All The Predator Series Easter Eggs In Prey
The last few years haven't been great for legacy sequels, but Dan Trachtenberg absolutely knocked it out of the park with "Prey," the prequel film of the "Predator" franchise. Set in 1719, the film centers on a young Comanche woman named Naru (Amber Midthunder) whose desire to become a hunter is put to the ultimate test when her tribe becomes the target of the ultimate Predator as it hunts them all for sport.
The film debuted last week on Hulu to massive acclaim, and has become Hulu's most watched premiere of any new release, ever. It makes sense, as "Prey" is a highly anticipated addition to a beloved franchise, but the promise of brutality and the history-making inclusion of authentic Indigenous representation was more than enough of a reason to get people to tune in. The hype is real with "Prey," which is not only a fantastic film in its own right, but a pitch-perfect addition to the "Predator" franchise.
We went on a little Easter egg hunt through the movie for you, and here are the ways "Prey" paid homage (or canonically speaking, foreshadowed) the latter "Predator" films.
Memorable Predator lines
Okay, admit it, you love it when a sequel or remake has a character repurpose a famous line from the original. Given the circumstances of "Prey," there wasn't a high probability of any of the characters dropping the oft-used, "You're one ugly..." you know the rest. Fortunately, "Prey" did find a way to incorporate not one, but two different memorable lines.
Toward the beginning of the film, Naru expresses to her brother Taabe (Dakota Beavers) that she's worried the Predator can't actually be stopped. It's the perfect set up for Taabe to deliver the line that Dutch would echo hundreds of years later: "If it bleeds, we can kill it." Canonically speaking, Taabe is the one who says the line first, so his influence was felt centuries later. Neat. Dutch is again referenced during Naru's final battle with the Predator alien, she tries to bait it into the trap she's set up by screaming, "Do it! Do it now!" Fortunately, Amber Midthunder delivers the line without sounding like every dude who has ever done a Schwarzenegger impression for the last three and a half decades.
Mud and tree camouflage
In one of the more clever Easter eggs in "Prey," Naru accidentally falls into a mud-filled bog pit that slowly tries to swallow her whole. Rather than succumb to the mud, Naru uses her rope attached tomahawk like a grappling hook, lodging it in the gnarled roots and broken branches of a fallen tree as a means to pull herself out. When she finally frees herself, covered head to toe in the mud, she rests for a moment on the tree, providing a near-perfect recreation of Dutch after he covered himself in mud to block his body temperature from the Predator's sensors, and using branches to keep himself hidden. This reference will have you in full Pointing Rick Dalton meme position.
Chest carving
In another visual reference, director Dan Trachtenberg and screenwriter Patrick Aison found a way to sneak in a reference to the character that inspired "Prey" into existence. In the original "Predator," tracker Billy Sole (Sonny Landham) cuts across his chest before diving into battle with the creature. His stand-off isn't actually seen in the movie, delivering a howling cry of pain and horror to indicate his death. In "Prey," after Taabe and Naru are held captive by the French fur trappers, one of the men cuts across Taabe's chest as a threat to Naru. While the intention behind the cuts are completely different, the visual of Taabe's chest cut is a clear homage to Billy Sole.
Skull collector
Every hobby has an origin story and it appears that the Predator has been collecting skulls longer than your grandpa has been collecting stamps. Both "Predator" and "Predator 2" show the creature melting the flesh and muscle off of a decapitated head to reveal a stunning trophy in all of its ooey-gooey glory, and "Prey" does the same with the head of a wolf and some super-powered alien mist. The habit of collecting kill trophies is not reserved to just the first two "Predator" films, but "Prey" clearly felt like channeling the graphic grossness of the early films, and we should all be thankful.
Franchise mainstays
It feels odd to call things that have consistently appeared throughout the course of a film series "Easter eggs," as if Michael Myers wearing the same white mask in the "Halloween" films is supposed to be a surprise. The technology of the Predator alien race (trivia Fact: They're called the Yautja) has always been advanced beyond our wildest imaginations, and "Prey" establishes that this has always been the case, but indicates that even the Yautja technology has evolved since 1719. The double-bladed gauntlet that has appeared in every "Predator" film makes an appearance as does the netting and retraction spear first seen in "Predator 2."
In an interesting twist, however, the memorable plasma cannon has been replaced by a different type of projectile launcher, but one that still utilizes the trademark three-dot laser. The red glowing wrist gauntlet also makes an appearance, but instead of a big explosion when activated, the "Prey" gauntlet launches explosives as smaller devices. I guess this is the iPod Shuffle version of the wrist gauntlet.
The 'Raphael Adolini 1715' flintlock pistol
In "Predator 2," Lieutenant Mike Harrigan (Danny Glover) is forced to deal with the Predator in 1997 Los Angeles. The creature manages to kill plenty, but he's no match for Mike Harrigan, who eventually takes the sucker out with its own throwing disc near its underground spacecraft. Shortly after, a group of Predators appear to retrieve the corpse of their fallen hunter. Fortunately, game recognizes game and instead of killing Harrigan, presents him with a trophy for his kill. Harrigan receives an antique flintlock pistol with Raphael Adolini 1715 etched onto the side.
Wouldn't you know it, but the gun belonged to the French fur trappers' translator Raphael Adolini (Bennett Taylor) as seen in "Prey," whom Naru encounters after she is captured. The trappers want to know everything Naru knows about the creature, but because she's no snitch, refuses to talk. The trappers try to use Naru and her brother as bait, but it fails miserably and the Predator wipes the floor, er, dirt with all of them. After Taabe and Naru escape, they discover a wounded but still alive Adolini, who offers up his pistol in exchange for medical assistance. We now know where the gun came from, but the question remains ... how did the Yautja get their hands on it 1997? Guess they better greenlight "Prey 2" so we can find out!