Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Prey!
The latest installment in the Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger) did so in 1987. The movie focuses on one of the tribe's young female , Naru (Amber Midthunder), who is a fearless woman hoping to prove that she has all the skills necessary to be a hunter.
Thanks to the prequel setting for Prey, the movie is largely disconnected from the rest of the Predator movies. The film relishes this opportunity to not worry about what came before, as it is instead given the chance to explore events that were previously unexplored. Prey's incredibly positive reviews are a sign of how well the movie accomplished this goal. It worked as a standalone story that still fits within the established canon while also charting its own course. The crux of Prey's ending is centered around Naru finally getting the chance to prove her abilities and go toe-to-toe with a Predator. If she failed, the alien hunter would continue slaughtering the animals and indigenous people native to the land.
Naru is ultimately successful in her attempt to kill the Predator, giving Prey a satisfying ending while leaving room for the story to continue. The coming-of-age story is also almost entirely self-contained in regard to the larger franchise. However, that does not mean that everything was completely explained. There are several unanswered questions in Prey as a result, and several other mysteries are raised for the future too.
What Happened To The Predator's Ship?
One of Prey's biggest unanswered questions is set up almost right from the beginning of the movie. The film does not wait long to show that a Predator ship has entered Earth's atmosphere and has dropped off one of the Yaujta aliens. Prey shows the Feral Predator exiting the cloaked ship, but it then flies off and is never seen again. This leaves a big mystery about what happened to the Predator's ship. There are two potential explanations. First, the Predator ship could be on autopilot and went to the skies to remain hidden until the alien was ready to leave. The other option is that there were multiple Yautjas on this ship. This could mean that another Predator is still on Earth and observed Naru's victory, while it is also possible that the ship left to take the hunters to other planets. Viewers can theorize all day about what happened to the Predator ship in Prey, but the movie does not give any confirmation.
What Happened To Naru's Father?
Naru and her family receive a major focus in Prey's story, but her father is missing from the equation. Audiences saw Naru's relationship with her brother Taabe (Dakota Beavers) and mother Aruka (Michelle Thrush). There is not much attention given to Naru's father, why he is not around, or what happened to him. All the movie does explain is that Naru's ax was a gift from her father, which indicates why she is so fond of it. The most likely explanation for his absence in Prey is that Naru's dad died. How he ed away is up for speculation at this point, as he could have died fighting a wild animal, the French trappers, or of natural causes.
Why Doesn't Naru Take The Predator's Gear?
Naru is a skilled warrior and incredibly smart throughout Prey, which does make her decision not to take any of the Predator's weapons all the more surprising. After Naru's plan to kill a Predator in Prey's ending works, she is shown carrying the alien's severed head back to camp. She seemingly did not take any of the alien's advanced weapons or gear, though. This is quite puzzling on a practical level, as taking some of the Predator's gear would help keep Naru, her family, and the rest of the tribe safe from various threats. It could be argued that Naru doesn't take the Predator's weapons because she proved she doesn't need them. But, just leaving these resources in the wild could mean someone else finds them instead.
Where Is The Predator's Plasma Cannon?
In addition to the questions about Naru, one of the biggest unanswered questions in Prey comes from the Predator itself. Thanks to the alien's place in pop culture and the character's iconic design, the Predator weapons in Prey have stood out due to their less advanced designs. This includes the Predator's plasma cannon missing from the franchise's lead hunter for the first time. Prey does not get into the specifics about why the alien has certain weapons and not others, but it seems that the plasma cannon is missing due to the time setting. It would appear that the Predator's technology is not yet advanced enough to produce such a weapon, as the speargun/arrows operate under similar principles.
Is This The First Yautja Predator To Visit Earth?
Prey is the oldest movie set in the Predator franchise, but it is still a mystery whether or not this is the first Yautja to visit Earth. The answer to this question varies depending on different sources for the Predator franchise's timeline and mythology. Alien vs Predator revealed that the aliens first came to Earth thousands of years before. Meanwhile, comics previously confirmed that they came a year prior, in 1718, and encountered Raphael Adolini. The Predator: 1718 comic from Dark Horse is likely not canon, though, based on what Prey shows. That leaves the question of whether the aliens have been to Earth before this movie a complete mystery.
How Do The Predators Get The Pistol Before Predator 2?
Fans of the Predator franchise mythology were treated to a big surprise in Prey's ending when a pistol for Raphael Adolini is shown. The artifact previously appeared in Predator 2 as an artifact on the Predator ship from one of their prior visits to Earth. Prey using Predator 2's pistol and having Naru obtain it from a French trapper directly connects her storyline to the 1990 movie. However, it also raises a big question about how the Predators get this pistol now. It was thought that the aliens got it from the pirate after encountering him many years before Predator 2. The events of Prey reveal that there is a different backstory for the pistol in play. It either means that Naru eventually gives the Predators the pistol in a future encounter or that it continues to trade owners in the decades to come and they find it by chance.
Will The Predators Return To Fight Naru?
Naru's victory over the Predator is quite impressive, but it also means Prey sets up one more big unanswered question at the end. With the possible knowledge that one of their hunters has died, there is a chance that the Predators will return to Earth to fight Naru again. Prey's credits even tease this sequel possibility, as the credits art shows a second Predator ship coming to Earth. So far, it is unconfirmed if audiences will get to see Naru fight another Predator in a future movie, but the implication of what her future might hold is clear. However, if Prey 2 does not happen, audiences will continue to wonder if that is what happened after Prey.
