How The Original Predator’s Billy Inspired New Prey Prequel Movie

How The Original Predator's Billy Inspired New Prey Prequel Movie

Director Dan Trachtenberg opens up about how the original Predator’s Billy character inspired the new Prey prequel movie and its Native character.

Dan Trachtenberg is taking the Predator franchise back to its roots with the Prey prequel movie and had one major inspiration from the original film for doing so. Arnold Schwarzenegger led the debut outing of the action franchise as the leader of an Army rescue team that heads into a Central American jungle and is hunted down by the titular alien race. Though seeing mixed reviews upon its release, subsequent reception to Predator has been largely positive and the film’s box office success spawned multiple sequels and two crossovers with the Alien franchise.

Prey marks the latest chapter in the Predator franchise, taking the story back to the 1700s in the Great Plains and centering on Naru, a member of the Comanche Nation who desires to be seen as a powerful hunter in her tribe. When her people come under attack from the highly-evolved Predator race, Naru will have to rise up and utilize her fierce warrior skills to save those she loves. Legion star Amber Midthunder leads the cast of Prey as Naru alongside Dakota Beavers, Dane DiLiegro, Stormee Kipp, Michelle Thrush and Julian Black Antelope.

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Related: Prey Already Looks So Much Better Than Past Predator Sequels

In a recent interview with Empire (via Bloody Disgusting), Dan Trachtenberg broke down the development of Prey. The director recalled how a major scene from the original Predator regarding Billy served as a major inspiration for the new prequel movie as it “captured my imagination” for a Native-led battle with the alien hunter. See what Trachtenberg explained below:

“In third grade, I was on the way to a karate tournament with these [older kids] who had seen [Predator], and over the entire trip they described the whole movie. I vividly remember them saying there was this character, Billy [Sonny Landham], a Native American scout who fights the Predator on the bridge over a waterfall. That image captured my imagination. I wanted to shift the focus to someone who would normally be a sidekick. In Predator, Billy was just one of the men on the team. In Prey, we’re watching someone lead this movie that has never led this type of movie before.”

Predator Billy scene that inspired Prey story

Given Trachtenberg has promised the Prey prequel movie will be going back to the roots of the original Predator movie, Sonny Landham’s Billy Sole is sure to come as a promising source of inspiration for fans of the series. Though given minimal dialogue in the 1987 film, Billy has since become a fan-favorite character in the franchise for his stoic nature and the iconic scene in which he elects to stay back to confront the Predator head on with nothing but his machete. Billy’s plan in the original Predator may not have panned out for him, but with it having inspired Trachtenberg for Prey, it looks to be panning out for fans of the franchise.

Previous trailers for the Prey prequel movie have pointed towards Trachtenberg’s efforts to recapture the spirit of the original Predator film, losing much of the grand spectacle of the various sequels for a grittier, survivalist fight between Naru and the alien hunter. Trachtenberg has also previously offered insight for how he sought to bring real stakes to the film, losing the Predator’s iconic plasma caster in order to create a thrilling battle without an “instant win” button. The wait for Prey is nearly over as the film is hitting Hulu on August 5.

More: Prey Pays Off The Original Predator Movie’s Demon Tease

Source: Empire (via Bloody Disgusting)

Prey/Predator 5 (2022)Release date: Aug 05, 2022

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Grant Hermanns
(1960 Articles Published)

Grant Hermanns is a News Writer, Interviewer and Hiring Manager for Screen Rant, having joined the team in early 2021. Way back in 2015 while still in his college days, Grant got his start in the entertainment journalism industry with creator-friendly site Moviepilot until it shuttered nearly three years later. From there he joined the staff at ComingSoon.net and was its Associate Editor prior to coming over to Screen Rant.

To say he’s a lover of film and television would be an understatement and when he’s not mass consuming either you can find him exploring the world of Dungeons & Dragons with friends or slowly making his way through his gaming backlog.

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