According to Prey director Dan Trachtenberg, the upcoming Predator prequel will introduce a more "primal" and dangerous alien threat than ever before.

"It was exciting to tell a story that's set 300 years in the past, but it was challenging to develop a creature that would feel at once older, but also far more advanced," Trachtenberg said in an interview with Polygon. "I wanted it to feel much more like an alien creature than ever before, much more feral, ferocious, primal, and be less armored. So then all the technological advances needed to be through its arsenal, through its weaponry."

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Trachtenberg went on to say that, in making the film, they "wanted to change it more than it's ever been changed before so it could be a new sight, a new thrill, even for diehard fans of the franchise." Trachtenberg said, "I think we struck the right balance. And then we had a team of incredible visual effects artists that helped augment the suit, so that in key moments, it could always feel like a living, breathing thing. So that it never felt like it was limited by movie physics, you know that it can always feel the way it should feel like as an alien creature."

Prey Introduces a Different Kind of Predator

Despite taking place 300 years in the past, Trachtenberg previously stated that Prey ended up including several references to the original 1987 Predator film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. The 10 Cloverfield Lane director even said that some of the film's Easter eggs were entirely unintentional, most of them stemming from his true appreciation for the first Predator.

20th Century Studios released the first full trailer for Prey in June. Set 300 years in the past, the upcoming prequel will follow a young Comanche warrior named Naru, played by Amber Midthunder, who must fight to protect her tribe against a violent Predator. While development on Prey began before the release of The Predator in 2918, filming on Prey didn't start until early in 2021 and wrapped in September that same year.

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"[Naru] 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 protect her people," 20th Century Studios said of the film. "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." Prey is set to release as a Hulu Original on Aug. 5 and will be the first feature-length film to be available on a streaming service with Comanche as both a language and subtitle option.

Directed by John McTiernan, Predator starred Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Elpidia Carrillo, Shane Black and Bill Duke among others. It was followed by Predator 2 in 1990, Predators in 2010 and The Predator in 2018. Predator has also crossed over with the Aliens franchise with films like Alien vs. Predator in 2004 and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem in 2007.

Prey will premiere as a Hulu Original on Aug. 5.

Source: Polygon