![]() But on a mission to deliver the “unexpected,” he declined to pack a true surprise, he needed to reframe an iconic monster design and play in a sandbox full of expectations. Trachtenberg’s reps encouraged him to just take the Predator name out of the script he was writing and go pitch studios an entirely original alien adventure movie. When The Walt Disney Corporation acquired the 21st Century Fox parent company in 2019, work on Prey all but stopped. And then it was like, Oh my god, this is too cool!”įox was ready to work with Trachtenberg on what he was then dubbing “an R-rated Disney Princess movie” until actual Disney came knocking. I said, ‘Could this be a thing?’ - it was that casual. “Because I was sure there was going to be a new Predator trilogy, but I thought maybe we called this one Prey to function sort of like in Star Wars with and Rogue One. “That’s where the name Prey came from,” he says. Trachtenberg thought Fox could make both. (Email: still powerful!) Bit by the bug of a great idea and navigating Hollywood with a glow after the success of 10 Cloverfield Lane, Trachtenberg messaged 20th Century Fox executives with his elevator pitch for Prey, even though the studio was already working with writer-director Shane Black on what would become 2018’s The Predator. ![]() He chalks that up to emailing the right people at the right time. In fact, according to Trachtenberg, there was little to no pushback from the studio over his pitch to swerve away from the hyper-masculine war-movie vibe of the original 1987 Predator. No one ever said, ‘Let’s execute differently because we know it’s for streaming.’ It wasn’t ever in the ether for us.” “I never considered Prey as Oh, this is just for streaming. “I think Prey had big-screen potential!” he says. That was certainly his intention with the original film, even if the plan was always to debut it on Hulu. The director wasn’t ready to spill any details while promoting Prey’s 4K Blu-ray release, but agrees there’s potential in a sequel, and one that could play in theaters the next time around. For now, Trachtenberg is playing it cool. And so all that stuff was and continues to be really fun to think about and explore and… who knows?”Ī recent issue of the industry trade Production Weekly flagged Prey 2 as a project in active development at 20th Century Studios, leading alien-slasher enthusiasts to foam at the mouth in anticipation. “Some things happened that are very expected, but some things were very much not. “While making the movie, we really enjoyed conjuring up all the special unique things that we could do, not only just in this franchise but also in this genre, that would be unexpected,” he says when I ask about the status of a Prey 2. Today, Trachtenberg says it’s hard to shake what made the project so special to him - especially with sequel talk aflutter. That vision panned out into a worthy studio gamble when Trachtenberg’s Predator prequel Prey hit Hulu in 2022, it was lauded as a reinvention of a tired franchise and one of the Disney-acquired 20th Century Studios’ first straight-to-streaming hits. ![]() Capitalizing on the property in a way that's only ever been explored in comics, novels, and video games has now been made possible with Prey's success, and that could mean exciting things for the future of the Predator series.For years before director Dan Trachtenberg was established enough to get a Predator movie made, he imagined a scene where a lone Comanche warrior faced off against a bone-armored hunter from beyond the stars. ![]() It would be surprising if Prey 2 didn't happen, but seeing the Predator franchise continue into other time periods in live-action with other protagonists, settings, and challenges would certainly be an interesting development. The film also opens the door for an infinite amount of stories that could be told throughout time (or space). Prey's success is a blessing to the Predator franchise and exactly what it needed to get audiences reinvested in its universe. Davis' comments may already have weight, too, as Trachtenberg has revealed that he's already looked well beyond Prey's story, which means there's plenty more to mine from the foundation set with the new prequel film. The producer also credits Disney with understanding the potential of the Predator franchise, and says a "fresh reinterpretation" of the series is what could help it to stand the test of time. Davis credits Trachtenberg with Prey's concept, saying that he did a "terrific job" on the film and that it was all his imagination that made it successful. In talking about Prey, Davis championed director Dan Trachtenberg, who approached the producer about the prequel while 2018's The Predator was already in production. Davis is clearly invested in the Predator franchise's long-term future. ![]()
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