The Prey characters feature a cast made up of mostly Native and First Nation talent portraying members of a Comanche tribe facing off against a Predator. Prey is set in the year 1719 in the Great Plains, where a young Comanche girl attempts to prove herself as a warrior, facing an adversary that’s never been seen on Earth before. Set 300 years before the original Predator film, Prey is the first prequel of the long-running franchise, taking place outside of the present-day setting that’s been prevalent in every sequel since the original.
Directed by 10 Cloverfield Lane‘s Dan Trachtenberg, Prey features a script written by Patrick Aison, based on a story by Aison and Trachtenberg. The duo had developed the project for over four years before it was greenlit, which was fast-tracked just before the Disney/Fox merger. The R-rated movie was sH๏τ in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, and is the first in the series to feature a female lead protagonist. Prey is available in English and Comanche dialogue, another first, not just for the series, but for any Hollywood production.
Actor |
Character |
|
---|---|---|
Amber Midthunder
|
Naru |
|
Dakota Beavers
|
Taabe |
|
Dane DiLiegro
|
The Predator |
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Michelle Thrush
|
Aruka |
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Coco
|
Sarii the Dog |
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Amber Midthunder as Naru
Date Of Birth: April 26, 1997
Actor: Amber Midthunder began her career at a very young age, getting her first movie role when she was four. She got small parts as a child in some big movies, including Sunshine Cleaning (starring Amy Adams and Emily Blunt) and Swing Vote (starring Kevin Costner). She appeared in the TV series Roswell, New Mexico as Rosa Ortecho, in the X-Men show Legion as Kerry Loudermilk, and in the movie The Ice Road as Tantoo. Since Prey, she has starred in Dream Scenario, Rez Ball, Opus, and Novocaine.
Notable Movies & TV Shows:
Movie & TV Show |
Role |
---|---|
Legion (2017-2019) |
Kerry Loudermilk |
Roswell, New Mexico (2019-2022) |
Rosa Ortecho |
Rez Ball (2024) |
Dezbah Weaver |
Opus (2025) |
Belle |
Novocaine (2025) |
Sherry Margrave |
Character: Amber Midthunder plays the lead character, a female Comanche warrior named Naru, in the perfectly set Predator prequel. At the start of Prey, Naru struggles with her traditional gender role as a gatherer and feels a calling as a hunter and warrior, the same as her brother, Taabe. Her mother, Aruka, pushes her to fall in line with the tribe’s expectations, but Naru remains defiant and proves herself to be formidable when she becomes the lone voice in suspecting a greater threat is in their midst and is hellbent on stopping it.
Dakota Beavers as Taabe
Date Of Birth: 2000
Actor: Dakota Beavers is an Arizona-born singer-songwriter, and the Predator prequel Prey serves as his debut acting work. Beavers was only 22 when he appeared in Prey, the only acting he had ever done in TV or film. He has also not appeared in anything since his role as Taabe. He spent most of his time playing music in his family’s country band, WesternBoy, in Nashville.
Notable Movies & TV Shows:
Movie & TV Show |
Role |
---|---|
Prey (2022) |
Taabe |
Character: Dakota Beavers plays Taabe, the older brother of Naru, in Prey. Taabe is supportive of his sister’s desire to become a hunter, but still doubts her abilities to see it through. However, he quickly begins to realize that Naru may well be a more cunning hunter and warrior than he had originally thought, as they attempt to stay alive amidst the Predator threat that invades their lands.
Dane DiLiegro as The Predator
Date Of Birth: August 6, 1988
Actor: Dane DiLiegro is a former basketball player, standing 6 feet 9 inches tall. He played college in New Hampshire but didn’t make it to the NBA; instead, he played in Europe. He did win a gold medal at the Maccabiah Games with Team USA in 2009. He got his movie start as a stand-in on Free Guy and that got him noticed by casting directors. He has starred predominantly as movie and TV monsters in shows like American Horror Stories as Ba’al and the 2024 movie Werewolves as the Lead Wolf.
Notable Movies & TV Shows:
Movie & TV Show |
Role |
---|---|
American Horror Stories (2021) |
Ba’al |
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023) |
Unsavory Octopus |
V/H/S/Beyond (2024) |
Stork |
Werewolves (2024) |
Lead Wolf |
Running Point (2025-) |
Badrag Knauss |
Character: Dane DiLiegro plays the infamous Predator character in Prey, becoming the first of the alien species to arrive on Earth in the franchise prequel. Featuring a sophisticated array of weaponry and tactics, the Predator in Prey is different — a more raw and stripped-down version of the creature — than has been seen in previous films, relying on physicality as much as sci-fi gadgetry to hunt his prey, which varies from snakes to wolves to bears to fur trappers to Comanche warriors.
Michelle Thrush as Aruka
Date Of Birth: February 6, 1967
Actor: Michelle Thrush has a long string of credits in Hollywood productions. She got her start acting in 1984 with the movie Isaac Littlefeathers, but she got most of her success on television. Her first TV role was in 1993 with a recurring part in the TV show Madison, and she went on to have major roles in North of 60, Highlander, Moccasin Flats, Mixed Blessings, Blackstone, and Tin Star.
Notable Movies & TV Shows:
Movie & TV Show |
Role |
---|---|
North of 60 (1993-1997) |
Sylvie LeBret |
Pathfinder (2007) |
Indian Mother |
Blackstone (2011-2015) |
Gail Stonee |
Fargo (2014) |
Sue Roundtree |
Tin Star (2017-2019) |
Jaclyn Letendre |
Character: Michelle Thrush plays Aruka, the mother of Naru and Taabe. Aruka tries to raise her daughter in a traditional role for their tribe while sensing her desire to be something more. In the dialogue-light Prey, Aruka shows support and pride for her son, who is a strong hunter and warrior for the tribe but shows frustration with her daughter, who continuously rebels against what she’s expected to be.
Coco as Sarii the Dog
Date Of Birth: Unknown
Actor: Coco was not a classically trained Hollywood dog and was originally meant to have a much smaller role but ended up being included more as Trachtenberg found it fun to have her in more and more scenes. Although energetic, rambunctious, and unpredictable, Coco proved to be an amazing presence on and off screen for Prey. Trachtenberg likened the relationship between Coco and Midthunder to Mad Max and “Dog” in The Road Warrior.
Notable Movies & TV Shows:
Movie & TV Show |
Role |
---|---|
N/A |
Character: Coco plays Sarii, the loyal dog of Midthunder’s Naru, in Prey. Sarii is a keen, smart, and lovable pup who helps defend Naru while helping her defeat the alien threat that arrives on their lands. Coco is an American Dingo who was adopted especially for the Predator-inspired prequel.
Prey Supporting Cast & Characters
Stormee Kipp as Wasape: Stormee Kipp plays fellow Comanche warrior Wasape, who is doubtful and antagonistic toward Naru and her journey to becoming a hunter and warrior like him. Kipp is a relative newcomer, having previously starred in the historical drama Sooyii.
Mike Paterson as Big Beard: Mike Paterson plays the dastardly leader of a group of French fur trappers in the Predator prequel Prey who eventually capture Naru and Taabe and use them as bait to catch the mysterious new creature in their midst. The tables are turned on him later when Naru gets the upper hand. Paterson has a mulтιтude of movie and TV credits to his name, including Punisher: War Zone, The Moodys, and The Fixer.
Bennett Taylor as Raphael: Bennett Taylor plays Raphael, one of the members of the fur trappers group who does what he can to survive when the Predator attacks, working for and against Naru at the same time. Taylor has appeared in the TV shows Arrow, Supernatural, and Motherland: Fort Salem.