‘Prey’s Dan Trachtenberg Shot a Second, Secret New ‘Predator’ Movie

According to 20th Century Studios boss Steve Asbell, there will be another Predator movie arriving –– likely to streaming –– ahead of next year’s ‘Badlands’.

(L to R) Amber Midthunder as Naru and Director Dan Trachtenberg behind the scenes of 20th Century Studios' 'Prey,' exclusively on Hulu. Photo by John P. Johnson. © 2022 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

Preview:

‘Prey’ director Dan Trachtenberg has shot both follow-up ‘Badlands’ and a new secret movie.
The other movie is likely to arrive via streaming.
20th Century boss Steve Asbell offered other updates in a new interview.

Ever since ‘10 Cloverfield Lane’ director Dan Trachtenberg brought the ‘Predator’ franchise roaring back to life with 2022’s ‘Prey’ (a prequel to the franchise entries that landed on Hulu to huge viewing figures), we’ve been waiting for more news about his follow-up.

Then, back in June this year, word arrived that Elle Fanning was in talks for the next movie to come from Trachtenberg, ‘Predator: Badlands.’ It’s a stand-alone that features no connective tissue to ‘Prey’ other than the appearance of at least one of the movies’ trademark toothy hunters.

But in a wide-ranging interview with The Hollywood Reporter, 20th Century Studios boss Steve Asbell revealed that Trachtenberg has shot not one two new ‘Predator’ movies.

What did Steve Asbell say about the future for ‘Predator’?

Dane DiLiegro as the Predator in 20th Century Studios' 'Prey,' exclusively on Hulu. Photo by David Bukach. © 2022 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

According to Asbell, there will indeed be two ‘Predator’ movies headed our way next year.

One is ‘Badlands,’ which wrapped recently in New Zealand and, yes, features Fanning. The other? That’s more of a mystery for now.

This is what Asbell said:

“After ‘Prey’ became a success, Dan came back and said he didn’t want to do ‘Prey 2.’ And we’re like, ‘What do you want to do?’ And he rattled off a bunch of ideas that were really crazy but really cool. We’ve actually done two of them.”

He had no other real details on the second film, other than to say Trachtenberg directed it before heading out to make ‘Badlands’ and that it probably won’t be released theatrically, which is the destination for ‘Badlands.’

What’s the story of ‘Predator: Badlands’?

Little has been released about the plot for ‘Badlands,’ and indeed Asbell offers not much by way of detail, other than to say:

“It is an absolutely bonkers idea. It is a sci-fi thing, but it’s not what everybody thinks it is. And I mean, it’s awesome. It is so nuts. But in Dan, we trust.”

What’s happening with the ‘Alien’ franchise?

Xenomorph in 20th Century Studios' 'Alien: Romulus.' Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2024 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.

One of the other big 20th Century sci-fi franchises, ‘Alien,’ also saw love this year.

‘Alien: Romulus,’ directed by Fede Alvarez, was a success at the box office, and a sequel is in the works.

This is what Asbell had to say about the future of the franchise:

“We’re working on a sequel idea now. We haven’t quite closed our deal with Fede, but we are going to, and he has an idea that we’re working on. The two survivors, Rain and Andy, played by Cailee Spaeny and David Jonsson, were real highlights of the film. And so I always think of it like, ‘Wow, where do people want to see them go next?’ We know there’s going to be aliens. We know there’s going to be great horror set pieces. But I fell in love with both of them and I want to see what their story is.”

That would also make people think about the times that the ‘Alien’ and ‘Predator’ franchises have crossed over –– but according to Asbell, while he and his team are thinking about it, don’t expect them to rush into the idea:

“It wouldn’t be in the way you think. That’s the thing. Not in the way that it will just be called ‘Alien vs. Predator’ or anything like the original movies. If we do this, they’ll be organically created out of these two franchises that we’ve continued with characters that we fall in love with, and those characters will combine… perhaps. But we haven’t gotten to that point.”