‘Prey’ director decided not to include an iconic weapon because it’s too much of an ‘instant win button’

Fans of the Predator franchise are in for a treat when Prey releases later this summer. Serving as a prequel to its predecessors, Predator, Predator 2, Predators, and most recently 2018’s The Predator, Prey is set to give the franchise’s bloodthirsty antagonists an origin story, pitting Comanche warrior Naru (played by Amber Midthunder) against one of the first members of the species to ever land on Earth.

The film is all but teed up for the same levels of action-packed deathmatch that we’ve come to know, but this particular Predator is teased as having a different way of doing things, as the film is set several hundred years in the past, and thus may not have the same equipment as the Predator who went toe-to-toe with Arnold Schwarzenegger all those years ago.

In an interview with Empire, Prey director Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane) made a special note of the absence of the plasma caster, which he felt would make the battle axiomatically one-sided.

The primary thing that I wanted to remove was the plasma caster. Just because it just felt like such an instant win button. I wanted to make sure that the fight could be as exciting as possible without stripping it of its advantages.

He goes on to point out, however, that this Predator’s toolkit has a host of brand-new weapons for fans to get excited about.

He doesn’t have all the tools that he has in the in newer movies. But he does have awesome new gadgets for people to see.

It’s a bold new direction for the franchise, going way back to its roots while also touching on themes of colonialism, all spearheaded by an electric lead in Amber Midthunder.

Prey releases on Hulu in the United States on Aug. 5.