A recent featurette video for Prey showcases the Predator's new arsenal. The upcoming monster-horror movie is a prequel to the popular franchise that began with 1987's Predator starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, and Jesse Ventura. Although the original film received a mixed response from critics, Predator spawned a 35-year franchise that features five sequels and two crossover films with the Alien film series. Now, the franchise's latest entry aims to take fans back before the events of the original film to tell the story of an earlier encounter with a Predator on Earth.
Set in the American Great Plains during the early 18th century, Prey follows Naru (Amber Midthunder), a young Comanche hunter who takes it upon herself to protect her people when faced with the alien threat. Although the iconic Predator sports advanced alien technology, director Dan Trachtenberg has previously stated that the alien's arsenal has been changed for the upcoming prequel film. The villain will no longer wear his recognizable metal bio-helmet, but instead wears a mask forged from the skull of a creature the monster once killed. Also, its distinctive shoulder-mounted plasmacaster weapon has been replaced. However, the creature has never-before-seen weaponry and technology to track and kill its prey.
Now, a new featurette video from 20th Century Studios showcases the Predator's latest arsenal in Prey. The monster can be seen sporting earlier versions of weaponry and gadgets that audiences have seen before, such as the Predator's cloaking device, wrist gauntlet, and netgun. The video also shows the Predator's new retractable metal shield and a melee weapon the director called a Cut Clamp that can wrap around its target. Check out the Prey video below.
Click here to view the original video on YouTube.
Although the Predator's weaponry is far more advanced than that of the Commanche's, the alien's technology is less advanced than prior versions seen in the franchise. The reasoning behind this is most likely due to the fact that the film takes place nearly 300 years prior to the events of the original film. As a result of less effective ranged weapons — since the plasmacaster is now gone — the Predator is open to more attacks thus necessitating a defensive gadget such as the collapsible shield.
Throughout the decades-long franchise, the Predator generally relied on its tools as a way to take out its targets. This resulted in a fight that was anything but a fair one. With the new version of the ruthless hunter slimmed down in terms of technology and weapons, the Predator will have to rely more on tactics, brutality, and instincts to obtain its next trophies. With Prey set to land on Hulu tomorrow, August 5, audiences will finally get to see the latest iteration of the ferocious fighter in action.
Source: 20th Century Studios
