Gear inspired by "God of War."
A surprising connection to "Predator 2."
Here's how "Prey" is rewarding fans on the hunt for Easter eggs.
Naru and her brother Taabe share a close sibling relationship.
Despite Taabe's apparent affection for his younger sister, he also doesn't seem to have
much faith in her capability as a hunter.
Though, one might see this more as a protective posture given that he doesn't want her in
harm's way.
Even still, everyone within Naru's tribe doubts her hunting prowess.
In the film's opening moments, Taabe is reminiscing his early hunting experiences with the family
while Naru scopes out a fresh kill.
Taabe, then quickly takes the kill and tells Naru that she was "sleeping," signaling that
she's hesitant to take her best shot.
She tells Taabe that she's been genuinely practicing her hunting technique and that
she's ready to hunt the big game – a mountain lion.
Her brother questions her with a serious look.
"You really think you're ready?
You want to hunt something that's hunting you?"
While the two are completely unaware of the real threat in the forest, it's a fun bit
of foreshadowing for the showdown to come.
There are not a lot of ways this film could include callbacks or references to the other
films simply because it's a prequel set at the earliest point in the franchise's chronology.
However, director Dan Trachtenberg and crew clearly saw moments where they could simply
allow themselves to be inspired by the "Predator" legacy.
One such moment occurs when Naru and Itsee are fleeing the Predator just after their
hunting party first meets the creature in all of its terrifying glory.
Naru heads into a field of tall grass and Itsee grabs her from his hiding spot and motions
for her to be quiet while silently telling her that he has eyes on the creature.
She then sees the Predator's targeting reticle on Itsee's forehead realizing that the Predator
sees him too.
She buys Itsee a few more seconds of life by causing the Predator to miss his target.
But of course, the Predator runs poor Itsee down in the field and guts him.
This scene is a direct homage to the moment in the original predator film that plays out
the same way between Dillon and Mac.
Mac believes he's in a prime hiding spot and quietly tells Dillon that he sees the creature
in the trees ahead and is ready to strike.
Unfortunately for Mac, the Predator sees him too.
Dillon isn't quick on the draw like Naru, so the Predator does deliver a killing blast
to Mac's dome using his targeting system.
When going up against a creature as horrific as the predator, it might seem like the fight
is hopeless.
Naru witnesses the Predator single-handedly kill a full-grown grizzly bear and then proceed
to lift the beast over its head in a moment of celebration over the kill.
She then sees the alien systematically slaughter the most skilled warriors in her tribe with
ease.
The Predator has all of the advantages.
For starters, the creature is hulking by nature.
Basic hand-to-hand combat is will almost certainly end badly for any human fighter.
It also has the deadliest, high-tech weaponry in the galaxy.
For much of this film, the Predator remains cloaked by its light-bending technology making
it nearly invisible to the naked eye.
Alongside its staple cloaking system, claws, and spear, the predator also has plenty of
deadly gadgets.
At one point in the film, fur trappers capture Naru and her brother and tie them to a tree
as bait for the creature.
The joke's on them, however, since the Predator ignores the sibling duo entirely.
During the chaos of the moment, Taabe suggests that he and his sister can bring it down.
Naru says that she doesn't think they can kill it.
Taabe responds,
"If it bleeds, we can kill it."
If you didn't pick up that line, then you should definitely rewatch the original movie.
The quote is one of the famous one-liners uttered by Arnold Schwarzenegger's Dutch in
the original film after being told the creature hunting his commandos was injured and leaving
blood behind on the leaves.
"If it bleeds we can kill it."
All of the "Predator" films have one thing in common.
The ending always boils down to a one-on-one fight with the alien hunter.
The first film famously pits the mercenary Dutch against the creature.
The sequel sees Danny Glover's Mike Harrigan take on the vicious alien in the urban sprawl
of Los Angeles.
In "Predators," the elite commando Royce takes on a Predator while stranded on an alien planet.
2018's "The Predator" ends with professional sniper Quinn Mckenna as the last man standing
in a fight with a super predator.
So, naturally "Prey" would conclude a head-to-head confrontation featuring a lone warrior.
Naru is that lone warrior.
Ultimately, she lures the predator into a trap.
Earlier in the film, she finds herself trapped in a quick-sinking bog.
To survive, she uses her axe and rope to pull herself out.
And during a previous battle, she acquired the predator's mask.
Using that mask, she lures the predator into the bog.
Nara then mutters under her breath a familiar line.
"Come on.
Come on, come on come on.
Do it!"
Once the predator fires its weapon, the shot diverts away from Naru because of the active
targeting system of the mask.
After a few ricochets, the shot returns to the Predator's skull.
This is another inspired reference from the original film where Dutch sets a trap for
the Predator.
After being severely injured, he crawls through the mud down into a ditch that contains a
trap that would impale the creature with spikes if the predator triggers it.
Dutch goads the hunter into coming at him yelling that same phrase over and over.
In this film, the Predator brings some new deadly toys to play with.
The alien race of hunters is known for its vast array of gadgets and hunting weaponry.
Each succeeding "Predator" film always adds something new to the mix when it comes to
the Predator's arsenal.
"Prey" is no different.
In fact, video game fans might be intrigued by the clear inspiration for a couple of the
film's latest additions.
The Predator is sporting a new shield that unfolds from its gauntlet.
If that sounds familiar then you are likely a fan of the 2018 action-adventure game "God
of War."
The game follows Kratos, a demigod remnant of the Greek pantheon of deities.
In ancient Scandinavia, he battles the monstrosities of Norse mythology.
One of his tools of the trade is a slick shield that emerges from a gauntlet.
The "God of War" similarities don't stop there.
Naru uses an axe that she lobs at her prey with precision.
However, she finds that recovering her axe expends precious time on a hunt.
She affixes a rope to the weapon so she can recall it with a yank of her wrist.
Kratos can recall his axe in the game much like Thor can summon Mjolnir.
Speaking with ComicBook.com, Dan Trachtenberg stated,
"I teased a while ago that I took inspiration from the latest God of War video game, and
those two things are in the trailer.
One is his shield, that you see briefly.
And the other is not a Predator gadget, but just the way that Naru, wields her axe, she
invents something very cool for that Tomahawk."
Predator fans might recall the climactic ending of the original film in which the Predator
refuses to die alone.
After Dutch fatally wounds the alien hunter, the creature arms a bomb on its wrist gauntlet
and begins laughing maniacally at Dutch in a bit of a "gotcha" moment.
Dutch barely escapes the blast on foot as the jungle burns to the ground around him.
"Prey" references this moment but innovates the explosives in the gauntlet for something
a bit new and less devastating.
After Naru leaves the fur trappers behind to be eviscerated by the predator we see a
moment where the hunters find the creature's gauntlet laying on the ground with a similar
countdown indicator.
Three flying drones emerge from the gauntlet, and the hunters begin running.
But it's too late.
The little devices hone in on the poor saps and explode.
As the Predator makes his way across the Great Plains, he hunts other earthly predators.
In the early moments of the film, we see him kill and skin a rattlesnake.
At one point, he spies on a wolf hunting a rabbit.
After the wolf lands his mark, the Predator attacks and spars with the carnivore.
Unfortunately for the wolf, a sharp set of fangs is no match for this highly skilled
and heavily armed hunter.
After charging the Predator, the wolf is swiftly gutted.
The alien then removes its spine and head in typical Predator fashion.
In the previous films, we always see the Predator polishing human skulls and creating trophies
out of the people he managed to kill.
While we don't get to see this Predator do as much with its human prey, we do witness
the predator polishing and cleaning the wolf's skull in a clear callback to past movies.
As far as movie monsters are concerned, the predator has a legacy and reputation to uphold.
The creature is one of the fiercest in movie history as it tends to rack up a rather high
body count before finally meeting its demise at the hands of the film's last remaining
hero.
Unlike its Xenomorph contemporaries, the predator doesn't just kill indiscriminately.
There are rules it follows while out on the hunt.
Both "Predator" and "Predator 2" established that the alien hunter doesn't play unfairly.
It refuses to harm children, anyone that is unarmed, or pregnant women.
"Deep shock, but she's alive."
"I'm picking up fetal heartbeats.
This woman is pregnant, let's move."
After making this observation, the protagonists typically remark that the Predator finds no
sport in killing something that can't defend itself.
Whether it's a code of honor or a true lack of sport, the predator has always abided by
that rule.
"Prey" shows that this was never any different centuries ago.
After Naru flees the beast while he slaughters the rest of her hunting party, she gets snagged
on a bear trap.
The predator approaches her but doesn't end her life simply because she was incapacitated
by someone else's trap and was not a threat.
Naru understands this and shares this observation with her brother Taabe later.
The "Predator" franchise has often referenced a greater world outside of the simple man
versus beast conflict happening on the ground.
"Predator 2" blows the universe of the hunters wide open with a killer reveal at the tail
end of the film.
When Mike Harrigan follows the Predator into the alien's ship, he gets the better of the
hunter and slays him.
In the predator ship, we can see a trophy case complete with a Xenomorph skull of alien
fame.
Even more intriguing is when all the fallen predator's comrades appear to pay respect
to Mike for his combat prowess.
As a parting gift, they give him a flintlock pistol dated 1715.
"Take it."
It was a cool reveal to demonstrate that the predators have been visiting and hunting prey
on Earth for centuries.
"Prey" takes place in 1719, just four years after the date on the pistol in "Predator
2."
A flintlock pistol does take center stage in the third act of the film.
One of the injured fur trappers gives it to Naru in exchange for her help tending to his
wounds.
At the end of the film, after Naru slays the Predator, she returns to her village and lays
the head of the beast at the feet of the elders.
She also tosses them the pistol.
Upon careful examination, we see that the pistol is inscribed with the name Raphael
Adolini and the year 1715.
This is the same inscription on the pistol from "Predator 2" ultimately tying this film
to the greater Predator universe.
It's quite possibly the film's coolest Easter egg.
There is one more detail that many might miss who don't like sitting through the credits.
The first portion of the film's credits is relayed through a series of Native American
drawings recreating the events of the film as if they were cemented in history.
The end scene is even depicted where Naru delivers the predator's head to her elders.
One moment is also shown that wasn't captured in live action which is a quick drawing of
alien ships descending onto the village just after Naru's celebratory moment.
The predators could be returning to collect the body of their fallen comrade which they
are known to do.
Or, perhaps, they're initiating another hunt.
One thing is certain, the predators somehow gain possession of that flintlock pistol that
Naru gave to her elders.
So is a sequel in order?
Let's hope so!