Prey sequel: Dan Trachtenberg hints that there are some exciting ideas cooked up if it gets greenlit

Last Updated on August 24, 2023

The Predator series has made numerous attempts to recapture the magic of the 1987 original starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and directed by John McTiernan. Fans are divided on Predator 2 in reception, even though most agree it doesn’t top the first film. Then, down the line, audiences were offered a double dose of Alien vs. Predator, before trying to explore different aspects with Predators and The Predator. As the titles alone suggest, there’s only so much you can do with the concept. Enter Dan Trachtenberg’s Prey which brought the series back to basics and had the creature square off against a Native American woman in a period film.

Prey went straight to the streaming service Hulu, although many fans professed it would have made for an exciting theatrical experience. The film would even earn Emmy nominations, including one for Outstanding Television Movie. With the positive reception, The Playlist would inquire in an interview with Trachtenberg if a sequel was ever in the running. Trachtenberg teases, “I can’t really say anything about that right now, but I’ll say while we were finishing the movie, we were having really exciting conversations. The studio, myself, the writer, and the producers about what crazy things could we do next. And I’ve never stopped, no one stopped thinking about how cool things could be going forward.”

No word has yet been followed up since the movie’s release. Trachtenberg notes that he approached the film as if it wasn’t meant to play on a small screen, “I was in denial about that, that it was for streaming. I don’t even know that I would think it’s for streaming anyway and shoot that, the studio was in denial. No one was thinking, ‘Oh, let’s make a concession for streaming.’ Maybe there may have been, I don’t know. But even when I’ve done commercials that I know and people say, ‘Oh, it’s people looking on their iPhone.’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, we watched movies on our iPhone that were shot, we have to treat it all as if it was the best version of itself.'”

The interviewer then asks if the sequel would actually aim for a cinema release after the success of the first, Trachtenberg coyly replied, “No comment. I answered the question. Somewhat answered part of the question. Got to allow me that. [Laughs.]”

Prey is currently available on Hulu and also on Disney+ outside of the U.S.