by Watch: Amber Midthunder reveals her favourite Exchange action sequence
Amber Midthunder has revealed the action scene she is most proud of in ny The predator film Exchange (on Disney+ from August 5) — and it’s not the one you expect.
The Legion star leads the cast of director Dan Trachtenberg’s film, which follows a Comanche tribe who are both hunters and the hunted when a predator arrives on Earth near their home.
Middle Dogs stars Naru – a young woman hoping to prove herself as a skilled hunter – who sees opportunity when the biggest beast any of them have ever seen appears.
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The cast underwent a four-week boot camp on set in Calgary, Canada before filming, learning how to best use their weapons, but it was another skill that Midthunder valued on set.
“Ironically, the story that we keep talking about isn’t really a big moment at all, but in the shooting it really felt like a big moment,” Midthunder told Yahoo when asked about her proudest action achievement.
The 25-year-old added: “My hands were tied and there was this moment where I had to get out of the thing to do something. How do I get my hands untied?
“We talked about it and Dan said ‘something has to happen’. I thought ‘can I turn it around?’ and he said ‘do you lean back on it somehow?’. I turned it and turned it and I happened to make it perfect so I thought “we’ll just do that”.
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“Then of course we would go shoot it and every time it would fall to my side or it would hit me in the face or something stupid would happen. He said ‘maybe we should figure something out’ and I was like ‘no, I have it’.
“We went and it was the last take where we got it perfect and he was like ‘that’s the only one we needed’. It was this big moment of victory and of course it’s like 0.5 seconds in the film itself.”
Midthunder said it was “very important” to Trachtenberg and the cast that the actors were able to do as many of the stunts and gun-based scenes as possible, with the bootcamp helping to hone their skills.
“It was a lot of figuring out when it was most important to be dynamic and when it was most important to be efficient,” the star said.
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She added: “So much of boot camp was also people figuring out, ‘what am I good at?’ Is it archery? Is it the lance? What’s my best weapon?
“And then incorporate that into their character and be open with the stunts and guide towards each person’s skill set. What’s the coolest thing I can do with this weapon?”
Midthunder pointed to the sign language used by the Comanches in the film as something that arose from the chemistry between the actors during boot camp.
“We developed the sign language you see in the movie based on real Comanche sign language,” she said.
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Midthunder added, “The sign language wasn’t originally part of the film. It wasn’t part of the script. It was something that happened at boot camp that was then put into the film.”
With her action hero credentials now firmly established, Midthunder won’t be short of offers in the blockbuster world, but the star wants to make sure she continues to work with “big filmmakers”.
She said: “What I’m really looking for is any kind of good art or good filmmaking and something that feels challenging.
“If it’s another action movie and it’s in a big franchise again, I’m there. If it’s in a musical, I’ll do it. That’s just what feels the most quality to me.”
The film’s director Dan Trachtenberg has said that he would like to make another sequel Exchange and, with a tease for the future hidden in the film’s credits, this new corner of The predator the universe can continue to grow.
Exchange is available to stream via Star on Disney+ from August 5.
See: Trailer for Exchange
