Dek

Dek
Biographical Information
Place of birth	Yautja Prime
Rank	Un-blooded
Relatives	Njohrr (father) Unnamed mother Kwei (older brother)
Affiliation	Njohrr's clan (formerly) Dek's clan
Status	Alive
Physical Description
Species	Yautja
Gender	Male
Hair color	Black
Eye color	Green
Other Information
Portrayed by	Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi

"You give up too easily."

―Dek to Thia (from Predator: Badlands)

Dek was a young Yautja and the son of Njohrr, the leader of his clan. Dek became an outcast after being considered weak by his father; looking for a way to earn the respect of his father and a place in his clan, Dek traveled to the planet Genna, where he was expected to hunt his ultimate adversary: an unkillable creature feared even by his father. While he was there, he forged an alliance with the synthetic Thia while he continued the search for the beast.

Biography

A tough life

A male Yautja, Dek was born on Yautja Prime into a family of hunters. His father was Njohrr, a renowned warrior and leader of his own clan. At birth, Dek was the smallest in his clan; due to this, his father—and, indeed, the entire clan—considered him weak and despised him.

Since he was a child, Dek maintained a close relationship with his older brother Kwei, whose life he once saved, breaking one of his tusks in the process.

A mission

At some point, his father entrusted him with a seemingly simple mission: recover a piece of technology from an abandoned spaceship that crashed on a moon of Pelkonen IV 10,000 years earlier. However, once inside the ship, Dek discovered that an ancient, technologically advanced, and deadly threat lurked there, turning him into the hunted instead of the hunter. Despite the danger, Dek survived the experience but ultimately failed his mission.

Family betrayal

Dek, who believed he was ready for his first hunt, went to a desert wasteland on Yautja Prime to join his brother Kwei, whom he found in a cave. The two brothers engaged in a sparring match.

Once the match was over, Dek was invited to his brother's ship, where they began planning the journey and the prey Dek would kill to become a Blooded, and thus a member of the Clan. Wanting to prove his worth to the Clan and his father, Dek chose the planet Genna, the deadliest planet in the universe, as his hunting ground, and the legendary beast called the Kalisk as his prey.

Dek was warned by Kwei that failing a hunt meant the death; Dek promised him that he wouldn't fail.

However, before he could begin the journey to Genna, his father, Njohrr, arrived. It was then that Dek discovered something terrible: believing him to be weak, his father had ordered his execution. Dek was caught in an energy beam device, and his father ordered Kwei to kill him. Dek begged them both for mercy, but his father remained silent, and Kwei only told him to be brave. Dek accepted his fate and closed his eyes, awaiting death.

First hunt, last chance

Dek traveled to Genna and crash-landed in one of its forests, where he was soon overwhelmed by the local flora, as the forest vines attacked him, severely injuring his arm and causing him to lose his bow. Using his sword, Dek managed to keep the vines at bay, before climbing one of them and jumping to a ledge, out of the forest and out of the vines' reach.

While crossing a field, Dek encountered another danger: plants that exploded, shooting out thorns. Dek made his way through the plants as best he could, sustaining several wounds from the thorns. He was eventually immobilized by their poison and he would be killed by a Vulture if not had been for a synthetic, named Thia, who saved him.

Thia offered Dek guidance on the planet in exchange for protection. Dek accepted her offer and carried her on his back, like a backpack, carrying her with him while he continued his hunt.

Personality and traits

"You kept this toy?!"
"You remember what happened..."
"I lost my fang!"
"And you saved my life. You protected me. Come here. Fixed it for you. Don't blow yourself up."

―Dek and Kwei, about a toy the latter kept since the former saved his life during an incident in their youth while preparing for the departure to Genna (from Predator: Badlands

Dek was a young Yautja who wasn't yet fully developed, and therefore possessed physical features that weren't fully defined. His crown was less developed than others of his race, his eyes were green and he had scaly, reddish-brown skin. He wore the characteristic Yautja dreadlocks, but his sprouted from the top of his head, instead of from the sides; his dreadlocks were also a little thinner and were tied back in a bun. Dek was a runt by the standards of his race, which made his family see him as weak. His lower left tusk was also damaged and the end was chipped off, from when he was a child.

He was a formidable warrior, with a laconic personality, but he was still considered the weakest of his clan. Being dismissed as such served as the motivation to become a proper hunter, the same drive that also necessitated him to be resourceful in his would-be hunt.

After spending some time with Thia and Bud at Genna and, despite the hunt didn't go as hoped, Dek nonetheless gained a new perspective; there was more to life than being restricted to his clan's customs and strict values which were much more flawed than he credited them for. Through the same life lessons, it was obvious to him in hindsight that Njohrr was more Bad Blood than role models like either Kwei or a proper Elder, and thus had to be put down one way or another. Dek also displayed a sense of honor Njohrr regrettably lacked, as not only did he ensure that the latter's guards that were ordered to execute him had a swift death, but he also let Bud be the judge rather than executing his abusive father himself.

Equipment

• Bio-mask
• Wrist Gauntlets
  • Shuriken
  • Heating Apparatus
• Body Armor
• Wristblades
  • Razor Grass Wristblades
• Plasma Sword
• Grapple Gun
• Plasma Bow
• Combistick
• Cryo Grenade
• Bone Bison
  • Bone Bison armor
• Luna Bug fang
• Razor Grass Whip
• Spike Pod/Explosive Grub Combo
• Squirt
• Cloak (acquired from Njohrr)

Dek was a fairly equipped Un-blooded Yautja, which was to be expected given that he would face a Kalisk, a formidable beast feared by his brethren. Nevertheless, his ingenuity and resourcefulness allowed him to fashion makeshift hunting gear from resources he could procure at Genna. From body armor fashioned from Bone Bison's shell to tamed squirt as pet equivalent of sort to Plasmacaster.

Behind the scenes

Dek is the first time a Predator has been the protagonist of a Predator film. According to Dan Trachtenberg, "the Predator never wins [in the films]. They're supposed to be the greatest hunters in the galaxy, but humans seem to be really formidable and have always taken them down. But, thinking of a movie where the Predator wins, I didn't love the idea of making a slasher movie [where] the bad guy is the winner. I really wanted to see if there was a way to make that feel like a really emotional and visceral journey. One where you can connect with the Predator." Ergo, Dek was created as the film's protagonist.

Dek was portrayed by Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi through a combination of costume and motion capture. When it came to casting Dek, Dan Trachtenberg specifically wanted "a stunt guy." This presented a problem as every other Predator in prior films has had to be seven feet six. However, few people of this height are cast as stuntmen. To audition for the role, Schuster-Koloamatangi had to complete an obstacle course (unofficially called "Predator Ninja Warrior").

The circumstances of Thia and Dek were pitched by Tratchenburg. In said pitch, he referenced the characters C-3PO and Chewbacca from the Star Wars franchise, specifically the film The Empire Strikes Back, where in said film's final act, 3PO is carried by Chewbacca on his back, having been damaged previously. Tratchenburg was "tantalized by the fun of that," and wanted to do something similar for Badlands. Similar to the afforementioned characters, Thia is carried by Dek on his back throughout the film.

The relationship between Thia and Dek was inspired by video games such as Shadow of the Colossus, where there is a sole protagonist paired with something/someone who provides "color" and "connection." In this sense, Thia and Dek were designed to be opposites in terms of personality, and to have different capabilities.

Trivia

• Dek's curious appearance, which was criticized by some fans due to his human-like hairline that Yautja in general do not have the shaven look on the sides (a Yautja's dreadlocks came out of "sockets" in their skulls and more of fleshy or smooth appendage than actual hair since they were shown to be able to bleed in some media), was meant to reflect his younger age, being the "runt" of his clan. This helped by the fact that he was smaller, shorter, and leaner than his brother Kwei. Though this doesn't explain why Kwei also has similar "hair line".
• Dek was originally planned to be blind during development of Badlands. This idea was later abandoned.
• According to Dan Trachtenberg, Dek could defeat Jungle Hunter, a seasoned hunter whose skills and experience surpassed City Hunter and Feral Predator's own as well as got around Upgrade Predator's genetic modifications.. Taking into account of his resourcefulness and ingenuity which allowed him to overcome more experienced members of his kind, Njohrr included even with his underhanded tactics, such statement held some merit.

Appearances

• Predator: Badlands/comic

Gallery

Figures

Funko Pop! Movies #1932 Dek with Bud

Dek Roaring at the unkillable creature before battle

Dek vs The Unkillable creature

Dek and his brother Kwei

Dek and his tool Thia