The Predator franchise blends action, sci-fi, and horror in a combo like no other, and the famed alien visitor is arriving on Earth for another hunt in the upcoming Prey. Set to debut on Hulu on August 5, Prey is helmed by 10 Cloverfield Lane director Dan Trachtenberg and produced by Jhane Myers from Patrick Aison's screenplay. The new trailer for Prey, which just debuted today, teases a very new story and setting for the Predator series.
Set in the 1700's, Prey follows a young Comanche warrior named Naru (Amber Midthunder). When her people find themselves under attack by an invisible presence, Naru steps up to confront the mysterious Predator (Dan DiLiegro). With hints and Easter eggs throughout the Predator franchise of the alien hunters stalking their prey on Earth for hundreds of years, Prey is the first Predator movie to take a deep dive into this concept as a prequel to the whole franchise.
We speak to Dan Trachtenberg and Jhane Myers on the making of Prey, taking the suspenseful concept of the series into the past, and some of their major influences in crafting the story of the movie's heroine Naru.
Screen Rant: How did you each become involved with Prey, and how did the concept for it come about?
Dan Trachtenberg: Well, I was really fixated on making a movie that could be told with as few words as possible. I was very inspired by movies like Mad Max: Fury Road and Gravity, and I wanted to tell a survival story that would be visual and visceral. Somehow, I started honing in on 'What if there was a science fiction element?'
I thought that if I'm going to make a movie that is this visual - a story told through action - there had to be an emotional experience to have as well. I thought if I could make this an underdog story, that could give it this sports movie engine driving it.
Then, I realized, 'Wow, wouldn't it be great if the experience of watching the movie were similar to the experience the character goes through?' Who is a protagonist that we've never seen in movies before? That's when we realized we've never had a Native American or really an indigenous culture that has been at the lead of a big movie like this. The Comanche were the fiercest warriors of the time, and I think all indigenous cultures - but the Comanche even more so - have always been portrayed as the sidekick or the villain of a movie.
That's where I honed in on the Comanche and pitched the movie to Fox, and they absolutely loved it. When the time came to actually get it going, we started hunting for a producer - pun not intended!
Jhane Myers: I know, I was like 'Hunting?!'
Dan Trachtenberg: And then, lo and behold, found Jhane. As soon as we started speaking, I thought 'Oh, she is Naru! She is the main character of this movie!' She had done some projects with Disney in the past, and that's how there was some connection.
Jhane Myers: I think I was the only one to interview as your producer?
Dan Trachtenberg: Yeah, you were only one we were even interested in interviewing.
Jhane Myers: I must say that Dan is a very smart man! This happened right at the beginning of the pandemic. Everything had come to a halt; all of my projects were stopped. I was going and interviewing for other projects, and then I saw this one and it was really exciting for me, because I grew up on the original Predator and played this as a young woman with my fellow cousins. I thought, 'I don't care what else I do, this is one that's going to a remarkable film in my career!'
I was so excited, I forgot about any other project I had interviewed for. I just wanted this one!
With Prey taking place in the 1700s, throughout the Predator franchise, it's been established that they've been visiting Earth for hundreds of years, but there's never been an entry where that was the focal point of it. It's been more in the backdrop. What were some of your goals in making Prey set several centuries in the past?
Dan Trachtenberg: I think, on the one hand, we wanted to separate from Predator and have an experience that felt interesting and fascinating and exciting even before the Predator shows up. We're investigating how our character Naru interacts with her culture and the time period, and all of those things.
And from the Predator perspective, I was excited to have the freedom to explore different mechanics for him, because while challenging in making something that had to be 300 years prior but still super advanced, I always had in mind the way people responded to the Star Wars prequels and the fact that they were through a war and they were prior. Things were cleaner and newer, which made sense, but that also wasn't the kind of thing that we loved looking at or that felt 'Star Wars-y' at the time. I don't know, now we're re-assessing that.
That went through my head a lot making Prey, that everything could feel like Predator as we've always loved it, but also, something new for those of us who have loved the creature forever, so we're not just given the same things we're expected to see. Hopefully, we've accomplished that, I'm excited for people to see a lot of technically older but spiritually newer things.
Jhane Myers: For me, language is really important. This is the first time that the language component is going to be front and center on this film. Not only do you hear Comanche language throughout the English dub, but this is the first time you'll be able to actually click and watch the whole movie in Comanche, not just subtitled. For me, being a descendent - or I guess part of the Lords of the Plains - that's really important to bring back to my nation and to my culture.
Prey will debut Friday, August 5 on Hulu.