Director Dan Trachtenberg explained his pitching process for Prey, describing the Predator prequel film as an unconventional Western with a hint of an underdog sports movie.
"That was my initial pitch to Fox," he told Empire. "A Native American story, to make a Western that has no cowboys in it. That's a movie which really does not exist. It shockingly doesn't. I wanted to make a movie that would be told primarily visually and through action."
"How do you engage in a very economical way, and still tell an emotional story?" he added. "I'm not an athlete in any way, I do not follow sports, but I love sports movies, primarily because they feel like action movies that you don't need laser guns for. But they always feel warm and hopeful, you know. And so, I thought, 'if I could have the engine of a sports movie, tell a real underdog story inside this action movie, it could feel really gripping and moving.' Part and parcel with that underdog story was, 'what if we make it about someone, and a people that also, in media, are the underdog? Who are the people that never have a light shined on them?'"
Trachtenberg previously revealed that the film would focus on Native American culture and characters, who he sees as an ideal counter to the Predator's more sci-fi weaponry and tactics. The film stars Amber Midthunder, who is a member of the Fort Peck Sioux Tribe, and will be the first movie to feature a Comanche language dub and subtitle option.
While not its main focus, Prey will also touch upon the larger theme of colonialism. "I don't want to speak too much of this. I want to make sure that I let the movie speak for itself," he said. "But yes, those are French fur trappers [in the trailer]. Right. And, and they do play a significant role in the movie."
Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, the first Predator released in 1987, earning close to $100 million at the box office off a $18 million budget. It received mixed reviews upon its release but eventually came to be known as one of the most iconic action films of all time, spawning three sequels, two crossover films with the Alien franchise and now a prequel in Prey.
Source: Empire
