On the heels of the movie even being revealed to be in the works, a new report about the secretPredatormovie says it will break a franchise tradition. After a four-year hiatus following the mixed response to Shane Black’s 2018 installment, the sci-fi action franchise exploded back on the scene with the success of the Amber Midthunder-led prequel,Prey. After a couple of years of silence, it would finally be confirmed in February 2024 that Dan Trachtenberg was in development on a new standalonePredatormovie subtitledBadlands, which was recently confirmed for a 2025 theatrical release.
i09haspublished a report right after 20th Century Studios' boss Steve Asbell offered a slew of updates on the studio’s franchise slate, targeted on the secretPredatormovie in the works.Sources report that the project is “in fact an animated feature”, breaking the franchise’s tradition going back to the Arnold Schwarzenegger-led original in which every movie has been a live-action production. Furthermore, the publication reports that the movie will be something of an anthology, “telling three separate stories of Predators fighting warriors in multiple eras.”
The sources would go on to report that the stories in the secretPredatormovie will haveone that is “potentially pirates”, one that “is potentially samurai” and a reported third timeline that has yet to be revealed. The publication did note, though, that while they are “confident” in the sources they learned the information from, they “still have to consider this a rumor” at the time of publication.Screen Ranthas also reached out to Disney for clarification on the reports, though has not heard back by the time of publication.
What This Means For The Predator Franchise
Trachtenberg Is Taking The Series In Bold Directions
Though it may not have been officially confirmed yet by the studio, the report of the secretPredatormovie being an animated feature does line up with Asbell’s recent comments. The studio boss not only confirmed Trachtenberg directed both it andBadlands, but when noting how he couldn’t discuss the former,Asbell referred to the latter as “the live-action” film of the two releasing in 2025, quickly sparking speculation that the project would be an animated one.
Beyond exploring a new medium, the report’s indication that it will be an anthology feature also marks a first for the franchise. As far as film-by-film goes,the variousPredatormoviescould be said to have taken an anthology approach, never focusing on the same set of human characters facing off against the titular alien race. That said, the secret project featuring three stories within the film would be the first time the franchise has embraced this format.
4 Time Periods Perfect for a Predator Movie
With Dan Trachtenberg’s Prey being considered a return to form for the franchise, we can think of four other time periods that would be perfect for another movie.
If the reports of both pirates and samurai being at the center of its stories prove true, this would also show that the secretPredatormovie is finally shifting gears toward new settings. Prior to it,all but one installment has been set in either the North or South American continents, with 2010’sPredatorsbeing the rare exception as it was set on the alien race’s homeworld. WhilePreydid at least shift the settingback to the early 1700s, a far cry from the modern setting of other installments, this will still be a fresh new direction for the franchise as a whole.
Our Take On The Secret Predator Movie
Delivering On The Bigger Promise Of The Franchise’s Premise
Beyond putting the franchise in a different era, one of the things I appreciated the most aboutPreywas it showcasing a new human opponent forthe Predators with Comanche heroine Naru. Rather than another gun-toting, testosterone-fueled protagonist, we got to watch a resourceful warrior use her skills of survival on the land she’s familiar with to successfully take the alien down. In showcasing multiple groups and timelines within one film, the secretPredatormovie can deliver on the franchise’s core premise, the promise of warrior aliens looking to hunt those they deem worthy.
It’s never been clear when the group first came to the planet, but it’s always been hard to imagine they didn’t arrive long beforeArnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutchset off through the jungle with his elite military team, and as such they would have faced off against everyone from vikings to pirates, samurai and beyond. By taking the time to actually explore a wide range of stories and characters, Trachtenberg’s secretPredatormovie could potentially be the best one yet if the reports of what it entails prove to be true.
Source:io9
Predator
Predator is an action sci-fi franchise created by Jim and John Thomas, beginning with the original film released in 1987. The franchise follows a warrior alien race known as the Yautja who travel the far reaches of space looking for worthy prey to hunt, constantly bringing them to Earth due to the sheer amount of conflict harbored on it. The series has spun off into comic books and animated features and has even enjoyed several crossover events via film and video games with the Aliens franchise.
