Prey Director Reveals Surprising Influences on Predator Prequel Film

The upcoming film Prey, a prequel film to the Predator franchise, seems to have more in common with the likes of (though there’s plenty of that DNA present as well). With the arrival of the latest trailer for the movie, filmmaker Dan Trachtenberg spoke to a number of outlets about the film and what went into making the movie, which is set 300 years in the past in the Camanche Nation. Among the details that the 10 Cloverfield Lane filmmaker revealed was what served as his inspiartion for hte movie, citing…mostly the filmography of Academy Award nominee Terrence Malick.

“Terrence Malick probably came up the most,” Trachtenberg told Empire. “And not just The New World, but Days Of Heaven, and The Thin Red Line also. We referenced images from those movies and cinematography and, wanted it to feel authentic. That’s very much a part of the soul of this movie. And Macbeth, the Michael Fassbender Macbeth was a big visual influence on the movie.”

Trachtenberg’s Prey might be an ambitious swing for the Predator franchise but it’s also notably the first attempt at the franchise since The Walt Disney Company absorbed 20th Century Fox. Considering the parent company of it all many Predator fans were worried that the days of the alien hunter ripping out spines and skulls were over, but Trachtenberg confirmed that Disney had zero notes on the film.

“The Disney thing did not affect the movie at all in terms of its content,” Trachtenberg revealed to ComicBook.com. “That’s why I’m excited for this trailer to come out. And for people who were worried that was this gonna be PG-13, or was it gonna be ‘Disney-Made-Predator.’ It was a 20th Century movie throughout the entire experience. And then Disney has been awesome in receiving the reins of it and now delivering it out into the world, but there was never any mandate from them. I was terrified of some of the wording we had in the script and when they read it, I was like, ‘Oh no, are they gonna freak out over the descriptions of gore and stuff?’ But, no. It is a brutal, intense, very R-rated movie. And I’m excited for that to be dispelled, that Disney’s gonna do ‘Disney Things.’”

Prey will debut on Hulu on August 5. The film features a cast comprised almost entirely of Native and First Nation’s talent, including Amber Midthunder (“The Ice Road,” “Roswell, New Mexico”), newcomer Dakota Beavers, Stormee Kipp (“Sooyii”), Michelle Thrush (“The Journey Home”), Julian Black Antelope (“Tribal”).