When it comes to breathing new life into a flagging franchise that was running on fumes, examples don’t come much better than Dan Trachtenberg’s Prey, which has been winning rave reviews from critics and audiences all weekend, reinventing the stagnant Predator universe in blistering fashion.
While a direct continuation following Amber Midthunder’s Naru wouldn’t make a great deal of narrative sense (unless it’s a second Predator looking for revenge), the door has been opened to the mouthwatering idea of future installments taking place in different times during human history, sticking to the template by Prey but freshening it up each time.
The man inside the alien interloper’s costume already admitted he’d love to throw down with some samurai in the future, and wouldn’t you know it, that’s exactly what the public is demanding to see should Prey end up spawning a multi-film saga of its own.
Even the thought of a feudal Japanese-set Predator pitting an intergalactic trophy hunter against a band of noble sword-wielding warriors sounds awesome, but it is maybe too obvious? Nobody could have predicted that a story set in 1719 tracing a sole Comanche warrior battling against the sci-fi icon was exactly what the IP needed, but here we are.
In the end, it’s likely up to Trachtenberg, because you’d imagine Disney and 20th Century Studios will be knocking on his door fairly shortly to see what other tricks he’s got up his sleeve, so those fingers for Predator vs. samurai should definitely remain crossed for the time being.