As part of Disney+ Day celebrations, the studio revealed the new Predator movie is called Prey, and it will bring the iconic aliens back to the hunt in Summer 2022 on Hulu. Previously known as Skulls, the film will serve as a prequel to the franchise and show the first Predator hunt on Earth.
Directed by Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane) from a script by Patrick Aison (Kingdom), Prey’s development was kept in secret until November 2020. Since then, we’ve learned Prey wouldn’t be a sequel to Shane Black's The Predator, which failed to meet box office and critical expectations in 2018.
We’ve also learned that Amber Midthunder (Legion) will be playing a female hero in the prequel, with Dakota Beavers and Dane DiLiegro also joining the cast. There’s no official word about Beavers’ and DiLiegro’s parts. However, it’s safe to bet that DiLiegro might be the Predator, as the actor is known for playing monsters in American Horror Story and on Sweet Home.
Producers John Davis and John Fox talked to Collider about Prey last July, with Davis saying that:
"It goes back to what made the original Predator movie work. 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 actually has more akin to The Revenant than it does any film in the Predator canon. You'll know what I mean once you see it," added Fox, though the producers declined to reveal the specific period. As Davi put it at the time, "you can use your imagination. It is... early."
Directed by John McTiernan and written by brothers Jim and John Thomas, 1987’s Predator introduced the world to the titular creatures, an alien race that travels the universe while looking for challenging prey to take down. In the original movie, a Predator faces off with Arnold Schwarzenegger in a Central American rainforest, a duel still remembered as one of the best action movies of the 80s. Predator already has four sequels and two crossovers with the Aliens franchise, with each new entry expanding the creature’s mythology. However, by looking at the past, Prey promises to offer fans something new and ensures the new crew has a clean slate to work with the Predator franchise.
Prey wrapped filming last September and is undergoing post-production before being released on Hulu in Summer 2022. Now that Disney has revealed a release window for the prequel, it shouldn’t take long for us to take a first peek at the Predators’ new adventure. Here's the official logline:
Set in the world of the Comanche Nation 300 years ago, the action-thriller follows Naru, the skilled warrior who fiercely protects her tribe against a highly evolved alien predator.