Kwei's Ship Explained: A Badlands Ship Guide

Kwei's ship was a Yautja hunting vessel seen in Predator: Badlands. It functioned as transport, shelter, and a private display space for trophies associated with Njohrr's clan. The ship appeared on Yautja Prime, later departed the planet with known humanoid and Dek aboard, and ultimately reached the planet Genna after an uncontrolled descent. This guide breaks the ship down by location and by the main events connected to it.

Kwei's Ship On Yautja Prime

Kwei's ship was shown grounded on Yautja Prime for an extended period. Environmental sand had built up inside the interior spaces, which implied that the vessel was not treated like a sealed, sterile environment. The Yautja craft acted as a private clan space rather than a public hall. It also carried cultural details associated with Yautja design, including dark metallic surfaces and engraved architecture. The ship belonged to Kwei, the older brother of Dek. Kwei had hunted on multiple worlds and stored trophies aboard the vessel.

The Cockpit

The cockpit served as the ship's navigation and launch control area, featuring large and reinforced forward-facing windows. It supported remote actions, including an autopilot navigation to preset hunting planets such as Genna. The cockpit featured a holographic display of hunting planets, including the most dangerous prey on each planet. The ship could be launched without Dek or Kwei manually piloting it, which suggested that YYautja vessels supported remote command functions or pre-configured launch sequences.

The Trophy Wall

One of the ship's most distinctive features was its trophy room and wall display. The trophies were mounted in an orderly arrangement, divided into three sections. Several skulls resembled known humanoid and extraterrestrial forms, and the wall included a prominent Tyrannosaurus rex skull. The display also included multiple tribal necklaces made from teeth, nails, and bone, which suggested older hunts connected to human cultures. A ceremonial bowl was positioned in front of the display area. Sand inside the bowl concealed Kwei's bio-mask, and a Yautja skull was shown resting on the bowl's edge.

Leaving Yautja Prime

The ship's departure from Yautja Prime occurred during Kwei's confrontation with Njohrr. After freeing Dek from Njohrr's restraint and forcing him aboard his ship, Kwei confronted his father in a final duel while Dek watched helplessly from the other side of the energy door. Although Kwei fought with determination, Njohrr overpowered him, severing his arm (a common trope among Predators) and mortally wounding him from behind. With his final strength, Kwei activated the launch sequence of his ship and sent Dek away from Yautja Prime to the planet Genna. Dek lost consciousness for a while and woke up when the ship was already in the asteroid field surrounding Genna, forcing him to take the pilot's seat.

The Escape Pod

Kwei's ship included an escape pod system intended for emergency evacuation. When Dek Predator entered the atmosphere of the so-called "Death Planet" Genna, he panicked and pulled the ejection lever next to his seat. Moments later, he was cast away from the ship, drifting in a glass orb above Genna's mountains. The pod was soon attacked by a vulture-like creature, which cracked its shell. It eventually crashed into the forest and shattered on impact, though Dek escaped with only minor injuries.

Crashing On Genna

While Dek crashed with his escape pod in the forest, the ship came down kilometers away. Leaving the ship in the escape pod proved to be a bad idea, as many of the more powerful weapons were left on the bigger ship. Dek planned to hunt in the extreme environment of Genna with hostile terrain and dangerous life. However, the escape pod held some Yautja gear as well, including a sword and a bow. After meeting with the android Thia, Dek set out to hunt the Kalisk and decided to leave the ship for later.

Looted By Weyland-Yutani

While tracking Yautja activity across Genna, a Weyland-Yutani unit located the remains of the crash spacecraft before Dek did. The wreckage of Kwei's ship provided critical insight into the Yautja's origins and the broader conflict unfolding on the planet. Within the debris, the unit's android leader Tessa recovered a bandolier of Yautja cryogenic grenades capable of generating extreme freezing effects, and a Yautja shoulder cannon. These devices represented one of the few tools capable of neutralizing the "unkillable" Kalisk without conventional weapons.

Repairs And Return To Yautja Prime

Following the crash and the defeat of Tessa, the ship required repairs to regain operational capability, which were conducted with the help of Thia. Once the ship could fly again, it enabled a return path to Yautja Prime for Dek to confront his father again. Dek landed the ship next to Njohrr's household and faced him in front of it. The ship played a small part in the confrontation, as Dek activated its thrusters to blow up sand, both to distract Njohrr and make his cloak useless. After beheading Njohrr, Dek and his companions formed their own "wolf-pack" and could further explore other planets with Kwei's ship, which now rightfully belonged to Dek.

Behind The Scenes

Although the trophy wall of Kwei's ship resembled the Lost Tribe's ship from Predator 2, the outer design was unlike any Yautja craft seen so far in the movies or Expanded Lore. Starting with Alien vs. Predator 2004, the Predator ship designs moved forward to a more metallic design, which is also somewhat apparent here. As the film took shape, artist Sean Hargreaves explored biomechanical design elements, including ideas drawn more explicitly from the Alien franchise's Space Jockeys and Engineers. The final ship does have the shape of the "horseshoe" Juggernaut, previously seen in Prometheus and Alien: Covenant.

Conclusion

Kwei's ship was distinct in Yautja lore, resembling more an Engineer Juggernaut than a fish-like exotic Yautja craft. It combined transport systems, emergency survivability features, and a trophy room used to show off the clan's trophies. The ship was rightfully inherited by Dek, who started to use it for his new "clan", which included Thia and Bud, the child of the Kalisk.

Tag Categories: Predator: Badlands Lore, Predator Technology