Prey, the upcoming prequel to Predator, looks like a unique spin on the iconic sci-fi/horror franchise. It will also break new ground by being the first feature film to release with a full Comanche language dub.
Prey is the upcoming prequel to the original Predator, the action/horror/sci-fi film that pitted a very muscular Arnold Schwarzenegger against an impressively effective alien trophy hunter. However, this time around, the titular antagonist will face off against the skilled warriors of the Native American Comanche tribe (and presumably bag a few colonisers along the way).
Prey is being directed by Dan Trachtenberg, who’s first film in the director’s chair was the impressive Cloverfield companion piece – Cloverfield Lane. He’s already demonstrated that he’s comfortable building on already established lore, and judging by the recently released trailer he’s right on the money again.
The 1700s setting is a clever choice to set a Predator film, as previous films in the franchise have explained the alien race of hunters are drawn to bloodshed; something very prevalent after European colonisers started turning up in the Americas.
Prey will focus on a number of characters from the Comanche tribe, particularly a young warrior named Naru. Trachtenberg has spoken how the creative team wanted to use the Comanche language from the start, but struggled to find the right balance between English and the Native American language.
The solution they settled on was to have the whole film recorded in both English and Comanche, giving viewers the freedom to choose. This does mean some viewers will see colonisers speaking in in dubbed Comanche…which might come across a little odd.
Nonetheless, Prey will be the first film to give Comanche speakers the chance to watch a whole feature film in their own language; something which is special no matter how you frame it.
As producer Jhane Myers explained:
“The language component’s very important because this will also be the first time that a film has been completely [dubbed]…You get the option of watching it in Comanche on a brand-new film.”
Prey is scheduled for release August 5, 2022 on Hulu (USA) and Disney+ (international).
