Prey director Dan Trachtenberg recently revealed that an Alien movie detail was added to the new Predator costume. The upcoming horror-thriller is a prequel to the monster franchise that began in 1987 with the action hit Predator starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, and Jesse Ventura. The film spawned a multimedia franchise that has since spanned 35 years and features five sequels and two crossover films with the Alien franchise.

Set 300 years before the events of the original Predator film, Prey will center on Naru (Amber Midthunder), a young Commanche hunter during a proving ritual who comes face-to-face with a ruthless alien creature. With her people threatened, Naru takes it upon herself to track down and kill the Predator, played by the 6'9" former professional basketball player Dane DiLiegro. As the upcoming film is a prequel, Trachtenberg has previously revealed that the Predator's costume has been tweaked, such as the removal of the Predator's iconic plasmacaster to showcase an earlier less advanced version of the villain. However, a change in the Predator's technology was not the only interesting adjustment to its recognizable look.

Trachtenberg recently spoke to ComicBook while at San Diego Comic-Con and revealed an Alien movie connection on the new Predator costume. When discussing the film's practical effects, the director explained that they added some of the slimy "goop" used in the Alien films to make the Predator far "more violent and gross." Read what Trachtenberg had to say below.

"There are two versions of the face. There was a stunt version that didn't have any motion, that was a little bit, just a hair safer for Dane to function. And there was another version that was just heavier on Dane because it had all the animatronics in it. And one of the things we added in this movie that strangely wasn't, I don't think was in the other Predator films, was goop. We brought in some alien goop, the stuff that we've seen the Alien movies. So the mandibles and the face and all that stuff just felt that much more violent and gross."

When the first grown Xenomorph alien was revealed in the original Alien film, it was dripping with a combination of water, due to condensation nearby, and a viscous slime oozing from the creature's mouth. As the film grew into a franchise, the mucus goop was featured with every additional iteration of the Alien throughout the series. Trachtenberg understands that adding the translucent slime would enhance the fearsome effect that he is trying to convey with the already terrifying visage of the Predator.

The Predator and Alien franchises have been intertwined since the Alien vs. Predator series was published by Dark Horse Comics in 1989. Predator 2 (1990) subsequently included Xenomorph skulls as an Easter Egg in a scene showing the Predator's hunting trophies. There was also an Alien vs Predator film that, while received poorly, expanded on the mythos. A sequel to that film was also made. Meanwhile, the franchise continued and expanded to include novels, video games, toys, and two feature films. Prey's addition of Alien "goop" is just one more way to connect the two popular horror-thriller franchises. Audiences can get their first look at the more frightening version of the Predator when Prey premieres on Hulu August 5.