A new shared movie universe is upon us, with the rise of the Predator franchise now officially crossing over with the Alien movie timeline. But just as Predator: Badlands unites the two science fiction juggernauts on film, the movie’s prequel has unleashed something even more exciting: a new, highly intelligent, space-faring alien civilization. And their weaponry puts both Yautja and Xenomorphs to shame.
Meet The K’shorrik, A New Alien Civilization in The Predator/Alien Universe
Predator: Badlands #1 by Ethan Sacks, Elvin Ching, Oren Junior (Marvel Comics)
The new alien species in introduced into the new Predator canon with the release of Predator: Badlands #1, a one-shot prequel story from Marvel Comics, set before the events of the new movie. While adding more backstory to emphasize how secretly tragic Dek’s Badlands journey really is, the issue also sends Dek and his brother Kwei up against a new opponent: the K’shorrik.
Readers are actually introduced to the K’shorrik directly, through recorded video logs from a group of the species traveling through space (until a critical event puts them into stasis, awaiting help for their crashed vessel). And from first glance, they’re immediately a new wrinkle in the movie canon. Bipedal, four-armed, child-rearing, but combat-ready, the K’shorrik seem equipped to survive among the stars.
But most importantly, the introduction scene establishes the K’shorrik as more human-like than either Yautja or Xenomorphs. They emote as humans do, but in conversing with the artificial intelligence of the ship, to playing with their children on their journey, the K’shorrik paint a very different picture of ‘aliens’ in the brutal, and brooding Predator universe.
The K’Shhorrik Were Capable of Fighting Predators 10,000 Years Ago
Relying On Cutting-Edge Tech, K’shorrik AI Can Give Yautja A Fight To The Death
Knowing that director Dan Trachtenberg was closely involved with this new chapter of the growing Predator series, it’s hard not to look too deeply into the ramifications of the K’shorrik. Especially when the story begins by jumping 10,000 years into the future, as Dek infiltrates their downed spacecraft. While the AI guarding the ship knows about the Yautja, Dek has no knowledge of the K’shorrik.
Which also means Dek is completely unprepared for the kind of combat the AI is capable of. Forget swords, spears, or even Yautja laser-weaponry. The K’shorrik intelligence wields pheramones to turn the native fauna against Dek, before constructing and uploading its consciousness into a full-blown “Yautja Killer” robot. And does so in a matter of minutes, at most.
Like most Predator fights against a superior opponent, outside factors skew the results, allowing Dek to defeat the surrendering K’shorrik construct. But the questions remain. The K’shorrik possessed technology well beyond the Yautja over 10,000 years in the past. If that civilization was able to evolve and develop in that time since, they may play a massive role in the franchise’s future.
However, it’s possible that Dek’s ignorance can be taken as a sign that the race has become isolated, or even worse, extinct. But if that’s the case, then fans have seen what K’shorrik technology is capable of when left dormant for 10,000 years. If humans, the Yautja, or even Xenomorphs were to cross paths with the K’shorrik… it’s anyone’s guess what adventures could unfold next.
Predator: Badlands #1 is available now from Marvel Comics.
- Release Date
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November 5, 2025
- Runtime
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107 minutes
- Director
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Dan Trachtenberg
- Writers
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Dan Trachtenberg, Patrick Aison, John Thomas, Jim Thomas
- Producers
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Brent O’Connor, John Davis, Marc Toberoff, Dan Trachtenberg, Ben Rosenblatt
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Elle Fanning
Thia / Tessa
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Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi
Dek / Father