If you’re tired of how the Predator franchise has been playing out, then you might want to check out Prey, the prequel movie that will be releasing on Hulu sometime this year. I don’t know about you, but this news does intrigue me. I’m not going to say it excites me just yet, because I need to see more. Give me a gripping teaser trailer and you’ll get my attention. However, the recent news about the film’s setting does capture some of my attention. This new Predator prequel, title Prey, will be set in the Great Plains in 1719. Now that is very interesting. Why would the director, Dan Trachtenberg, choose that particular time setting for the movie? Does this time setting make you more interested in this Predator prequel or does it make you scratch your head a bit? For me, it’s a little bit of both. On one hand, I will always be excited to see more Predators in any movie or show. To be honest, I’d rather see more of them than the infamous Aliens. That’s right, fight me, Alien fans. After the last Predator movie from 2018, I have to say, it really killed my hopes for the future of the Predator franchise. If you watched the movie, you’ll understand.
Honestly, after the failure of The Predator, how could this franchise possibly produce another sequel? The answer is Prey, a prequel set in the Great Plains of 1719. Okay, I’ll admit, I never saw that coming. I would honestly be okay if the Predator franchise just stopped after 2018 and I would just stick with the first one, which is still one of the best action/horror/science fiction movies of all time. And come on, how can anybody deny the unparalleled manliness of Arnold Schwarzenegger after watching the first Predator? The answer is, you can’t.
Now I’ll just come right out and explain why this setting makes me scratch my head a little. These Predators are alien hunters who possess advanced technology and weapons. They use these weapons to hunt all kinds of prey, including humans. We’ve seen several times when humans tried to fight the Predators with modern weapons and technology. To put it lightly, it never went their way. The Predators can take gunfire from most guns and with their cloaking devices, no one can even see what they’re shooting at. On top of that, they move so freaking fast, it’s almost impossible to get a clean shot on them.
So how will the humans in Prey possibly have a chance at fighting the Predators with weapons from the eighteenth century? I can’t imagine flintlock pistols and muskets giving the Predators much of a problem. Then again, the Predators have always been known for their sporting approach to hunting. They just don’t kill at random whenever they feel like it. In fact, they get no pleasure from killing easy targets. Their thrill of the hunt comes from prey that can possibly kill them. We’ve seen that from the first Predator movie and it was expanded on in the 2010 sequel, Predators.
For the case of Prey, the main character that will be taking on the Predator is Naru, a female Comanche warrior who will be protecting her tribe from the hunting aliens. Now this is where I begin to turn my thoughts around for Prey. Given that the main character is a Native American warrior, she would resemble the nature of the Predators more closely than any other humans in that era. Since the Comanches were known for their extraordinary hunting skills, they would be the perfect targets to challenge the Predators.
And as for the weapons and technology of that era, we should remember how Dutch and his team faired against a Predator with their heavy weapons and military training. As we all remember, they didn’t stand much of a chance, even with macho stars like Arnold and Jesse Ventura on their team. Oh, and it was the same case for the 2018 team with Keegan-Michael Key and Thomas Jane. Keep in mind, they also had one of those small, shoulder-mounted plasma cannons with them. Sterling K. Brown’s character is the one who had it and he ended up accidentally killing himself with it. Boy, that was some dumb stuff. Let’s all hope that Prey doesn’t make the same stupid mistakes.
The point is, since military-grade weapons were of little use to Dutch and his men, he had to rely on nature itself for a weapon. And guess what? It actually worked better in his favor. From all the elements of the forrest itself, to camouflaging himself with mud, to setting traps with trees, Dutch actually stood a chance against the physically superior and strategically cunning Predator. Sure, we all remember that brutal scene where he had to take a beating, but in the end, it was the traps he sprang that won him the victory.
For Prey, I can imagine Naru will take a similar approach. And let’s not forget that the Predators have a tendency to always keep the hunt fair. You know, fair in the sense that the prey have a fighting chance. How many chances did the first Predator have to kill Dutch? Too many to count, but he never took it. That would be unsporting, at least from the Predator’s point of view. With that in mind, modern weapons or not, the Predator or Predators in Prey will surely give Naru a fighting chance. They will probably come to regret that, but then again, they actually enjoy a challenge.
To me, that has always been the most intriguing thing about the Predators. Unlike the Aliens, they won’t just kill at random. They’ll always give their prey a fighting chance and if the prey does manage to kill them, they actually get interested. This could lead to all kinds of possibilities after Prey. If Prey is a success, we could be getting more Predator sequels set before the modern era. After the subsequent sequels failed after the first Predator, I think the franchise needs that change of pace. What are your thoughts, Predator fans?Dan Trachtenberg
Follow Us
