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PREY 2 is 100% Going To Happen – Here’s Why…
A sequel to PREY, the Predator reboot everybody is talking about, is almost certain after the success of the film. But what can we expect from Prey 2? Let’s find out…
Dan Trachtenberg might not be the most experienced director but the guy knows what he’s doing when it comes to tight, intense action films. Prior to writing and directing Prey, Trachtenberg did the best film in the Cloverfield universe, 10 Cloverfield Lane.
Choosing a second film, especially when your first one was so good, is always hard. But attempting to redo something that has been messed up so many times by experienced directors – hello, Shane Black – isn’t just ballsy, it was downright crazy.
Disney believed in the franchise though, figured it had legs. With Dan Trachtenberg commissioned to write and direct, there was an air of optimism around this new predator film. But most – myself included – assumed it’d be rubbish. Disney even skipped a theatrical release which some mistook for a lack of faith in the project.
Turns out Disney’s plan to make Prey a HULU / Disney+ exclusive was a stroke of genius. More on that in a bit though. As I mentioned, expectations were fairly low for Prey but after its first screening at Comic-Con 2022, where it received a standing ovation, people started paying attention ahead of its August 5 release date.
Prey Reviews Were Impressive – Even More So For A Predator Movie
Much to everybody’s surprise, Prey was NOT rubbish. In fact, it was a brilliant film with outstanding direction, special effects, and a simple yet tight script and story. It is, arguably, in the same league as the original. I just wish they’d done the film in Comanche at launch, with subtitles; it would have added so much more to the tone and feel of the movie.
If you haven’t seen Prey yet, there are spoilers coming, so if you plan on watching the movie, I’d stop reading now.
Prey Credits Reveal Plans For Sequel
There are a couple of elements in Prey that hint about its sequel or the extension of the story that the film started. In the film’s credit animation, right at the end, we see a bunch of predator ships land, indicating that multiple, likely more experienced, predators enter the fray – either out for revenge or to retrieve some misplaced tech.
Now, fighting off a single predator is one thing. But a whole bunch of them? That’s a different story altogether. But this appears to be the direction in which Trachtenberg wants to take with the sequel. Why else would he show multiple predator ships landing in the closing credits? It would also follow James Cameron’s successful model for doing a sequel – just add more monsters.
Film or TV Series?
Trachtenberg has hinted about the possibility of a sequel which is a roundabout way of saying it is happening without confirming anything. Prey has been massively successful for Disney too, drawing in plenty of new subscribers to its HULU and Disney+ platforms, so, of course, there’ll be a sequel – it’s just a question of when and which format it’ll go for.
There is also the question of the gun that Naru has in her possession at the end of the movie. In Predator 2, the predators give this gun to Danny Glover’s character after he kills that film’s predator which indicates that the predators in Prey’s timeline returned, killed a lot of people, and then took the gun back from Naru or one of her people.
Reading between the lines, this kind of adds credence to the idea of a kind of larger-scale battle and/or war between the predators and the Comanche nation. I think this is where Trachtenberg will take the sequel, rather than just doing the same movie all over again in a different timeline. The formula worked, so Disney will milk it for all its worth which could mean a sequel and a third installment.
The other option, given the popularity of TV shows, and the fact Disney now has an Alien TV series in the works is that Prey could become a series. This would give the writers more scope to build storylines and character arcs. And one could argue that TV shows, thanks to shows like Breaking Bad and The Wire, are now actually more popular with viewers than standalone films.
Prey has become a massive success, achieving the huge record of being the most viewed property on Hulu in the history of the streaming platform. It is also sitting at a 92% critic rating on Rotten Tomatoes, making it the highest critically acclaimed movie in the Predator franchise. Quite honestly, the movie has opened a whole new way to tell the story of an alien race that hunts the biggest game it can find. Now, through our trusted and proven sources, we can report that a Predator series is in the works for Disney+. This new series will attempt to capture the teen demographic.
Giant Freaking Robot
The Potential For The Predator Universe
The thing about these predator films is that the universe – or canon – that they exist in is huge. You could have a Prey sequel AND a TV series, both set at different times, or the predator TV show could follow a similar style to Fargo with each season set in completely different time periods.
Most people assumed that the predator franchise was dead in the water, but Trachtenberg has proved that, when things are done right, with a solid story, a decent script, and visually impressive practical effects, there is still plenty of hunger for more predator films. Disney knows this and is now probably chomping at the bit to get more predator IP produced.
As unlikely as it would have seemed 12 months ago, predator is now one of Disney’s most visible and bankable brands. The success of the franchise, however, will depend entirely on the quality of Prey’s sequel. But quality sequels do exist: Aliens and Terminator 2 are excellent examples of sequels that were, in some instances, better than the original films they followed on from.
Trachtenberg has proved he has the chops to make good films, that he can take an old idea that isn’t scary anymore and make it enjoyable. And because Prey was so successful, Trachtenberg will get complete creative freedom over its sequel which should allow him plenty of space to expand on the events started in Prey.
My only real concern about the predator franchise right now is that Disney execs, drunk on the success of Prey, will start diluting things to make it more palatable to a wider audience. The reference to “teenagers” from the cited quite above already hints at this. No one wants that, Disney. Predator films – or a TV show – need to be dark, violent, gritty, and wherever possible, scary as hell.
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