Talk about a compelling pivot after a failure: 20th Century Studios (also known as “Zombie Fox” around these parts) has released the first teaser for Dan Trachtenberg’s Prey, a far-flung prequel to Predator that’s set in the Comanche Nation circa 1721. While we actually can count ourselves among the dozen or so people who really enjoyed Shane Black’s The Predator, it’s always cool to see studios stretching the boundaries of their legacy franchises. It’s an apt colonialism metaphor as well as a genuinely fun premise for a prequel (or is the term spin-off?), and it reminds us a lot of what Outlander tried and failed to do with their sci-fi spin on the Beowulf mythos back when Bush II was President. So, don’t expect to glean too much from this very, very short teaser — it’s something like 45 seconds long, though had it (as well as the film itself) actually hit theaters we imagine it probably would have killed. Them’s the breaks when you’re dealing with a property perceived as too risky for the box office as well as being the unloved stepchild of a massive media conglomerate. There but for the grace of God, etc.
Peep it:
Here’s a synopsis:
“Set in the Comanche Nation 300 years ago, ‘Prey’ is the story of a young woman, Naru, a fierce and highly skilled warrior. She has been raised in the shadow of some of the most legendary hunters who roam the Great Plains, so when danger threatens her camp, she sets out to protect her people. The prey she stalks, and ultimately confronts, turns out to be a highly evolved alien predator with a technically advanced arsenal, resulting in a vicious and terrifying showdown between the two adversaries.”
Prey will drop the cloaking device and come in for the kill when it hits Hulu on August 5.