Predator: Badlands — Stay or Go? The Post-Credits Verdict

Wondering if you need to sit through the credits for Predator: Badlands? Fair question. Ever since Marvel turned tag scenes into a sport, every studio wants in, and Dan Trachtenberg’s Yautja run already has a history with bonus bits. Short version: this movie plays it a little differently.

Spoilers ahead for Predator: Badlands. If you haven’t seen it yet, maybe bookmark this and come back.

So… is there a post-credits scene?

Kind of. There’s a tag, but it lands right after the final title card and before the credits begin — so it’s technically pre-credits. If you’re expecting something mid-credits or after the crawl, there isn’t one.

What actually happens in the tag

After the main story wraps, Thia and Bud head with Dek back to his home planet. Dek steps up with proof that he took down the Kalisk: Tessa’s skull. His father is not having it, immediately orders soldiers to attack, and then fights Dek himself. Dek drops the troops, takes down his father, avenges his brother, and earns his invisibility cloak.

The 'Predator: Badlands' title card hits one more time. Then a massive ship appears in the distance. Thia and Dek trade a final beat that doubles as a joke and a tease:

"Friends of yours?"

"It’s my mother."

Given we’ve already met Bud and Thia’s unconventional moms, it’s a neat, funny sendoff — and if Dek’s dad was that intense, you can imagine what mom’s like. Whether that’s setting up a Badlands 2 is anyone’s guess right now.

Do I need to stay through the credits?

No. Once you’ve seen that pre-credits button, you’re done. There are no mid-credits or post-credits scenes after the crawl.

Why people expected one

Trachtenberg’s Yautja trilogy has a track record with extra scenes — Prey tucked its stinger into the end credits. Badlands switches it up with the pre-credits tag. Also, this is the first Yautja movie to put a Predator in the protagonist seat, and it’s not just creature-on-creature mayhem; under the blades and blood it’s surprisingly about connection and self-worth. On top of that, it’s gorgeous — set on a mystical, brutally hostile planet that could give Pandora a run for its money.

• The tag is pre-credits, not post-credits
• Dek returns home, proves the Kalisk kill with Tessa’s skull, defeats his father and soldiers, avenges his brother, and earns his invisibility cloak
• Final gag/tease: a giant ship arrives — it’s Dek’s mother
• No scenes after the credits roll
• Directed by Dan Trachtenberg; part of his Yautja trilogy
• Predator: Badlands opens in UK and US theaters on November 7