The director behind Prey reveals why the film is skipping theaters in favor of Hulu. Prey is the fifth film in the Predator franchise, looking to take the franchise in a new direction by making a prequel set in the Comanche Nation during 1719 and focusing on a young warrior Naru (Amber Midthunder) who must battle a Predator. The film is directed by 10 Cloverfield Lane director Dan Trachtenberg and will arrive on Hulu on August 5, 2022.
The anticipation for Prey has built up over the past few months, starting with the first teaser trailer, and has only grown with each new piece of information revealed about the movie. The film premiered at San Diego Comic-Con 2022 and received strong word of mouth coming out of the convention. The early reviews have been very positive, hinting at a bold exciting new direction for the Predator franchise. However many have voiced their disappointment that the film is not given a theatrical release like previous installments and instead going straight to a streaming service.
In an interview with Uproxx, Trachtenberg opened up about the decision to send the film to Hulu as opposed to theaters despite designing it to be seen with an audience in theaters. Trachtenberg revealed that the decision was made because Disney wanted to release a movie that would draw audiences over to Hulu, and if it was released in theaters it likely would have had to go to HBO as other 20th Century Pictures had in the past due to a prior contract that Disney has to abide by. Trachtenberg addresses the stigma, saying this isn't the same as the old stigma around direct-to-video but instead getting a high-profile cinematic experience at home. Trachtenberg said:
"I mean, look, we made it to be a big theatrical experience and on the downside, it’s not being released that way. So you can’t see in the theater, but on the upside, the thing you’re getting straight into your living room is a giant theatrical experience. It’s not like a straight video dumping ground. It’s like, 'This is a real movie.' There’s so many venues that people want people to experience their, I hate to say the word content… They want things to feel premium. Right? So Hulu hasn’t really had… There hasn’t been a 20th franchise baby that has come out yet. So they’re hoping to really ignite the platform to say, “We’re not just putting out the smaller, lower-budget fare. That this is also a place to have giant cinematic experiences."
It has been speculated that the prior deal between 20th Century Pictures and HBO was the reason that the long-delayed New Mutants could not be sent to Hulu during the COVID-19 pandemic, as it would have to go to HBO first. This explains why that film was released in theaters during the height of the pandemic, and why other 20th Century Pictures like The Kings Man and Death on the Nile were delayed to theatrical as opposed to Disney films like Artemis Fowl and The One and Only Ivan who were sent straight to Disney+. Disney has since been able to work out deals with HBO to allow a select few Fox films to stream on Hulu as well as HBO like West Side Story and The Bob's Burger's Movie.
While Hulu released a number of acclaimed films during the COVID-19 pandemic like Palm Springs, Happiest Season, and Nomadland, Prey is arguably the biggest movie to premiere on the streaming service. It is also just the beginning as the streamer soon will be taking advantage of the 20th Century Pictures library. Fede Alverez's new Alien film is also set for Hulu, as is the new film adaptation of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. It is unclear if these franchises will now remain as streaming exclusives or if audiences will ever get to see them on a big screen.
Source: Uproxx
