The Predator is one of the most recognizable movie monsters of all time, so how do you improve on such a legacy? Well, Prey director Dan Trachtenberg hopes to do just that, explaining to GamesRadar how he will bring the Predator to life in the prequel. And the changes he has made to improve on what many sci-fi fans would already consider to be perfection.
It seems that Trachtenberg has always had a problem with a certain part of the Predator’s anatomy: his giant head. Thus, the filmmaker has made the head of his version of the alien warrior smaller. While maintaining the same iconic silhouette, the Predator running around and hunting humans in Prey will be the smallest and the slimmest ever seen. Something which could help the creature in his endeavors.
“The [original] design for me, though incredible, functionally it’s always been very top-heavy. The head has always been so large to accommodate a person inside, especially when it was developed in the ’80s. This is now the most refined, most proportional head-to-body ratio that’s ever been. We actually were able to get the silhouette to be a little bit more anatomically correct. Frankly, it’s the smallest, slimmest, I think, of the Predators, though still a hulking alien creature.”
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Trachtenberg continues, revealing that he has aspired to create the vast majority of what we will see in Prey with good ol’ practical effects.
Prey is the First Predator Movie Since the Disney Merger
Disney/Hulu
Prey is the first Predator movie to fall under the Disney umbrella, but Dan Trachtenberg has assured fans that you will not be able to tell.
“It’s a blend of great practical effects – not just the Predator, but also other things we do in the movie – but the Predator as well, and in getting everything people want out of a ‘man in suit’ kind of thing. And all the benefits of that with, I hope, not all the curses, and using CG elements to do things that the suit can’t do.”
Prey will explore the Predator’s first trip to Earth. Set in the Comanche Nation 300 years ago, Prey tells the story of a young woman, Naru, a fierce and highly skilled warrior. Raised in the shadow of some of the most legendary hunters who roam the Great Plains, she sets out to protect her people when danger threatens her camp. 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.
Starring Amber Midthunder, Dakota Beavers, Dane DiLiegro, Stormee Kipp, Michelle Thrush, and Julian Black Antelope, Prey is scheduled to be released by 20th Century Studios as a Hulu original film on August 5, 2022.
