Dan Trachtenberg To Direct Upcoming ‘Predator’ Movie

It was announced this week that Dan Trachtenberg would be the director of the upcoming fifth movie from the Predator franchise. Best known for directing the science fiction psychological thriller film 10 Cloverfield Lane, which also served as his directorial debut, Trachtenberg will take over as director from Shane Black, who previously directed the fourth film in the franchise The Predator in 2018. It has not yet been revealed if the upcoming fifth film will follow the continuity of the fourth film from 2018 or if Trachtenberg will instead decide to make it an original story as the previous sequels were set up.

Black was originally supposed to direct two more sequels to The Predator, with each one following the story that was set up in the 2018 film. However, despite that fact that The Predator became the highest grossing film in the franchise, the movie received mixed to negative reviews from critics, who panned the story choices and the uneven tone surrounding the comedic and serious moments throughout the film. Overall, The Predator was considered a complete mess by critics despite the successful box office revenue, and Black apparently abandoned his plans for a Predator trilogy.

Trachtenberg was then brought in and was announced to have been working on a project called Skulls. In the script for Skulls, the story would take place during the American Civil War following a Comanche woman going against female gender roles to become a heroic warrior. Around the same time he was announced to be directing the next Predator movie, Trachtenberg revealed that his script for Skulls was a script for a fifth movie in the Predator franchise the entire time. Fans are extremely excited to see Trachtenberg helm the director’s chair for the fifth Predator movie, as many consider 10 Cloverfield Lane to be the best film in the Cloverfield series.

Trachtenberg’s Predator movie will be released sometime in 2022. The Walt Disney Company will produce the film through 20th Century Studios.