Predator: Badlands director Dan Trachtenberg will contribute to a new Marvel Comics prequel story for the upcoming movie

A Yautja warrior leaping at an alien monster with his sword raised — (Image credit: Marvel Comics)

Predator: Badlands will mark a new era of the Predator franchise, following a Yautja warrior on his first big hunt as the movie's protagonist rather than a nigh-unstoppable adversary for a group of humans.

Joining the Yautja, named Dak (played by Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi), is Elle Fanning's Weyland-Yutani synthetic, Thia, representing a crossover between the Predator and Alien franchises.

"THE HUNT BEGINS," reads Marvel's official description of the Predator: Badlands prequel comic. "In the one-shot, a young Yautja warrior is given a seemingly simple task by his father: retrieve a piece of technology from a derelict spaceship that crashed years ago. Inside, however, an ancient and deadly threat lies in wait."

Marvel has produced a number of Predator comics, mostly pitting the mighty alien hunter against Marvel superheroes in out-of-continuity stories. Predator: Badlands #1 will be the first time the publisher has created an official tie-in comic for a Predator movie.

"For a writer who grew up a lifelong fan of the Predator franchise, there is no bigger game than the chance to hunt with the Yautja," Sacks says in a statement. "Working hand in hand with the filmmakers behind Predator: Badlands, we made sure this prequel story fits into the cinematic saga like a puzzle piece. It's going to give fans a deeper, richer experience – especially when they get to feast their eyes on Elvin Ching's art."

"Badlands is the first Predator movie to draw inspiration so heavily from the comic books. So it's with great delight that you and I now get to look at splash pages, from the minds of Ethan and Elvin, of a formative adventure for our characters that serves as a perfect companion to the film," adds Trachtenberg. "Dek kicking ass in his very own comic book is a dream come true."

Predator: Badlands releases in theaters on November 7, while the prequel comic hits shelves just a few days later on November 12. While we wait, check out our list of the best sci-fi movies of all time.