Predator: For 38 years, no one has known this detail about the most mythical creature in the science fiction saga

The Alien and the Predator are surely the two most emblematic monsters of horror and science fiction cinema. The first, relentless and merciless killing machine, is called the xenomorph.

This fact is known to everyone because it was explained from the feature film by Ridley Scott in 1979. However, to be precise, in the official cannon, “xenomorphic” is not the name of the species. It is a human, generic word, to designate the creature. It means “foreign form” or “unknown form”.

Say My Name!

In the films of the Predator saga, no one evokes the name of the extraterrestrial species and the public simply calls it “the predator”. However, this hunter with the exacerbated code of honor does indeed have a name. To know it, you have to turn to the extended universe of the franchise.

It's in the comic strip Alien vs. Predator: Preypublished in 1994, that the name of the Predator species is revealed: Yautja. Created by Steve and Stephani Perry, the Comic Book takes us to the planet Ryushi. Human colonists find themselves taken between two fires: a group of young Yautja in mop and the xenomorphs they hunt.

To save the survivors, the colony’s head of the colony, Machiko Noguchi, is forced to team up with a predator that she baptized “Broken Tusk” (broken defense) in order to put an end to the carnage.

The extraterrestrial species of the Predator is therefore called Yautja, originally from the planet Yautja Prime; Steve Perry recommends the pronunciation “Ya -Oot -Ja” (accent on the second syllable). Note that this term was voluntarily chosen to have Polynesian and Hawaiian sounds, illustrating a coherent fictitious language for the Yautja.

Exploration of mythology

This name will then be used in the extended universe (novels, video games, comics) but the word yautja will never be pronounced in movies in the cinema. Note that the work of Steve and Stephani Perry was decisive for the Predator saga.

The authors have created a whole universe around the franchise, highlighting the existence of a complex Yautja culture, endowed with its own language and its own hierarchy. They strangely humanize the deeply extraterrestrial threat, while developing its mythology.

The extended universe thus depicts a warrior, tribal and codified society, centered on honor, hunting and rite of passage. All this is only suggested in films and never really explored in depth.

However, the derivative series are full of captivating details around this species. Perhaps director Dan Trachtenberg was inspired by the extended universe for his Predator: Badlands. To find out, it will be necessary to wait until November 5, 2025, the day of the film's release in the cinema.

If you want to know more about the mythical creature of science fiction, do not hesitate to consult our Video Origin Story!