Prey resurrected the Predator franchise with great vigor upon its debut on Hulu, with a new Predator arriving on Earth in 1719. As Prey's Comanche hunter aspirant Naru (Amber Midthunder) confronts the hunter from another world, Prey brings some of the original Predator's suspense-filled DNA into its story, including in one specific line of dialogue.
When Naru and her brother Taabe (Dakota Beavers) are captured and used as bait for the Predator by the French fur trappers they encounter, the two siblings discuss how best to fight the Predator. With Naru and Taabe agreeing upon the Predator's mortality, Taabe says to Naru, "If it bleeds, we can kill it." It is one of Predator's most quoted lines, stated by Dutch (Arnold Schwarzenegger) as he and his special forces unit prepare to make their stand against their alien adversary, among other memorable Arnold Schwarzenegger quotes in Predator.
While the line's use in Prey is clearly intended to be a direct reference to its original presence in Predator, Prey is very strategic in how it integrates Dutch's oft-quoted line in making it feel natural to the story and conversation unfolding between Naru and Taabe. Overplaying such nostalgic Easter eggs and line plugs has often been a predictably troublesome challenge for sequels and reboots in the past. However, in just one scene, Prey shows how to pull it off with ease.
Why Prey's Predator References Worked So Well
In the scene where Taabe uses Dutch's famed line, it perfectly fits the context of his and Naru's situation. They're fighting a monstrous enemy they don't understand, but one they have determined can be wounded and killed. As the Predator slaughters the French fur trappers, Taabe's line about his and Naru's extraterrestrial opponent bleeding indicating that its vulnerability fits the scene just as well as it did in Dutch's use of it in Predator, making the line's presence a recognizable Predator callback without being a distracting one that feels forced.
The 2014 reboot of Naru's final battle with the Predator, and is able to work in the film while also being an endearing Predator reference with how it is utilized.
Prey's huge success on Hulu has already made anticipation high for what Prey 2 will bring. Prey 2 itself might hypothetically further mine the nostalgia well of Predator that Prey handles with such tact. Taabe's use of Dutch's highly quoted Predator line in Prey has set the perfect example for how to do so organically while also keeping the nostalgic component of it intact.
