Paramount Pictures recently signed filmmaker Dan Trachtenberg to a three-year first-look directing and producing deal. Having helmed Prey, Predator: Killer of Killers, and Predator: Badlands, there's been concern among fans about what this means for his involvement with the franchise.
After all, there have been some strong hints that Trachtenberg may be plotting everything from the return of Arnold Schwarzenegger's Dutch to an eventual Alien vs. Predator crossover.
Talking to io9 (via SFFGazette.com), the director was asked if his Paramount deal means he won't helm another Predator movie for Disney and 20th Century Studios.
"It does not mean that," Trachtenberg confirmed. "I am simultaneously figuring out all of the next steps for the Predator franchise. I’m in this moment that I was in when Prey came out, where I was like, 'What do I do next?' and got very excited about a Predator protagonist and got very excited about an animated movie with multiple time periods, and then they just happened to go at the same time."
"And so that’s where I’m at with Predator now, is, 'Oh my God, there are so many exciting things we can do,'" he continued. "But also now I have this deal at Paramount where I’m thrilled, and they are thrilled to make some of the original movies that I’ve always had in my head and heart."
"And of course, they also have very cool IP and all that. You know, timing may affect certain things, but both things are in my heart. Anything’s on the table," Trachtenberg concluded.
So, just because the door is now open to him potentially taking a crack at IPs like Transformers, G.I. Joe, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Cloverfield, it doesn't mean we've seen the last of Trachtenberg's take on Predator.
When we'll get that and what it will look like remains to be seen, of course, and it could be several years before he's able to return to the sci-fi franchise. Prey, Predator: Killer of Killers, and Predator: Badlands were all largely standalone, though the latter certainly left the door wide open to a sequel.
As Predator: Badlands earned a so-so $184.6 million at the worldwide box office and a budget of $105 million, it's hard to say how much of a priority another movie is for Disney. Despite that, we surely haven't seen the last of the Yautja on our screens.
Predator: Badlands, which stars Elle Fanning and Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, is set in the future on a remote planet, where a young Predator (Schuster-Koloamatangi), outcast from his clan, finds an unlikely ally in Thia (Fanning) and embarks on a treacherous journey in search of the ultimate adversary.
Predator: Badlands arrives on 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray on February 17.