The Predator franchise has gone through quite an evolution in recent years. The franchise debuted in 1987 and provided a symbolic analysis of patriotic terrorism and toxic masculinity. Today, women and people of color are featured more prominently throughout the franchise, with serious character development and intense fight scenes that have only improved with the technological advancements Hollywood has made in the interim.
The Predator (2018) would feature intense gunfights, a new kind of Predator, and plenty of comedy to lighten the film’s tone. Prey (2022) would take a more serious tone. Focusing on one young Comanche woman, the film would take a moderately slower pace to make the action sequences carry more weight. Given the film’s setting, the use of firearms was reasonably limited. Both films attempt to build the franchise’s legacy in different ways, but here we will analyze which is the superior modern entry.
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Main Character
Hulu
While there was ample focus on the extensive ensemble for The Predator (2018), the lead character was Quinn McKenna, a U.S. Marine who had managed to defeat a Predator at the beginning of the film. He would send pieces of the Yautja battle armor to his home to expose evidence of alien life. The U.S. government would work to silence Quinn, arresting him and writing him off as a lunatic. Quinn would prove resourceful in his battle to survive, as well as displaying his leadership skills as he leads a unit of former Marines to save his neurodivergent son from the dangers of the Predator.
Naru would take the lead role in Prey (2022). Unlike its predecessor, this film would solely focus on Naru, a young woman looking to prove herself as a hunter in her Comanche tribe. This role is not traditionally given to women, leading to plenty of tension between Naru and the other hunters. As Naru seeks to hunt that which hunts her, she encounters a Yautja hunter who is hunting the wildlife and any armed human that comes its way. Naru would prove to be more than adept at using her surroundings and strategizing with the Predator’s weapons and the tools she crafted for herself. This intellect, along with her determination and tenacity, sets Naru up well to be one of the most beloved protagonists in the franchise, despite her very recent entry. Amber Midthunder has even earned praise from the original cast for her role.
Predator
20th Century Fox
There are two Predators featured in The Predator (2018). One is the hunter that Quinn defeats at the beginning of the film. We would also see “Predator Hounds,” used in the film to hunt down the hunter’s armor that Quinn’s son had used as a Halloween costume. The featured Predator would be introduced roughly halfway through the film. This Predator would have a large stature and prove much more powerful, having been experimented on with its genetic makeup now, including human DNA and potentially the DNA of other alien species. This Predator would be ruthless, murdering most of the human cast after giving them a head start. They may not have much screen time, but they are impactful when they’re on-screen.
Naru’s Predator has been redesigned to fit the time of 1719, prominently featuring an animal’s skull as a trophy. While the setting is around 300 years in the past, this Yautja still has plenty of advanced tech to take into battle. For the most part, the code of honor is still adhered to, with the Predator refusing to kill an unarmed opponent as long as they are not actively in combat. This Predator would not discriminate their kills, but many audience members appreciated the cinematic decision to preserve the bloodiest murders for the colonizers. Naru’s Predator had more screen time but was mainly used as an obstacle in Naru’s development. While Quinn’s Super Predator lacked significant screen time, they displayed personality and added to the lore of the Yautja species.
Human Enemies
The original film, Predator (1987), would depict foreign insurgents as the human enemies. These enemies were treated as mere cannon fodder, being mowed down by Dutch and his crew. In the case of The Predator (2018), the human enemies would be the U.S. government itself. Concerning considering, the main characters are members of the U.S. Marines. Led by Will Traeger, the government agents would seek to stop Quinn and company from exposing the existence of alien life to the public as well as trying to capture the Predators for further study.
The human enemies in Prey (2022) would be the French colonizers that had come to take land from Naru’s Comanche tribe. Outside of one sympathizer, the colonizers would treat Naru and her tribe as savages and were quick to use Naru as bait for the Predator that had been killing their people. More often than not, the human enemies are treated as cannon fodder for the Predators, but, interestingly, the enemies in both films carried cultural analysis with them. One would feature the U.S. government turning its back on its own soldiers. The other would show the colonizers committing villainous acts that history has long ignored.
Importance to the Franchise
When this franchise started 35 years ago, one would be hard-pressed to have guessed that it would reach the heights it has today. The franchise’s lore constantly expands thanks to supplementary content such as video games, comic books, and crossover films with the Aliens franchise. The Predator (2018) would seek to set up future story elements with the revelation that the Predators were splicing their DNA with other species. Deeming humanity to be doomed due to climate change, a sect of Predators is attempting to farm humanity for their DNA at an accelerated rate, likely due to humanity’s many successes in combat with the Yautja and the evolving state of humanity. Other sects of Yautja disagree with this and attempt to help humanity level the playing field, gifting a set of armor that Quinn declares he would train in for a future battle.
Prey (2022) would work in the opposite direction. Acting as the first film chronologically, we would see what we could presume to be the beginning of the Yautja’s fascination with the planet of Earth. However, seeds would also be planted for future films in earlier settings, with Naru taking a trophy from the Predator after defeating them. She would take a flintlock pistol. This pistol would be the same kind that is gifted to Mike Harrigan in Predator 2 (1990). Which leaves the question of how did the Yautja get the pistol back? And is it because Naru took the pistol that the Yautja gifted Mike with it in the first place? Because they believe humans value trophies just as much as they do? Seeing as the Predators did return for their fallen comrade in Predator 2 (1990), one has to believe that someone will return for Naru’s Predator soon. Perhaps a Comanche tribe versus Yautja hunting party is in the franchise’s future.
