A new installment in the Predator franchise is being developed by 10 Cloverfield Lane director Dan Trachtenberg, according to a new report from Deadline. The new sequel marks the fifth entry into the proper Predator franchise, which launched back in 1987, while there were two spinoff films where the creature battle with the beasts from the Alien franchise. The new film is being developed under the 20th Century Films brand, which is owned by Disney following their acquisition of Fox last year. The script comes from Patrick Aison, who previously delivered scripts for projects like Kingdom, Jack Ryan, and Treadstone.
The last entry in the series, The Predator, debuted in 2018 to disappointing critical and financial reception. That installment, however, was bogged down by a number of reshoots and delays, with its final act reportedly almost entirely re-shot from its original production. The upcoming film will reportedly not connect to The Predator, leaving us to speculate about where the action will take us.
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The debut film saw a group of commandos heading out into the jungle, only to be confronted by the intergalactic hunter, who used his advanced technology to pick them off one by one. The sequel took the chaos to Los Angeles, while the third film, Predators, featured human subjects on an alien world where they were hunted for sport. The last film once again saw the battle return to Earth, which also saw the debut of an all-new, experimental hunter, requiring the original species to collaborate with humans in hopes of stopping the intimidating threat.
The 2018 film was directed by Shane Black, who also starred in the 1987 film. While that film was a sequel, it was meant to serve as a soft reboot to reignite interest in the franchise, only for its disappointing reception to see the series stagnate. Filmmakers involved in that project claimed that it was meant to be the first entry into a trilogy of Predator films, only for those plans to dissipate.
Complicating matters was Disney’s purchase of Fox, the studio responsible for all installments in the series. With the exception of AVP: Alien vs. Predator, all of the films are rated R, with fans apprehensive about how the family-friendly studio would develop an R-rated adventure. Under this 20th Century Films umbrella, it’s possible the new sequel can still tackle mature subject matter.
Stay tuned for details on the new Predator.
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