Prey Details Officially Confirmed, Predator Prequel Will Be Set in the 1700s
It's official. Prey will drop the Predator into 1719 and take place in the Great Plains.
BY JONATHAN FUGE
PUBLISHED MAR 09, 2022
The upcoming Predator prequel, Prey, will take the iconic science fiction monster back in time to 1719 and take place in the Great Plains, with 20th Century Studios President Steve Abell describing the project as one of the studio’s several “big creative swings.” Directed by 10 Cloverfield Lane filmmaker Dan Trachtenberg, the details of Prey have been widely rumored and speculated upon, but Asbell has now provided official confirmation (via The Hollywood Reporter) of the massive changes being made for the next installment in the beloved Predator franchise.
"In order to meet the volume that we are looking at -- which is, by 2023, 10-plus movies just for streaming -- it's going to be a combination of originals in those genres. And coolest of all for fans, we get to find bold takes on beloved Fox properties. You can take c swings -- which you'll see with Prey, which we'll launch this summer. A Predator movie set in the Great Plains in 1719 by Dan Trachtenberg. That's what this allows us to do."
The Predator series first began in 1987, pitting action icon Arnold Schwarzenegger against an alien warrior. The franchise then took the Predator into what was then the present day, with the following installments Alien vs. Predator, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, and the most recent The Predator following suit. While the 2010 effort, Predators, transferred the action to an alien planet, Prey will be the first time that the story has been set in the past, with the movie taking things all the way back to the 1700s.
Legion star Amber Midthunder will battle the Predator in Prey, playing a Comanche woman who goes against gender norms and traditions to become a warrior, setting her on a collision course with one of cinema's most famous monsters. "I'm beyond words feeling proud, humbled, and excited to finally be able to share this news and have been given this opportunity," Midthunder said of joining the franchise. "It is time we see ourselves represented fully in mainstream entertainment. As strong and human, by our own people. I can't wait for you all to see what we made this summer. Ʉra ako & pilamaye."
Prey Producers Say the Prequel Will Be Just as Good as the First Predator
Though the first Predator outing is considered a classic, what followed has been met with a mixed response from both critics and audiences. Prey producers John Davis and John Fox have teased the quality of the prequel, stating that it will be “as good” as the Arnold Schwarzenegger original.
"It goes back to what made the original Predator movie work," Davis explained. "It's the ingenuity of a human being who won't give up, who's able to observe and interpret, basically being able to beat a stronger, more powerful, well-armed force. It's going to be, I believe, the second best -- or the first... or it may be equal to the first one. Right? I feel like the first one was a wonderful, interesting movie and I know what worked about it," he continued. "I feel like we kind of never got back there again. We ended up in different places. I think this is a worthy complement to the first one. It's going to be as good."
