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Predator mastermind Dan Trachtenberg has an idea for a fourth hunt after Prey, Killer of Killers, and Badlands

Look, we're gonna sound like a broken record here, but we have to ask - is Trachtenberg teasing a new Alien vs. Predator?

Humanity's struggle against the Yautja is all about winning battles and losing wars. At least, so long as Predator frontman Dan Trachtenberg keeps coming up with ideas.

We're just a few days past the release date of Hulu's Predator: Killer of Killers, the first animated venture into the Predator franchise. And as of this writing, we're only a few short months away from the Predator's next big-screen outing, when he'll return to live action in Predator: Badlands. But according to Trachtenberg, who first entered the franchise with 2022 streaming hit Prey, there are even more stories to tell about the eponymous galactic hunter. In fact - he already has one in mind.

Speaking to SFX Magazine, Trachtenberg reveals that he had ideas for more Predator stories started coming to him pretty much as soon as he wrapped up his first.

"After Prey came out," says the director, "and I started thinking about sequel stuff, there were three ideas that I had. Killers is one, Badlands is two and the third one is something else."

Sorry, what? Care to elaborate on that, Dan?

"There's a lot of cool ideas out there and none of them are just like, 'Oh, we have to say the next part of this story because it was successful.' All of it is like, 'Whoa, no one has done that in sci-fi . No one has done that in Predator. No one's done that with the creature,' all of those ideas are generated from that instinct. So, yeah, there is definitely a third thing that I'd love to get to when Badlands is finished."

If you've been following recent online Predator discourse (oof, don't google that), you know that the next idea in the minds of fans, at least, is for the Predator to cross paths with its infamous enemy, the xenomorph from the Alien franchise. But we have to say - that sure doesn't seem like what Trachtenberg is teasing here. Alien vs. Predator has definitely been done before, and the idea of multiple extraterrestrials duking it out is definitely not new. So what idea that "no one has done [...] in sci-fi" is the director talking about?

Hopefully we'll find out more after Badlands.

Predator: Killer of Killers is on Hulu now. Predator: Badlands comes to theaters November 7.


In the immortal words of Danny Elfman, "Life's no fun without a good scare." We couldn't agree more, which is why we've cobbled together a couple pieces to send a chill up your spine. Join Popverse as we explore:

And much gore. Er, more. Much more.

Grant DeArmitt

Grant DeArmitt: Grant DeArmitt (he/him) likes horror, comics, and the unholy union of the two. As Popverse's Staff Writer, he criss-crosses the pop culture landscape bringing you the news and opinions about the big things (and the next big things). In the past, and despite their better judgment, he has written for Nightmare on Film Street and Newsarama. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, Kingsley, and corgi, Legs.

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