A franchise that has been around for decades can often become somewhat stagnant. In order to avoid this pitfall, Hollywood creatives must take care to keep new installments fresh and exciting. This could come from a change in setting, playing around with the time period in which the film franchise takes place, or introducing new characters to the fold. In the recently released film Prey, the latest picture in the popular Predator franchise, filmmakers chose all three options.

Prey tells the story of a Comanche woman named Naru, who navigates a treacherous world of culturally reinforced misogyny, colonizing fur traders, and of course, a familiar seven-foot tall, many-mandibles alien hunter. If the film’s view numbers are any indication, fans absolutely loved the new face of the franchise.

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Despite featuring an epic Predator death scene, the movie’s ending seemed to lack finality. In a recent interview, the film’s lead actor Amber Midthunder expressed that though she is unclear what her future with the franchise will entail, she is definitely open to the possibility of a sequel. Fans of the film cannot help but imagine all the fascinating directions the next Predator film might go in.

New Settings, New Weapons, and New Characters

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At the end of Prey, the freshly-minted war chief Naru gathers her tribe, and they begin a long journey toward a theoretically safer destination. Taking her tribe away from the scene of so much death and destruction was a wise choice. It’s possible that even more Predators, inspired by the death of their comrade, will converge on planet Earth, and their combined force might be too big a challenge for even Naru’s formidable combat prowess. A potential sequel will take place in a new setting, which will inevitably come with its own unique set of challenges.

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Furthermore, given the fact that many characters, including Naru’s brother, Taabe, perished over the course of the film, it stands to reason that a potential sequel would contain a new and exciting cast of characters. For instance, a follow-up could feature a new tribe if the Comanche find themselves encroaching on hostile territory. It would be incredibly compelling to see two tribes team up and set aside their differences to fight a Predator invasion.

Perhaps most importantly, a Prey sequel will need to include new weapons. The film showcased a whole lot of previously unseen alien tech, as has been the case in nearly every installment of the franchise thus far. Some tools used by humans, like Naru’s throwing axe, were just as interesting as their extraterrestrial counterparts. A sequel would present the opportunity to introduce audiences to even more weaponry.

More Epic Battles With Colonizers

As if a Predator wasn’t enough, Naru also had to contend with a vicious gang of fur trappers. Though many of them are mercilessly slaughtered by the alien in one of the movie’s most epic scenes, there are plenty more invaders where that came from, and a potential sequel could continue to expand upon the themes of colonization that were explored in the film.

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For example, the previously suggested partnership between two rival tribes could set the scene for an epic battle against any colonizer characters in a potential sequel. The film could even be set further in the future, where an older Naru will be staring down the barrel, literally and figuratively, of colonization on a massive scale.

A Potential Team-Up Between Predator and Prey

Though Predators are much more likely to slice people open than collaborating with them, a Predator teaming up with humans is not entirely unheard of. When they need to face off against another species of invading extraterrestrial, the Xenomorphs, they’ll usually take all the help they can get.

A Predator only kills what it deems to be a threat, so it’s possible that a Prey sequel could see Naru and a Predator, whose respective weapons are drawn, facing off against a common enemy. It could take the form of the aforementioned colonizing forces. Could the Predator help Naru take on a brigade sent by the U.S. army? Alternatively, the Xenomorphs, or possibly even another type of alien invader, could come to Earth, and the Predators would need Naru’s knowledge of the landscape to mount an offensive.

It’s entirely possible that the next installment in the Predator franchise will have nothing to do with the beloved Naru. A different type of period piece may be the filmmaker’s chosen direction. Nevertheless, the world of Prey has a lot of room left to grow, so fans can hope and pray (or, more accurately, prey) that Naru will return. Armed with a trust-throwing ax and a loyal canine companion, no Predator is safe from the Comanche War Chief.