Ask 100 Star Wars fans for their thoughts on the sequel trilogy, and you’re virtually guaranteed to get 99 different answers. The debate still rages to this day on the merits of The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi, and The Rise of Skywalker, so let’s hope that Prey director Dan Trachtenberg hasn’t taken his cues from the more polarizing aspects of the trio.
On the surface, there doesn’t seem to be anything in common between a period-set Predator prequel and one of the most iconic franchises of all-time, besides the fact they both occupy the sci-fi genre. However, the 10 Cloverfield Lane filmmaker explained to ScreenRant how he wanted to use Episodes VII, VII, and IX as a barometer of sorts.
“From the Predator perspective, I was excited to have the freedom to explore different mechanics for him, because while challenging in making something that had to be 300 years prior but still super advanced, I always had in mind the way people responded to the Star Wars prequels and the fact that they were through a war and they were prior. Things were cleaner and newer, which made sense, but that also wasn’t the kind of thing that we loved looking at or that felt ‘Star Wars-y’ at the time. I don’t know, now we’re re-assessing that.
That went through my head a lot making Prey, that everything could feel like Predator as we’ve always loved it, but also, something new for those of us who have loved the creature forever, so we’re not just given the same things we’re expected to see. Hopefully, we’ve accomplished that, I’m excited for people to see a lot of technically older but spiritually newer things.”
The Predator saga has itself tended to split opinion ever since John McTiernan’s classic original arrived 35 years ago, as is to be expected when there are sequels, reboots, and crossovers to contend with, but hopes are high that Prey will be a breath of fresh air.
