‘It was a blessing’: ‘Prey’ director couldn’t ask for a better star to breathe new life into a stale franchise

As far as franchises go, Predator has had a fairly unstable life; after a strong start with its inaugural film and then peaking with Predator 2, a slew of some of genre fiction’s worst-ever cinema came rolling out shortly after in the form of the Alien vs. Predator duology and the all-time low that is Predators.

The Predator was only a marginal improvement, and for a quite a period of time, the franchise seemed all but done and dusted. Enter Dan Trachtenberg, the mastermind behind prequel film Prey, and the Yautja mythos has shot back to the top.

Indeed, if ever a franchise made a 180 with just one movie, Predator would be the franchise and Prey would be the movie; from its delectably deep themes to intriguing setting, Trachtenberg’s adrenaline shot of a prequel used all its pieces in all the right ways.

And the crown jewel of his creation was one Amber Midthunder, whose star-making performance as protagonist Naru anchored the film in not only the way it needed, but in the way it deserved.

In a recent interview with The Wrap, Trachtenberg’s praise for the actress was just as rousing as it’s always been, making a special note of her imposing gravitas and ability to perform non-verbal scenes, both of which proved absolutely vital in filming Prey.

She was tremendous when we first found her and that carried through the final film. When we auditioned her, she did the scene three ways: in English, in Comanche and then non-verbally. So much of the film is nonverbal and it was incredibly moving to see her perform a dialogue scene with no words. There was a whole physical portion of a screen test that we did with her and her fully embracing storytelling through physical movement, involving character instincts, that was exactly what we needed in a movie like this.

Here’s hoping Prey was also a sign of better things to come for the franchise rather than just a happy flash in the pan. Historically, the only recurring character in the Predator films has been the Predator itself, so the sixth film likely won’t be able to lean on Midthunder again. Here’s hoping, then, that this particular baton pass, whoever receives it, gifts the Predator franchise with as many extra legs as Naru’s exploits did.

Prey is available to stream on Hulu.