Dan Trachtenberg's Prey has a number of special, praise-worthy qualities, and one of the most interesting is the fact that it's available to watch dubbed in Comanche. It not only provides an extra level of authenticity to the work, but it's also an impressive example of promoting cultural representation. What you may not know is that there were original plans to actually film the whole movie in Comanche – and the decision not to take the movie down that road is one that has left star Dakota Beavers with mixed emotions.
Beavers was specifically asked about the decision to shoot Prey in English instead of Comanche during an interview this month with GQ. The interviewer asked about the studio's call, and the scene-stealing actor explained why he has both positive and negative perspectives on the choice. Said Beavers,
There's a mixture of emotions. There was a part of me that was like, 'Oh, thank goodness.' Because I know I can perform better in English. But there's also a little bit of, like, 'Dang, that would've been kind of neat A) for the preservation of the language, but B) just because it looks cool.'
Prey features Dakota Beavers' first role in a feature film or television show, and so it's understandable that in that position he would want to be speaking the language with which he is most familiar. But it's also hard to argue about the plus factors he mentions in regard to shooting the movie in Comanche, as that's simply not something that is ever done for major Hollywood releases.
Not only would filming the movie in the proper dialect have added to the verisimilitude of the action and a special layer to the authenticity, but it would have been extra fascinating given the fact that the Comanche and English aren't the only languages spoken in Prey.
Continuing, Dakota Beavers also recognized the principal reason behind the studio's decision: money. Providing a realist perspective, the actor acknowledged that the movie would have been a harder sell to mass audiences if shot in any language other than English, and he's at least happy that the dub is available. He said,
I think at the end of the day, maybe it was the right call because [the film] has such a mass appeal, and having it in English makes it a little bit easier for a lot of people. But we still have that Comanche dub. We still have that there for preservation.
Prey, the fourth sequel in the Predator series (not counting the Alien vs. Predator movies), is now available to stream on an endless loop and in multiple languages... provided that you have a Hulu subscription. The film has earned tremendous critical acclaim, and has been called by many as good or better than the movie that launched the series. For a more in-depth look at the canon, check out our Predator movie rankings and our guide to the Predator franchise. You can also learn more about the breakout stars of the movie, including Dakota Beavers, with our Prey cast list.
