ComingSoon Editor-in-Chief Tyler Treese spoke with Prey director Dan Trachtenberg about the physical release of the Predator prequel. Trachtenberg discussed working with Amber Midthunder and making a story in the Predator canon. Prey is now available on 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD.
“Set in the Comanche Nation 300 years ago, Prey is the story of a young woman, Naru, a fierce and highly skilled warrior,” reads the movie‘s synopsis. “She has been raised in the shadow of some of the most legendary hunters who roam the Great Plains, so when danger threatens her camp, she sets out to protect her people. The prey she stalks, and ultimately confronts, turns out to be a highly evolved alien predator with a technically advanced arsenal, resulting in a vicious and terrifying showdown between the two adversaries.”
Tyler Treese: Congrats on Prey finally getting the physical release. Fans were asking for it and you campaigned for it — what does this mean for you? It’s so important that streaming projects get physical releases. What does it mean for you to finally have this happen?
Dan Trachtenberg: It’s awesome. It’s especially moving because it comes largely from the demand for it. Then, it also largely comes from the head of our studio, Steve Asbell, being a movie nerd. It really only comes from that person caring and also having lots of box sets on his own shelf and realizing, “Wait a second, the Predator box sets are going to be lacking if we don’t have a physical release of this one.” So yeah, it’s awesome.
Movie commentaries and special features were a huge part of learning filmmaking for me and they’re a big part of why I’m a director today. So it was an absolute joy to record a commentary with my fellow filmmakers and to dish out all these deleted scenes and show people some of the insides of how the movie was made. It was fun for me to do and certainly what I love having in other films.
It’s almost a bit of a throwback, because a lot of releases nowadays don’t really have many special features. Prey has the commentary track, as well as the alternate opening and deleted scenes — there’s a lot of great content on here. How was it, going that extra mile?
Yeah, as I said, so formative for me. I didn’t want to do the commentary just with Amber Midthunder and I didn’t want to do one just with our DP [director of photography] or editor. Growing up, I loved listening to commentaries. One of the big ones for me was Can’t Hardly Wait. That had the directors and the whole cast, and it was such a party and they were having such a good time, and that was as entertaining as the movie was. Then you have commentaries with filmmakers and their team and their cinematographer and their editor that are less of a party, but so much more informative of the process. So [I] really was excited to combine both concepts and have it be a hangout between us all. So you get to hear some camaraderie, the perspective of the movie from the actor, and also get the perspective of the technicians.
As, as you mentioned, this only came about because of the fandom and the reception to Prey. How was coming into such an iconic series? There’s so many defined elements and you’re playing within those confines, but you’re also trying to do something new. How is balancing all those elements together?
I think the balance comes from within. [Laughs]. I happen to be someone … the idea of the movie wasn’t, “Oh, I like Predator. I’d like to make one. Let me think of a Predator movie.” It came from an idea for a movie of a coming-of-age warrior trying to prove themselves up against the elements and some science fiction force. That was my desire of, “Could I do period and sci-fi?” But I didn’t want the sci-fi to feel like a hat on a hat. We’ve had some of those entries in cinema history past. Then I realized, “Oh my gosh, Predator, because of the thematic that it carries with it, that it’s looking for the alpha, and here’s this person.” No one in her band believes she’s capable, she thinks she is, and hopes she is, but she’s also trying to prove it to herself.
Then you have this crazy science fiction force that also discounts her and does not see her as a threat. So that all felt like, “Oh my God, it becomes more a more elevated movie, making it a Predator film.” Then I happened to be a massive Predator fan and it was hugely formative in my life. I love the movie and I love the franchise, so I was able to imbue it, intrinsically, with my own passion for the franchise. That’s where the authenticity comes from. And then the newness comes from it not solely existing just to be a Predator movie, that it exists to be this very character-focused grand adventure that the Predator is a part of.
Amber has done some great performances in the past, but Prey really has a star-making performance for her. She gets to show off her range and all of her skills here. What impressed you the most about her throughout filming?
One, her willingness and her attitude to involve herself in very challenging, hard things and never complaining. I complained about having to traverse treacherous territories and being out in the middle of nowhere. [Laughs] She loved it, and I think that shows in the movie. It doesn’t just show in her performance. It shows in the movie being of the quality that it is, because the atmosphere on a set is a big part of the execution of what we’re doing and Amber — and, frankly, all the actors. Dakota Beavers — amazing. Dakota had never been in a movie before and not only was he in this movie and did such a great job, he also performed his own stunts. I mean, it’s just insane what that guy brings to it.
The sequences that he’s involved in, even, are as good as they are because of what he’s doing. A lesser performer, we would’ve had to stage things a little differently to accommodate the capability, and that wasn’t the case with him and wasn’t the case with Amber and then on top of all the physicality, her emotional performance in action scenes. That’s what stirs me. One of my favorite movies is Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, and there’s a moment in that film at the end sequence when they’re boarding the other ship and there’s a kid that’s in the midst and he screams before charging into battle, and it’s so emotional. Amber does that kind of thing, that flavor, that intensity, throughout the movie, and makes you care so much more about the visceral action sequences.
Obviously, you’re a big fan of the franchise and it’s all story first. If you can come up with the right story, would you want to do something else in the Predator universe or do you feel like you scratched that itch with Prey?
The interesting thing is that I did scratch an itch with the movie, but I do think there are more itches to scratch, but it wouldn’t want to be the same one. I think there is more to do inside this genre and this franchise that is unexpected. That’s the thing that I would be the most excited about making.
The first thing I saw from you was your Portal fan film, and I love those two games. Is there any interest in broadening that into a feature down the line?
Maybe. That said, I did scratch an itch even just by making that, and then I’ll tell you what else scratched that itch — I don’t know if you saw the latest Dungeon & Dragons film had a Portal-esque sequence in it that was phenomenal in concept and in execution. And it wasn’t just one visual idea, it was a sequence really done well. So I think it sets a high bar if anyone’s going to now make the actual Portal film.
You have an episode of Stranger Things coming up — that’s one of my favorite shows. What’s most exciting to you to work within such an established series, especially when they’ve raised the stakes so high coming into this final season?
I’ve never done an episode of television before. I’ve primarily done pilots or worked on an anthology series. It’s very different than working in serialized storytelling, but Stranger Things is also one of my favorite shows, so dripping with all the elements that are important to me and from the time period to the genres it’s playing in to the themes it plays with. I love the Duffers and we certainly share a lot of sensibilities. In bringing up the kind of episode that I could be working in, it felt too hard to turn down and it’s the last season. This is a chance to be a part of something really rad and to express myself in ways that I might not get to working in the genres that I’ve been working in. Yeah man, I’m super, super stoked.
You mentioned pilots — you did the first episode of The Boys. What did it mean for you to set the tone and see the show just skyrocket from there?
It’s incredible. I think the show only got better and better. Season 2, especially, I think. I had nothing to do with Season 2 — it’s like there were elements that I established that really bore fruit throughout Season 1, then Season 2 was just so new, even for me. So I really got to watch it as a fan and absolutely loved it. Now it’s got its spin-off and it’s truly awesome to see.
There’s talk about the Waterworld TV show in development. Is that still being worked on? Is there any update you can share on that progress?
That, I wasn’t even really working on it when it was announced. I don’t know. I don’t know if it’s even still a thing. I have no idea. I love Waterworld so much — I will fight anyone that comes against it. I truly love it and, frankly, I think a video game sequel is the more exciting thing than a TV series, but maybe there’s something cool to do there, but yeah, I’m not really associated with it.
