Dilandau Albatou is a primary antagonist in the animated feature Escaflowne: The Movie. In this film adaptation, the character is reimagined with a significantly different origin and nature than his television series counterpart.

The movie version of Dilandau is established as a half-breed of the Draconian race, granting him psychic abilities similar to those possessed by the protagonists Van and Folken. Little is revealed about his early history, but it is mentioned by the character Folken that he discovered Dilandau living among feral dogs, suggesting a background of extreme isolation and savagery before being brought into the fold of the Black Dragon Clan.

Dilandau serves as the commander of an elite military unit known as the Dragon Slayers. He operates under the authority of Folken and the Black Dragon Clan, who task him with various missions, including the retrieval of the character Hitomi. Despite this chain of command, Dilandau possesses a volatile and insubordinate personality. He is impulsive, cruel, and driven by a love of battle and destruction, with a particular penchant for fire. His sadism is a core trait, and he frequently disregards direct orders in favor of indulging his violent impulses. For instance, when sent to capture Hitomi, he instead opts to launch a full-scale attack on her caravan with the express desire to kill everyone present, showing a blatant disregard for his mission parameters.

Physically, Dilandau has a slender and androgynous appearance. He is pale, with silver-white hair and garnet-colored eyes, and his demeanor is often marked by unsettling expressions of manic glee. He pilots a powerful red guymelef named the Alseides, an ancient suit of armor resurrected to test its power. His combat abilities are formidable; he is an excellent swordsman and pyrotechnic user, and he augments these skills with his Draconian psychic powers, which he uses offensively in telepathic duels.

Within the story, Dilandau's primary role is as a direct antagonist to Van. Their conflict is immediate and visceral, fueled by mutual aggression. In one of their early encounters, a battle using telepathy results in Dilandau destroying Van's horse. This act enrages Van, leading to a powerful psychic retaliation that blows Dilandau's own horse apart. This confrontation establishes a cycle of vengeance between them. Despite his ferocity, Dilandau is not without a sense of consequence; when he disobeys orders, Folken punishes him by using telekinesis to brutally twist his body, demonstrating that his position does not grant him immunity from the hierarchy's control.

The film provides a degree of development for Dilandau as an antagonist. His defeat at the hands of Van is more easily accepted than in the series; while he is initially trapped during their battle inside the Alseides, he takes the opportunity to escape when his opponent becomes incapacitated. He does not descend into a complete psychotic breakdown as a result of his losses. At the conclusion of the movie, Dilandau and his few surviving Dragon Slayers are last seen riding away together, already seeking new battles, implying that his core identity as a restless and destructive warrior remains unbroken. His motivations throughout the film are consistently tied to his love of combat and mayhem rather than any grander political or personal ambition.