Prey’s Easter Eggs & Predator References

Prey has a number of references and Easter eggs that relate to the Predator franchise, especially the first two movies. Directed by Dan Trachtenberg and starring Amber Midthunder as a Comanche warrior named Naru, Prey is the first prequel in the Predator franchise and the first to feature a female lead. Prey is set 300 years before the events of 1987’s Predator, which set up the standard of tropes that have helped define the creature, including its signature weapons, mannerisms, sounds, and tactics. Still, while there’s a considerable time gap, there are plenty of Predator Easter eggs in Prey.

Although Prey takes place centuries earlier, there are a number of callbacks and references to both Predator and 1990’s Predator 2 – the latter of which introduced more weapons, technology, and tropes, as well as a signature pistol that ties the entire franchise together. Prey capitalizes on the familiar aspects of both films, while also creating its own identity in a fitting prequel story set centuries earlier that pays proper respect to the overall franchise. Prey has its own bag of tricks in terms of fleshing out the infamous Predator, but it did so while paying homage to its roots with a treasure-trove of Predator Easter eggs

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Predator 2’s Flintlock Pistol

An Iconic Prop Continues Its Franchise Journey

Among the many Prey Easter eggs, none are more blatant than the flintlock pistol, which isn’t just a homage to earlier Predator movies, but a cameo from a key iconic prop of the franchsise. The 1715 flintlock pistol that Naru steals in Prey from the trappers has the same inscription as the one given to Danny Glover’s character by an Elder Predator in Predator 2.

This inscription reads “Raphael Adolini 1715,” and its story has since been told in comic book form. Raphael Adolini was revealed to be a pirate captain who gifted a Predator the pistol with his dying breath, saying, “take it,” the same line repeated to Glover’s character in Predator 2. This is the biggest Easter egg in Prey by far, as it connects the movie to the entire Predator franchise, although it’s unclear if any future appearances will acknowledge the comic origin of the pistol or if they will treat Prey as the true beginning of its journey.

Predator’s “If It Bleeds, We Can Kill It” Line

A Callback To A Franchise-Defining Line Of Dialogue

It’s not only paying homage to key shots or including iconic props like the Predator 2 flintlock pistol that keeps Prey tied to its franchise roots. One of the most vital Prey Easter eggs when it comes to the tone of the 2022 prequel is a line of dialogue. While captured and being used as bait, Naru tells her brother Taabe that she doesn’t know if the Predator can be killed. Taabe then repeats the famous line said by Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch in his one Predator movie: “If it bleeds, we can kill it.” This is an Easter egg nod to the Predator movie, and one of the most-repeated lines of any movie ever.

Schwarzenegger’s Mud Camouflage And Tree Hiding Spot

Naru’s Tactics Mirror Dutch’s Commando Training In Predator

Naru may not have quoted Predator’s Dutch in Prey, but she does copy several of his tricks during her battle with the deadly extraterrestrial hunter. Specifically, she borrows a particularly effective camoflague tactic Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch used in one of the most iconic scenes in 1987’s Predator. When Naru initially discovers the mud pit in the forest in Prey, she is sucked into it, nearly drowning.

She uses her tomahawk with attached rope to pull herself out, covered in mud and looking very much like Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch from the first Predator when he discovers that mud can be used to camouflage himself from the creature. The tree branches that Naru rests against after she pulls herself out create a near-perfect reference to Dutch covered in mud and blending in with the branches to hide from the Predator after escaping the waterfall.

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The Predator’s Skull Trophy Taxidermy Practice

The Predator Prequel Doesn’t Ignore The Lore

One of the best Predator Easter-eggs in Prey was almost a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment, but it went a long way toward establishing the continuity of the franchise. The Predator in Prey looks quite different from previous iterations. That’s why the practice of taking skull trophies appearing in Prey was so important – it establishes that, despite some aesthetic differences, the beast in Prey is of the same species seen in Predator and its sequels.

In both the first and second of the Predator movies, the process of melting off the flesh of a skull to turn it into a highly polished trophy is shown in grotesque detail, and Prey also features this tradition. A flesh-melting mist is used on a wolf head, showing the flesh dissolving until a skull is all that remains. This is a common practice as referenced in most of the Predator movies but is far more intricate in the first two. That would make sense as the Predators likely became more fond of their Earth trophies over time and learned how to display them with more polish.

Predator First Aid Kit – Prey’s Creature Treats Its Wounds

Weapons Aren’t The Only Impressive Alien Technology Present

The Predator is such an iconic sci-fi horror villain in part because of its unique hi-tech weaponary. However, it isn’t limited to an offensive advantage, as it has a number of other futuristic tools that make it such a dangerous adversary for the likes of Naru in Prey or Dutch in Predator. A common trope in the Predator franchise is to show the Predator treat its wounds with its alien first aid kit. In the first Predator, the creature treats a bullet wound while sitting in a tree, using tools that look familiar, while injecting itself with some kind of substance.

This continued in the Predator sequels, and returned in Prey. In 1990’s Predator 2, the creature treats itself when Danny Glover’s character cuts off its arm, sealing the wound while using an apartment bathroom in L.A., even making a paste out of crushed tiles. In Prey, the creature simply takes a moment to inject itself with a needle and then seal a cut across its leg, a proper reference to the earlier Predator films. Much like the skull trophies, the healing serum was an important moment of continuity with more significane than first seems, even if it’s one of the subtler Predator Easter eggs.

Setting Booby Traps To Outsmart The Predator

Naru’s traps aren’t as immersive and robust as they are in the original Predator film, but she makes a concerted effort to construct a few. One of those includes some sharp spikes carved out of wood, which is an Easter egg referencing one of the same things Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch used in the ending of the original Predator. Naru also uses human bait, capturing a trapper and cutting off his leg while giving him a weapon to lure the Predator in. In Predator, Dutch uses himself as bait at one point, which springs the first of his booby traps. In Prey, Naru similarly uses her wits and skills to create a carefully woven trap for the Predator that spells its doom.

Escape Through Water

Naru Copies The Recurring Predator Trope

Naru’s initial meeting with the Predator in Prey also came with an intriguing Predator Easter egg. Specifically, Naru likely survived because she’d just used one of the most inexplicably effective ways to escape the alien hunter – crossing a body of water. When Naru attempts to hunt and kill a brown bear, she ends up having to escape it, swimming into a beaver den where the bear gives chase. The Predator appears and kills the bear, which is Naru’s first time seeing it.

The Predator sees her as well, but before it can capture her, Naru jumps into the river and makes a clean getaway by floating down the current. This water escape in Prey is a reference to both Dutch’s escape in 1987’s Predator when he slides off a cliff into a waterfall and again in 2010’s Predators when the main characters jump off a waterfall to escape pursuing Predator hunters.

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A Torch In The Dark

Prey Emulates One of Predator’s Most Famous Scenes

This Prey Easter egg is one of the easiest to spot, as it’s a direct homage to one of the most iconic and memorable moments in Predator. At the end of the original Predator, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch finishes setting up his traps for the Predator, covers himself in mud, and prepares to set a fire that will lure the creature to him. In one of the most iconic scenes, he lights up a torch and gives a barbaric yell before tossing the torch in order to light a bigger fire.

This moment has become synonymous with the original 1987 movie, and the 2022 prequel paid tribute in a way that was both fan-pleasing and made sense for the plot without feeling forced. In Prey, Naru and her fellow Comanche warriors are seen carrying torches that look very similar to the one Dutch had, although they are using them to light their way home in the dark, not to lure in an alien from another world. It’s a small, clever Easter egg and hat tip to the original Predator.

Predator Legacy Weapons

The Double-Blade Gauntlet, Three-Dot Laser, And More Make A Return

The weapons and technology of the Predator race are a major aspect of its culture, as well as the franchise, and Prey takes a unique approach to referencing them. The familiar weapons include the double-bladed gauntlet that’s seen in every Predator film, as well as the retracting spear and netting, which made their debut in Predator 2 and were later featured in other films, including the first Alien vs. Predator crossover movie.

Plus, while there is no plasma cannon in Prey, there is a projectile launcher that’s similar, with the Predator using the three-dot laser from its helmet to target its prey, a clear reference to the common franchise staple. The Predator also has the countdown gauntlet with the red-glowing tics that lead to an explosion when activated, although in Prey the explosives launch from within as smaller devices.

Prey

Release Date

August 5, 2022

Director

Dan Trachtenberg

Writers

Patrick Aison