Amph In Town With a Few Days to Kill: The Prey-dator Discussion Thread

It looks like it could be good, though I'm not in love with how the Predators look in this style of animation.

The writing will save it or sink it. If it's just a blood bath, then alas. If it has some cool characters and lore, then joy.

 

She's a Synthetic. Her eyes have the Wayland-Yutani logo.

Which means this is an AvP film, even if the Xenos aren't in it.

 

I think the tied back "dreads" look is bad. Just doesn't look right to me. The Predator look is something Trachtenberg keeps messing with, to my displeasure.

But, I think the movie looks potentially great.

 

Carrying on the tradition of trophy case crossover Easter egg skulls:

 

They started with the reddish tint in "Prey".




This looks to be taking it further. No idea about the gender of the Predator. I assumed it was a teenager, but a female is also possible. We'll see.

 

Wonder if the planet is the same from Predators?

 

Could be.

I would like that idea if it expands the lore in an interesting way.

One thing I noticed is that these Predators seem to all have the thinner "dreads" like the "Feral Predator". Could be another offshoot clan. We'll see.

 

Whoops! Missed that part of your comment.

 

Trachtenberg talks influences and other details via Bloody Disgusting.

“One of the cool things about the movie is that we’re on Yautja Prime—there’s a lot in this movie from the extended universe.” This is a futuristic Predator sequel with laser grappling hooks and “shinier” technology, built from the ground up. Dek’s spoken Yautja language was developed by the mentee of the fellow who invented Avatar’s Na’vi dialect. “We insanely decided to treat [the language] properly like [Elvish] for Lord of the Rings or [Dothraki] for Game of Thrones, except for those there’s more precedent.”
..
“The cool [thing about] what we’re doing is digital effects are meant to match the suit, not match creature flesh.“ WETA worked tirelessly to make Dek and other Predators feel amazingly lifelike yet fantastical, unlike the head-to-toe animation when you see computer-generated Gollum from Lord of the Rings or other fully rendered aliens. “That kind of [animated] flesh is different than a suit, so [our] face perfectly blends in and matches that suit quality—hopefully it looks like real material.“
..
An action sequence follows between Dek and his Yautja brother—training battleground stuff—followed by Dek’s prideful desire to select Kalisk as his hunting ground, known as the “Death Planet,“ where he’s to prove his unsupportive father wrong. Dek’s ultimately fighting for acceptance in his own clan, with his own bloodline, and if his fight with Kalisk’s first challenge says anything—where he defends against an onslaught of forest murder vines—Dek is a formidable warrior with everything to prove.
...
Trachtenberg’s list of influences on Predator: Badlands will have action diehards salivating. “There’s a Frank Frazetta, Conan the Barbarian, Spartan thing … but also you think of The Book of Eli or Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior … Shane, [very] western, very Clint Eastwood-y.“ Dek even starts to resemble Conan or Drax the Destroyer later on.
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“As inspired as I am by movies, I’ve been very inspired by video games [like] Shadow of the Colossus, where you have a protagonist paired with someone else who provides color and connection. There’s a thing with a horse in Shadow of the Colossus that’s devastating when you play the game. And so [Predator: Badlands] was a little bit inspired by that in terms of wanting to see the Predator with someone else, this character who’s the opposite of him. He’s very laconic, [Fanning] is not. She’s capable in ways that he is not. Physically, she’s got a real thing that I’m so excited for you guys to see. But I want to let eventually some of that speak for itself.”

While this is a standalone Predator entry, Trachtenberg still can’t help throwing Easter Eggs in to appease franchise fans. Early in the film, Dek is cycling through holograms, or there’s a trophy case that’ll be worth a giggle. Humans being so low on the competition ranking alone has its comedic appeal. Oh, and no, that’s not a Starship Troopers nod, even though it looks like one (we tried).​

We also get some names:

The lead Predator, called Dek, he describes as the runt of the alien hunter litter ..Dek works alongside Thia (Elle Fanning), a synthetic.​

 

Indeed!

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