‘Prey’ Predator Actor Reveals Wild Weight of Costume – ‘Essentially Shooting This Movie Blind’
Prey is about to introduce the world to a bit of a different Predator. However, it also plans to continue building upon the sci-fi mythology of the extraterrestrial race. Former pro basketball player Dane DiLiegro puts on the Predator suit for Prey, which weighed a whole lot more than one would imagine. Nevertheless, the performer still had to act through all of that extra heavy equipment.
The ‘Predator’ franchise enters its fifth installment
The Predator franchise originally started with John McTiernan’s 1987 original. It would inspire three sequels titled 1990’s Predator 2, 2010’s Predators, and 2018’s The Predator. The overall series didn’t earn a very positive critical reception, but it has a loyal following. The species would also see an appearance in Alien vs. Predator and its sequel, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem.
Prey marks the fifth installment in the Predator franchise. However, the title is headed straight for Hulu on Aug. 5. It’s a prequel taking place in the Comanche Nation in 1719. The story follows a highly skilled warrior named Naru (Amber Midthunder), but she discovers that her target is actually an alien with advanced weaponry and technology.
‘Prey’ actor Dane DiLiegro weighed over 300 pounds wearing the Predator costume
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, DiLiegro talked about his experience wearing the Predator costume in Prey. However, pulling off the performance with all the logistics was no easy task. The suit weighed much more than one expected and largely impaired his vision over the course of filming. Nevertheless, DiLiegro managed to find a way to make the alien character work for the silver screen.
“The weight of this character was immense, more immense than anything I’ve had to deal with,” DiLiegro said. “I weighed over 300 pounds with everything on. The head alone was 15 pounds. For the Predator to look forward, I had to look down at the ground through two tiny holes in the neck. I was essentially shooting this movie blind.”
‘Prey’ director Dan Trachtenberg wants to surprise fans
Prey director Dan Trachtenberg told EW that he wanted to make Prey still feel fresh. He noted that the original surprised audiences with its alien, but the sequels lost that charm. As a result, Trachtenberg wanted the Predator in Prey to bring back some of those surprises with moviegoers.
“Since we were going 300 years in the past, I felt like there was a little bit of license to change it up a little bit,” Trachtenberg said. “What was so special about the original 1987 movie was you were surprised by [the Predator] every step of the way. It was surprising to see it in its cloaked form. It was surprising to see it when it was decloaked and in its bio-mask, and yet again, at the end of the film, there were still more surprises. And I really wanted to even have diehard fans of the franchise by watching this movie to be surprised.”
Trachtenberg continued: “Frankly, there have been a lot of vestiges from that movie and in all the sequels that it has felt very ‘man-in-suit-y. Very much like there’s a professional wrestler lumbering around. I wanted it to feel far scarier, way more alien-creature-like, ferocious and feral.”
