Prey Movie: Unsolved Questions Of The New Chapter Of The Predator Saga
Prey Movie has brought the Predator franchise back to the limelight, conquering space in the schedule of Hulu the streaming service of the entertainment giant. After years of productions related to the not exactly convincing franchise, to put it mildly, Dan Trachtbenberg ‘s film has the merit of presenting itself to fans with a story that, while not shining for originality, entertains and shows a clash between men and Yautja exciting and adrenaline. The good response that Prey is having with viewers seems to indicate that the Predator saga is about to embark on a rebirth, a potential that could shed light on some unsolved questions of Prey.
The adventure of the young Naru (Amber Midthunder) has moved the timeline of the saga back in time, contrary to the contemporary setting tradition of the other films, presenting itself as a prequel to the first Predator. This made Prey a chronological starting point, but as we will see, it placed the film in a precarious adherence to continuity, which can only be resolved through subsequent chapters (or series, given the presence of Hulu). But for now, there are still many unsolved questions after Prey’s vision.
Prey Movie: What Happened To The Predator Ship?
The question we all asked ourselves: what happened to the ship Yautja? Appearing at the beginning of Prey to show us the arrival of the Predator, this vessel has completely disappeared from the rest of the film after the Feral Predator began its hunt.
This absence can be motivated by the presence of a self-pilot, who once the hunter’s landing is completed returns the alien vessel to its native world, or continues its route with other hunters on board, taking them to their respective destinations. Alternatively, more Yautja may be present on the ship as a crew, which could suggest that other Predators are waiting to confront the Comanche tribe, to avenge the fallen companion.
Is The Feral Predator The First Yautja To Visit Earth?
By setting Prey in 1719, Trachtenberg made the Naru-starring film a prequel to Predator, but did he also talk about the first encounter between humans and Predator? Before Prey, the chronology of the franchise’s events had confirmed encounters the incident of Val Verde (Predator), the attack on Los Angeles (Predator 2), the Weyland Expedition (Alien Vs. Predator), the Gunnison Massacre (Alien Vs. Predator: Requiem), the hunting planet (Predators) and the fugitive Predator incident (The Predator).
Following this chronology, Alien Vs Predator (2008) tells how the Predators had chosen Earth as their hunting ground for millennia as demonstrated by the amazing discovery of the Weyland Expedition in 2004. In this sense, the Feral Predator does not seem to be the first Yautja to arrive in our world.
Why Doesn’t The Predator Have A Plasma Cannon?
The traditional weapon of the Yautja since the first Predator, the plasma cannon, familiarly renamed ‘parrot’ due to its position on a shoulder, did not appear in Prey. An absence that many fans have poorly digested, but which has its legitimacy, also specified by director Dan Trachtenberg:
“The first thing I wanted to get rid of was the plasma cannon. It was like providing the Predator with a game of victory. Instead, I wanted the fight to be as exciting as possible, without depriving him of all his advantages of him. He won’t have all the gadgets we’ve seen in previous films in the franchise, but he’ll have new toys that the public will like. “
Given the historical setting, almost three hundred years before Predator, Trachtenberg’s idea was to present a Predator that, while technologically superior to the Comanche, was not as advanced as the Yautja of the future.
Why Doesn’t Naru Prey On The Predator’s Equipment?
Much of Prey’s narrative structure is based on comparing the Feral Predator’s hunting style with Naru’s. Where the first can rely on technologically advanced tools, the other relies on instinct and rudimentary but effective weapons, a dichotomy that in the film’s ending is resolved with the victory of Naru, who uses one of the Yautja’s weapons with wit. The presence of this lethal arsenal should have represented a wealth for the young Comanche, who prefers to carry the alien’s head as a trophy but does not take his weapons as war spoils, one of Prey’s biggest questions. Although he has shown that he does not need this futuristic endowment to defeat the Yautja, it seems hardly credible that Naru did not want to take the opportunity to have a powerful arsenal against the enemies of his tribe, as well as potential other Yautja.
How Will The Predators Get Andolini’s Gun?
Fans of the franchise soon recognized Rafael Andolini’s famous flintlock pistol in Prey, the trophy with which the Yautja honored Mike Hannigan (Danny Glover) in Predator 2. This weapon is considered one of the strong points of Predator’s chronology, thanks to having engraved a precise date on the handle (1715) and having appeared in a comic story, Predator: 1718, in which its origin was explained.
The question now remains as to how the Predators of 1997 could have had this weapon, making the presence of the weapon in Prey one of the most complex questions of the saga. In the Predator comic: 1718, Captain Rafael Andolini 1718 was a pirate, who during a raid found a treasure owned by a church. Andolini wants to make it, but the crew mutini and tries to kill him during a stop on an island. Here a Predator sees Andolini facing his crew and considers him a valid prey, but as he is about to face him, he finds himself instead joining him as his crew attacks him there. After the battle, Andolini and the Predator are about to duel, but a sailor hits Andolini from behind, mortally wounding him. The Predator, after killing the sailor, reaches the dying Andolini, who gives him his weapon saying, “Take it”, a gesture considered a gift from one hunter to another. Same phrase with which the gun was given to Harrigan in Predator 2.
The presence of this weapon in Prey is due, as confirmed by the director, not to the desire to create a fixed point in the continuity of the saga when to create a real Predator 2 easter egg:
“The flintlock pistol that appears in the film, the Predator 2 weapon, does not come from our warehouse, as a toolmaker looked for it but could not be found. The only way he was able to find it is via YouTube, where he saw a fan making reruns of it, and he saw it on a shelf behind her. So, he contacted her and we got the gun, it was practically given to us by a fan of the saga”
Net of this daring story, the presence of the ‘flintlock pistol’ can be accepted as part of the continuity of the saga, aware that the short comic story Predator: 1718, contained in the anthology A Decade of Dark Horse, has never been expressly declared canonical. This, however, still leaves the question of how this weapon arrived in Predator 2 ‘s Yautja armory. But given the presence of this weapon in other chapters of the saga, we can assume that this mystery will probably be revealed in the future, or it will remain one of Prey’s unsolved questions.
Will We See Naru Against The Predators Again?
Prey ends with the victory of Naru, who could become a key figure in the franchise. Considering the tradition of the Yautja not to leave unpunished those who defeat their fellowman, as told in other media, one would wonder if the companions of the Feral Predator will return to demand revenge on the Great Planes. The ending of Prey is one of the unsolved questions of the film, as it shows a final sequence that, taking up the pictorial style typical of the Indians, tells of the battle of the Comanche against the Yautja, but in this drawing, there are two alien ships. While fans want to see in this detail a sign of a possible follow-up for Prey, director Dan Trachtenberg has made no secret of his hopes:
“The nerd in me was looking as far forward as he could before we started writing this movie, but the adult in me was like, “Don’t get carried away and be cautious. Try to make the best movie possible, straight to the goal. ‘Leaving aside the sequence of the credits, something is consoling in seeing a film that is not just the first part of something else, there is something beautiful in seeing a complete thought. On the other hand, I love it that what should have been a post-credit scene in other films is an animated sequence in our film. Our ending is pure storytelling.”
