The Predator Teaser Trailer Analysis & Breakdown

So The Predator teaser trailer is finally out! Here’s our in-depth analysis of the teaser and any nuggets you might have missed. I’ve tried to put the scenes in somewhat of a chronological order of for where they take place in the movie.

Some of it is guesswork and some of the information has come from the leaked script and information from other sources so you may find a couple of spoilers outside of what we see in the trailer or in the official interviews.

Investigating the Predator Pod

In the early leaked draft of the script, the film opened with a prologue that showed Quinn McKenna on a mission. While there, a Predator pod crash lands in a swamp area. He finds a Predator biomask just before he is attacked by a Predator. This is where I believe Quinn finds the Predator wrist gauntlet and mails it to his home in Georgia.

This sequence was apparently missing from the first test screening, instead being included as flashbacks later in in the film.

Interrogating Quinn McKenna

We see an interrogation room where Quinn McKenna (played by Boyd Holbrook) is attached to a polygram test and is being asked about his mission and whether he saw anything unusual. They are presumably trying to determine if he encountered the Predator.

Two government agents (one of them is Sterling K. Brown who is presumably playing the character of Traeger) are then seen to be watching Quinn in the interrogation room on CCTV and states that McKenna definitely saw something.

The Predator Mother Ship Crashes

The teaser trailer begins showing how the Predators come to arrive on planet Earth in the first place. It’s Halloween, and a young boy called Rory McKenna (played by Jacob Tremblay) finds a box in his basement addressed to his father, Quinn. We learn that the parcel was sent from or at least through Mexico (it was originally from Cuba in the script) and a lot of the film takes place in the city of Macon in the state of Georgia.

He opens it up and finds a Predator wrist gauntlet. Inside of the wrist gauntlet, he finds some kind of strange device. Rory starts playing with it and unknown to him, it’s actually controlling a real Predator Mother Ship.

The editing in the trailer is actually misleading. Our understanding of this is that Rory only activates a homing beacon that draws the attention of the Predators. The footage involving the crashing Predator ship is actually from the end of the film and is unrelated to Rory tinkering with the Predator’s gauntlet.

We soon see a few former marines (played by Thomas Jane, Alfie Allen, Augusto Aguilera and Keegan-Michael Key) who are all on a V.A. (Veterans Health Administration) bus after being arrested. Quinn is also with them along with Nebraska Williams and eventually they all break out of there and escape. Something outside of the bus is drawing their attention.

The Laboratory

We get some footage inside of some sort of research facility. We hear evolutionary biology scientist Casey Bracket (played by Olivia Munn) say that the Predators are upgrading on every planet they visit – they’re attempting “hybridization”. We see other scientists looking at a full body scan of a Predator as well lots of Predator equipment and weaponry.

We also get a quick shot of some Predator helmets and a shoulder canon on display. Notice in the reflection in the window, we can see Agent Keyes’ son (played by his real-life son Jake Busey).

Showdown at the School

At some point in the story, Quinn rescues his son Rory from Lawrence A. Gordon Middle School where he is attacked by a Predator. We see a Predator about to enter the school with armed men outside. These are the same former marines that were on the V.A. bus earlier on.

Another shot shows an explosion with Quinn, Rory and probably Casey Bracket. Quinn is then seen talking to Rory. Then there’s another scene with the Predator grabbing Quinn which also seems to take place in the school.

Later on in the teaser, we also see Casey jump in front of Rory as a Predator laser targets them. This could be connected to the school scene below though this does take place outside on a road.

The Predator Goes on the Hunt

There are a few night time shots of a Predator killing various soldiers. We have a clear shot of one and we see it use its weapons. One of them appears to fire it’s wrist-blade as a projective similiar to in Predators and the first Alien vs. Predator. In another scene we see it uses a shuriken to kill somebody.

Bear in mind, this is not one of the hybrid Predators. The hybrid is not shown at all in the trailer. We believe most of this footage is of the Predator who has become nicknamed “Captured Predator.”

Explosion

There’s a major explosion with some canisters with many soldiers being knocked back because of the blast. It would appear this is a military base. Perhaps the same location with the scientists earlier?

The M113 Stryker APC

There are a couple of scenes in the trailer showing the M113 Stryker APC in action. At some point in the story, Quinn and his group are riding an APC while being attacked by a few hybrid Predators. You can actually see in the picture below one of the ‘normal’ Predators on top of it helping them. This fits in with the leaked set pictures we saw last year with the Predators firing guns on top of the APC.

Another scene shows Nebraska Williams (played by Trevante Rhodes) firing a machine gun on top of an M113 Stryker APC. Behind him you can see pieces of the hybrid creatures that are attacking them and a human arm.

Quinn Boards The Predator Ship

Lastly, a key scene shows Quinn aboard a Predator ship. This ship is the one known as the Ark and most likely the same vessel that was crashing in the footage that opened the teaser trailer. He begins to shoot at something before crashing to the floor.

Keep checking in with Alien vs. Predator Galaxy for the latest on The Predator! You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to get the latest on your social media walls. You can also join in with fellow Predator fans on our forums!

---