Summary
The runaway success of Prey means that Disney has two great options for the next installment of its newly inherited Predator franchise, but the studio doesn’t necessarily have to choose. 2022’s Prey is the closest the Predator series has come to a bona fide hit since the 1987 original. While there’s no telling how far the film might have soared at the box office had it been given a theatrical run, the movie’s streaming-exclusive release registered as the most-watched program across all platforms in the U.S. and U.K. the week of its release (via Mashable).
The original Predator movie was a massive hit for 20th Century Fox, taking home $98 million on a budget of just $18 million (via The Numbers). However, the franchise spent more than 30 years struggling to recapture that success, with sequel after sequel failing to make a dent at the box office. With 2022’s Prey, which sees a Comanche warrior face off against a Predator in the year 1719, the franchise finally has not one, but two viable directions for the franchise. Prey’s ending credits set the stage for a certain type of sequel, but that is not the only way the movie can reignite the franchise.
Prey’s Ending Sets Up A Direct Sequel
A direct follow-up to Prey is a no-brainer for Disney. A theatrically released sequel to the streaming hit could easily constitute the Predator franchise’s biggest box office ever. What’s more, the filmmakers won’t be hard-pressed for sequel justifications, as Prey 2 is already set up in the first movie’s credits. The Prey credits sequence treats audiences to a beautifully animated recap of Naru’s fight with the Predator, told in the traditional ledger art style practiced by many indigenous American communities. Yet the artistic rendering doesn’t conclude with the culmination of Naru’s Prey journey; instead, the sequence carries on, delivering a foreboding final image of three Predator ships descending from the clouds.
The direct sequel teased in Prey’s end credits would be an exciting leveling up of the first movie’s stakes. After barely surviving a fight with a single Predator, Naru would now be confronted with three ships’ worth of monsters. Having earned the respect of her tribe, she would be forced to rally their forces in order to fight the alien threat in an all-out war. With Prey, Naru proved herself to be the most interesting Predator franchise protagonist since Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch; continuing Naru’s story with a direct sequel is an obvious next step for the franchise.
Prey Also Sets Up Other Standalone Predator Movies
While the end credits of Prey offer a natural lead-in to a sequel, the film itself offers proof that period Predator movies can work. While every installment in the Predator franchise functions as a standalone entry with a fresh protagonist, the first four films play out a fairly repetitive formula of tough modern military types facing off against the Predator. Prey is the first sequel to take a wild swing, traveling back more than 250 years before the first movie to follow a very different kind of warrior.
Alongside affirmations of interest in a potential Prey 2, Prey director Dan Trachtenberg has expressed an eagerness to explore “a few different things” in the Predator franchise (via Slashfilm). Now that Prey has proven that there’s an appetite for watching Predators fight humans across different points in history, the Predator never needs to return to the modern day. Indeed, the Predator comics have been pitting the titular monster against historical opponents for decades, giving the movie franchise a wellspring of setting ideas for another follow-up film, such as feudal Japan, Victorian London, and World War One France.
Why Prey 2 & Standalone Predator Movies Should Both Happen
With two promising concepts for a Prey follow-up on the table, there’s no reason the Predator franchise can’t pursue both. The Predator movies have never required exorbitant budgets, with Prey costing only $65 million. If the franchise were to greenlight both Prey 2 and another standalone historical Predator movie at $65 million each, the combined production costs would barely exceed the budget of Prometheus (via The Numbers). The comparatively modest figure is a small price to pay for two films with rich sequel potential. Indeed, after decades spent trying to recapture the success of 1987’s Predator, Prey has given the franchise more promising options than ever, critically and financially.
Source: The Numbers, Mashable, Slashfilm
Release Date: 2022-08-05
Director: Dan Trachtenberg
Cast: Dane DiLiegro, Michelle Thrush, Julian Black Antelope, Stormee Kipp, Amber Midthunder, Dakota Beavers
Rating: R
Runtime: 1h 40m
Genres: Horror, Drama, Action
Writers: Patrick Aison, Dan Trachtenberg
Summary: Serving as a prequel to the entire Predator series, Prey is set in the world of the Comanche Nation 300 years ago. The action-thriller follows Naru, the skilled warrior who fiercely protects her tribe against a highly evolved alien predator. The film will also reveal the origin of the Predator warrior race’s descent to Earth for the first time. Naru will have to utilize the tools of her time to combat a threat with skills and weapons that exist far beyond her time.
Story By: Jim Thomas, John Thomas
Budget: $65 million
Studio(s): 20th Century Studios, Davis Entertainment, Lawrence Gordon Productions
Distributor(s): Hulu
prequel(s): The Predator, Predators, Predator 2, Predator
Franchise(s): Predator
