SAN DIEGO – Dan Trachtenberg’s first “Predator” movie experience was sitting in the back of a car in the 1980s, heading to a karate tournament and listening intently as other kids ran down the plot of that cool new Arnold Schwarzenegger sci-fi action movie.
“I grew up loving the idea of seeing an R-rated movie for the first time and ‘Predator’ was that,” the director said at a Comic-Con panel on Friday, July 25, for latest franchise effort “Predator: Badlands” (in theaters Nov. 7).
“Badlands” marks the first time in the long-running series that a Predator is the actual protagonist rather than the villain – in this case, a young alien hunter named Dek (played by New Zealand actor Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi). And it’s the latest movie where Trachtenberg, who also directed “Prey” and the animated “Killer of Killers,” is taking “Predator” to new places.
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That said, Trachtenberg revealed at the panel he recently had breakfast with Schwarzenegger and is looking to “cook up stuff for that guy.” The first bit: His character Dutch in the original 1987 film has now been added to a key post-credits scene in “Killer of Killers” (streaming on Hulu) that hints to where things could go in the future.
