human, still keeping that same Predator essence that they have, but also making him a freaking badass. It also helps that he's a little bit smaller, as he's known in the film as the runt of the family. It's easier to be a bit quicker and a bit more agile for Dek, because it suits his stature. It was a fun process! It was a lot of hard work, a lot of sweat, but it was really rewarding.
Becoming a Pro With Yautja Weapons
"The Whip was Badass."
The Direct: "It was interesting, because Dek used not only traditional weapons, but also developed a lot of bioweapons that he found on the planet. What was your favorite to train with?"
Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi: My favorite to train... Oh, that's a good question. I really like the combistick. And the sword. And then the razor grass whip, those were like my three favorites… I know you only asked for one, but I can't pick one, so I put three. The whip was badass. When they first brought that out on set, I was like, ‘Oh hell yeah, we're so on. This is cool.’
The Direct: "The whip looked great onscreen. What was training with it like?"
It was hard, I’m not gonna lie. I suck with a whip, it was actually really difficult. We ended up getting a little hang of it, and then I think they realized that I wasn’t as well-versed with the whip, so they [gave] me a half-whip as well to try and get the movements a bit better. But yeah, I really wish I took that whip... Bring it over, please, guys. Disney, help me out.
Predator: Badlands is available on digital at Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, and Fandango, and on physical media at select retailers.
