Dan Trachtenberg will forever be known as the man who breathed new life into the Predator franchise with Prey, Killer of Killers and this month's Badlands, but the filmmaker has now revealed that he was in the mix to direct a movie from an even bigger franchise much earlier in his career.
While speaking to Josh Horowitz on the latest Happy Sad Confused podcast, Trachtenberg was asked if he has had any discussions about taking the helm of a superhero movie.
“I like so many filmmakers of my generation and younger, who have made a movie that strikes a chord, have definitely met… I will say that I met a producer named Jeremy Latcham at [Marvel Studios] and [Kevin Feige], because of Jeremy, to meet for Guardians of the Galaxy before James Gunn. Based on my short film Portal, they were like, 'That’s creative, let’s find someone interesting and cool.’ I did not get the job, obviously, and rightfully so, but still so, so awesome.”
Of course, Gunn would ultimately land the gig and helm three Guardians of the Galaxy movies and a Holiday Special, taking the relatively obscure intergalactic team to new levels of popularity. It might be difficult to imagine anyone else putting their own spin on that property now, but something tells us Trachtenberg hasn't had his last meeting with Marvel Studios.
GOTG Vol. 3 most likely marked the end of Gunn's tenure with Marvel, but at least some of the characters are expected to return to the MCU at some point. Chris Pratt's Star-Lord featured in some recent Avengers: Doomsday concept art, and we wouldn't be surprised if he was joined by a couple of his fellow A-holes in Secret Wars.
Predator: Badlands is helmed by returning director Dan Trachtenberg (Prey, 10 Cloverfield Lane) and marks the franchise’s highly anticipated return to the big screen with a story that expands and redefines the Predator Universe.
Set in the future on a deadly remote planet, Badlands follows a young Predator outcast (played by newcomer Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi) who finds an unlikely ally in Thia (Emmy and Golden Globe nominee Elle Fanning) as he embarks on a treacherous journey in search of the ultimate adversary.
Produced by John Davis, Dan Trachtenberg, Marc Toberoff, Ben Rosenblatt and Brent O’Connor, Predator: Badlands opens exclusively in movie theaters on November 7 in IMAX, Dolby Cinema, RealD (3D), Cinemark XD, 4DX, ScreenX and premium screens everywhere.