Prey star Amber Midthunder reveals that she had no idea she was auditioning to be in a Predator movie. Released in 1987, Predator became a major hit, introducing audiences to Arnold Schwarzenegger's Dutch and his team of commandoes as they face off against a deadly alien in the jungles of South America. The film spawned a franchise that includes Predator 2, Predators, and, most recently, The Predator. The fifth Predator film, Prey, is set to release on Hulu later this week.
Directed by Dan Trachtenberg, whose only other feature film is 10 Cloverfield Lane, Prey tells the story of Naru (Midthunder), a female Comanche warrior who fights to protect her tribe from one of the first Predators to land on Earth. Initial trailers for the film have teased an action-packed, blood-soaked departure from the more modern settings of all the other Predator films. Midthunder previously described what it was like preparing for the role, detailing a grueling 4-week training course that the cast undertook for the film, which still ended up not being enough. Initial critical reactions suggest that all this training has paid off, with Prey being described as the best Predator film since the original, with particular praise levied at Midthunder's performance.
Now, in a new interview with Film Updates, Midthunder goes further into her audition process, revealing that she initially had no idea it was a Predator movie she was auditioning for. The actor explains that all she knew was that the film was going to be directed by Trachtenberg and that it was about a Comanche woman who wanted to become a hunter. Midthunder says that she was immediately interested in the role just because of Trachtenberg's involvement and that she ended up going through a fairly substantial audition process before even learning it was a Predator movie. Check out Midthunder's full comment below:
“The first time I auditioned was in February of 2020 and I had no idea what this movie was. All that I knew was that it was a film about a young Comanche woman who wanted to be a hunter and that Dan [Trachtenberg] was directing it. I’m a big fan of his so that, to me, was enough to be very interesting. And then it went away because of COVID, came back, and at the test audition, we had prepared scenes in English, Comanche, and then he asked me to do a scene with no words at all. And we also had a physical portion of our test audition. So he set up an obstacle course kind of thing and he asked us to go through it in character.”
Considering Trachtenberg's previous film, 10 Cloverfield Lane, was a hit with both audiences and critics, and the fact that he's also directed episodes of The Boys and Black Mirror, it's no surprise that Midthunder was interested in working with him. Plus, even without the Predator element, the premise of Prey is different from most other major movies being released today. The focus on shining a light on Comanche culture and the Comanche language certainly makes the film an interesting proposition even without the inclusion of the iconic Predator.
Although Midthunder doesn't explain what her reaction was to finding out Prey is a Predator film, the reveal that she was about to become part of a major Hollywood franchise was likely a pleasant surprise. Critical reactions to Prey suggest that Midthunder's leap of faith regarding the mysterious role has paid off. While it's a shame that the film isn't getting a theatrical release, Prey is poised to present an entirely new take on the Predator alien and introduce a new kind of action hero the franchise hasn't yet seen before.
Source: Film Updates/Twitter
