It may be Disney+ Day, but the Predator has also come out to play. As part of its daylong media blitz, Disney officially confirmed plans for the long-rumored Predator prequel film, Prey.
After the disappointing box office performance of Robert Rodriguez’s The Predator in 2018, however, this movie is skipping theaters entirely. Instead, Prey will be one of the most anticipated original films in the history of Disney-owned Hulu.
Set 300 years in the past, Prey will unfold as the Comanche Nation suddenly finds itself being hunted by an alien Predator whose powers and abilities far surpass their own. One lone warrior will step up to protect her tribe: Naru. Actress Amber Midthunder will portray Naru, and she has some action chops from her previous role as Kerry Loudermilk on FX’s Legion. Midthunder’s other credits also include parts in Longmire, Banshee, and The Originals, as well as a leading role on The CW’s Roswell, New Mexico.
Other cast members for the film include Dakota Beavers, Dane DiLiegro, and Stefany Mathias. Details about their characters are unknown at the moment.
The first Predator movie debuted in 1987 with Arnold Schwarzenegger in the leading role as Dutch, who emerges as the lone survivor of a military unit that fights the creature in a foreign jungle. Predator 2 brought the action to Los Angeles in 1990, with Danny Glover in the lead. This was also the film that established the Predators as a race of hunters who had previously come to Earth hundreds of years before. Prey will depict the earliest known Predator hunt.
It’s unclear if it will directly link to either of the two original films. The third movie, Predators, depicted humans trapped on another world that was used as a hunting ground by the creatures. That sequel was released in 2010.
Prey will be directed by 10 Cloverfield Lane helmer Dan Trachtenberg, from a script by Patrick Aison. It was filmed earlier this year and is expected to premiere on Hulu in summer 2022. It’s also a part of a 20th Century Studios’ slate of original Hulu movies in 2022, which also includes an action fantasy called The Princess, the suspense thriller No Exit, and a comedic take on Romeo & Juliet called Rosaline.
