‘Prey’ Director Dan Trachtenberg Talks About Sequel Plans for Future ‘Predator’ Movies
Dan Trachtenberg, the director of Prey — a prequel to Predator that debuted on Hulu in 2022 — has opened up about potential new movies in the Predator franchise. Prey is set in the Northern Great Plains in 1719 and stars Amber Midthunder, Dane DiLiegro, and Dakota Beavers.
In an interview with ComicBook.com, Trachtenberg responds to a question about how to follow up Prey without falling into the traps of the other Predator sequels. He says, “For everyone who's been asking me about sequels, it's like, that is the thing, is that oftentimes someone does a cool thing and the sequel is just….and then the next part, and then it's like, oh, well then that's just following up the cool. That isn't what that thing was. And so yes, in thinking about what sequels could be, the primary conversation was and always will be, what we can do that is also special, that hasn't happened yet. Not just for the Predator franchise, but for this kind of genre in particular. Can we still be doing something cool?”
Dan Trachtenberg Tried to Film Sequences in Prey That Are Unique
The official synopsis for Prey reads: “Set in the Comanche Nation 300 years ago, Prey is the story of a young woman, Naru, a fierce and highly skilled warrior. She has been raised in the shadow of some of the most legendary hunters who roam the Great Plains, so when danger threatens her camp, she sets out to prove herself a worthy hunter. The prey she stalks, and ultimately confronts, turns out to be a highly evolved alien Predator with a technically advanced arsenal, resulting in a vicious and terrifying showdown between the two adversaries.”
The critical consensus is that Prey is the best movie in the franchise since the original Predator, earning praise for Trachtenberg's direction, the casting of Indigenous actors, and stunning cinematography.
About his filmmaking approach, Trachtenberg said to ComicBook.com, “A thing I say quite a bit in the development phase is make sure that everything is only this movie, only this movie can we get this kind of scene or that kind of sequence. Don't want to have a scene in here that's like, oh, that could have been in the other Predator movies, or that could have been this Marvel film or this Star Wars. Only in this movie can you get this kind of thing.”
According to the official production notes, Trachtenberg said the following before Prey debuted on Hulu:
“I cannot wait for audiences to fall into a time and place and invest in these characters the way that they would in any sports movie. That’s the engine to this movie for me. I’m not an athlete, I don’t play sports, I don’t watch sports, but I love sports films because they are visceral, warm, hopeful, and aspirational. I love the idea that this movie could be aspirational, as well as intense and suspenseful and terrifying.”
Prey is available to stream on Hulu and drops on 4K UHD, Blu-ray, and DVD on October 3.
