Matt Duffer,
Ross Duffer: Director
Dan Trachtenberg asked the twin brother writing-directing duo to make an unexpected audio appearance in the film, as the voice of the Yautja-engineered software that powers the ship the central character, Dek, is flying aboard. The Duffer Brothers' voices are heavily distorted to more properly match the condition of the ship itself, but they are also speaking the Yautja language. According to Trachtenberg himself, prior to both of those Predator projects getting greenlit, he was dubious about whether or not they would both get made, and actually signed on to direct an episode of Stranger Things' final season. However, when both Predator projects were thrust into production for release this year, he ultimately had to renege on his Stranger Things commitment. "The truth of the matter was that I didn't know that Killer of Killers and Badlands were going to get greenlit at the same time," Trachtenberg recalled. "So I thought I could still squeeze in a Stranger Things episode, but then they both happened at the same time, and I just could not do three things at once. The Duffer Brothers were mixing an episode of Stranger Things at the same time we were mixing Badlands. We didn't have a voice yet for Kwei's ship's computer." And thus, the Duffer Brothers got the gig, as an apology and a surprise of sorts. "We had a really fun time in the booth together, and it was pretty cool," Trachtenberg concludes.
