Prey Director Claims His Arnold Schwarzenegger’s $98M Prequel is Like a R-Rated Disney Princess Movie for a Surprising Reason
The first Predator movie was released in 1987 and in addition to its three sequels, it also has a prequel named Prey. Arnold Schwarzenegger starrer Predator is a sci-fi action anthology franchise that depicts deadly battles between humans and Yautja which is an alien enemy that is on its mission to annihilate the human race.
While the last sequel of the franchise The Predator was directed by Shane Black, the prequel Prey was directed by Dan Trachtenberg. The latter director took a risk with Prey as he made it look like an R-rated Disney princess and thankfully, his idea worked because the movie is considered to be the best in the entire franchise.
Dan Trachtenberg’s Reasoning for Making Prey Resonate with Disney
Dan Trachtenberg admittedly took a risk with Prey. The movie was made to resonate with Disney princess movies and the similarities are evident. The director has said that the movie is like an R-rated Disney princess movie considering how Amber Midthunder’s character Naru is like the lead characters of the Disney movies Mulan and Moana. He explained his reasoning for doing so, saying:
Honestly, the biggest help was the script being so focused. I’ve worked on big time travel movies and heist films, and those things can be so complicated. And this movie was so elemental at its core that even before Fox-Disney merger happened, I kept on saying it’s like an R-rated Disney princess film. It’s like a Pixar movie. Movies about dreamers and underdogs. So it just kind of was stirring and moving, and then it being more affordable relatively speaking for the genre, because we’re shooting largely on location and not building giant sets, and we can be economical and smart about when visual effects are used.
Naru’s dedication to proving herself as a hunter and ultimately, safeguarding her homeland and people from a humanoid alien that kills humans for sport is likened to the intentions of the Disney princesses like Moana and Mulan who also fought tooth and nail to protect what is theirs. So, Trachtenberg was right to attribute the movie to a Disney one.
Prey‘s Success Has Paved the Way for Its Sequel
Set 100 years prior to the first Predator movie, Prey was released as a Hulu original film in August 2022. The movie was also released on Disney+ Hotstar in Southeast Asian countries. Upon its release, it was the most-viewed premiere on Hulu in the US.
Critics did not hold back when it came to praising the movie. Wendy Ide of The Observer noted that besides being an entity on its own, the movie also “stays true to the essence of the original – stylishly violent, stickily graphic, impossibly tense”.
Before the film’s release, director Trachtenberg indicated that the movie might get additional installments while also stating that the developers intend to make something that is original and has not been made before. Considering the favorable reviews and viewership, a sequel might already be in the works.
Source: Vanity Fair
