20th Century Studios taps Dan Trachtenberg to helm fifth Predator movie

It’s been nearly five years since Dan Trachtenberg last stepped in the director’s chair for his feature debut, 10 Cloverfield Lane, and now it looks as though he’s found his next project in the form of a fifth Predator film at 20th Century Studios, according to Deadline.

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Plot details are currently unknown on the film, but sources report that it will not pick up on the unresolved plot threads from the fourth installment in the sci-fi action franchise, 2018’s The Predator, co-written and directed by original film co-star Shane Black (The Nice Guys). That film ended with the military, led by Boyd Holbrook (The Fugitive), finding a special mech suit entitled the Predator Killer onboard the titular creature’s ship built to help humanity fight against the alien race.

The script for the forthcoming fifth title is set to be penned by Patrick Aison, who’s previously worked as a writer and producer on Fox’s Wayward Pines, Audience Network’s Kingdom, Amazon Prime Video’s Jack Ryan and USA Network’s Treadstone. John Davis, who has been attached as producer of the franchise since the 1987 original, is set to once again produce the film.

The original Predator centered on a group of elite paramilitary soldiers heading into a guerrilla-held territory of Central America on an operation to rescue hostages, only to encounter the technologically-advanced titular alien and enter into a fight for their lives. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, the original film was a smash success, grossing nearly $100 million at the box office and garnering positive reviews from critics in the years since its initial negative reception. It success spawned a franchise that included three sequels, two film crossovers with the Alien franchise, five video games and countless comics and novels.

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After helming the acclaimed short films Portal: No Escape, More Than You Can Chew and the Black Mirror episode “Playtest,” Trachtenberg went on to make his feature directorial debut in Paramount Pictures’ 10 Cloverfield Lane, which was a critical darling and grossed over $110 million at the global box office. He was briefly attached to the upcoming film adaptation of Sony’s Uncharted before dropping out of the project, which is now being helmed by Venom‘s Ruben Fleischer.

(Photo Credit: Theo Wargo/Getty Images)