The newest installment in the Predator franchise, Prey, aims to rekindle a dying interest in the apex alien hunter. Though people loved the original Predator movie, enthusiasm for the trophy-hunter from outer space has slowly waned with each passing movie. However, the trailers for Prey have been incredibly well received for a number of reasons.
The protagonist is a young Comanche warrior named Naru (played by Amber Midthunder), as she sets out to prove herself to her tribe in The Great Plains sometime in the 1700s. This new setting and protagonist are already resonating with fans, new and old, who can’t wait to see what Naru and her tribe will do when facing a fearsome enemy unlike anything they’ve ever seen before. In the trailer below, one of her fellow Comanche warriors even say, “I’m not frightened by a bear.” So. This showdown is going to be awesome.
Beyond the new setting, the Predator itself is getting an updated look for the movie. The director, Dan Trachtenberg, said this in a recent interview:
“It was a couple of people driving (the mechanisms in the mask) There are two versions of the face. There was a stunt version that didn’t have any motion, that was a little bit, just a hair safer for Dane to function. And there was another version that was just heavier on Dane because it had all the animatronics in it. And one of the things we added in this movie that strangely wasn’t, I don’t think was in the other Predator films, was goop. We brought in some alien goop, the stuff that we’ve seen the Alien movies. So the mandibles and the face and all that stuff just felt that much more violent and gross.”
Dan Trachtenberg, Director
Taking notes from the Alien movies seems like a very smart move. Goopy mandibles are indeed frightening. Though fans are sad to miss out on a big screen reveal, it’s great that Prey will be available for Hulu subscribers to stream on August 5, 2022. Plus, think of the rewatch potential there.
