Prey star Julian Black Antelope talks about some deleted scenes that didn't make it into the final cut of the movie, including a subplot about his character passing on his role as Chief of their tribe. Prey is the latest film in the Predator franchise and is notable for having a primarily Indigenous cast, along with Comanche advisors and producers behind the scenes. Along with Antelope, the film stars Amber Midthunder, Dakota Beavers, Dane DiLiegro, Stormee Kipp, and Michelle Thrush.
Prey is a prequel to the other Predator films, taking place hundreds of years earlier in 1719, and follows a young Comanche warrior (Midthunder) as she must defend her tribe from a Predator, an extraterrestrial who hunts humans. Prey notably includes a dub in the Comanche language provided by the cast despite initial efforts to have the film be a mix of Comanche and English. Prey received a wealth of positive reviews upon release, with many commending the action, characters, and story.
In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, Antelope says how there was initially a subplot involving his character Chief Kehetu. He says how the subplot would see Kehetu trying to find someone to succeed him due to his failing health and would've involved Kipp's character Wasape. He says the subplot was taken out because it pulled focus from the main story of Midthunder's character and that all the focus needed to be on her. Read his quote below:
My character, Chief Kehetu had his own storyline, which involved another character named Wasape, played by Stormee Kipp. It was kind of like the changing of the guard, so to speak, my character was well on his way out the door, he was dying, crippled and needed to find a successor to pass the torch onto, and so his eyes were always on the males traditionally; never ever considered a female. Rather than pull the focus from Amber Midthunder's character, from Naru's storyline, they chose to just focus everything on her. Which is totally understandable. But there was quite a bit of scenes that were cut back with Chief Kehetu that would be cool to see, but I still think everyone's going to be super pumped for what they get to see.
With Prey being one of the few mainstream movies with an Indigenous cast, it would've been interesting to get more details on the power dynamics of the tribe. It's not impossible for Prey to get a director's cut that restores the scenes and allows audiences to spend more time with those characters. After all, movies like Justice League have gotten director's cuts after outcry from fans, so the same thing could happen with Prey. If Prey will get a physical release, this would be the logical place to release deleted scenes.
Despite the rise of Indigenous visibility in media through shows like Reservation Dogs and Dark Winds, Prey remains one of the few modern movies to feature Indigenous characters in leading roles. Given Hollywood's problematic history with representation, hopefully, Prey can continue to push the industry in the right direction, and push for more Indigenous visibility in media. Hopefully, Prey will be successful enough to get a director's cut and perhaps some sequels, and Antelope and the rest of the cast will continue to get opportunities to let their talents shine.