Prey, the upcoming prequel to the long-running Predator franchise, has finally received a release date. According to Hulu’s official Twitter account, the much-anticipated movie, which features the trophy-seeking alien race facing off against a Comanche warrior, will air in August of this year.
The series will show the hostile species’ first encounter with Earthlings, and will be set in the Comanche nation in North America during the early 18th century. The story’s protagonist and titular “prey” of the title is Naru, played by Legion‘s Amber Midthunder, a young Comanche woman “who goes against gender norms and traditions to become a warrior,” according to Discussing Film. Midthunder is a member of the Fort Peck Sioux tribe.
The film, previously entitled Skulls, is directed by 10 Cloverfield Lane director Dan Trachtenberg and feature a script by Patrick Aison. In addition to Midthunder, the movie will star Dane DiLiegro and Dakota Beavers. Producer John Davis and Trachtenberg began conceptualizing the film during the production of the franchise’s earlier installment, 2018’s The Predator.
According to Davis, the film will use a back-to-basics approach, incorporating elements of the franchise’s original movie, Predator. “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,” he explained to Collider.
But the story will also take inspiration from other sources, as well as from being set in a pre-industrialized Native American nation. “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,” Davis’ fellow producer John Fox told Collider.
Prey will begin streaming on Hulu on August 5.