The Predator franchise is currently undergoing something of a renaissance as it hasn’t been this popular or successful since Arnold Schwarzenegger starred in the original film. Many fans have hoped that at some point, through all the various Predator films, we might see Arnold again, and while nothing is official, Dan Trechtenberg, the current keeper of the Predator legacy, indicates that such a thing might be possible.
Dan Tractenberg first reminded us how great Predator could be with the excellent Prey, and then followed it up with the animated anthology, Predator: Killer of Killers. That movie added significantly to the Predator lore, revealing that Arnold’s character from the first film, Dutch, as well as Prey’s Naru, had been captured by the Predators and kept in stasis.
This little tease certainly opened the door to a potential return to the franchise for Dutch, and Dan Trectenberg tells Empire (via comicbook.com) that he’s actually talked to Arnold about the “many possibilities” regarding the future of the franchise, perhaps hinting at an eventual return. Tractenberg said…
I met Arnold and he said, ‘You’d think I get, ‘l’ll be back,’ yelled at me most, but it’s actually, ‘Get to the chopper!’ So, he’s well aware of the franchise’s staying power. He was excited to talk about what else we could do. Because there’s so much more story to tell now — you could tell how [Dutch and Naru] were captured, or what happens when they’re de-iced. Many possibilities.
Killer of Killers revealed that when a Predator is defeated, the person responsible is then captured so that they can be brought back to the Predator home world and challenged once again. At the movie’s conclusion, we see the likes of Dutch and Naru are part of the Predators' "collection.”
This certainly opened the door to a possible return for Dutch. Tractenberg specifically says he talked to Arnold about “what else we could do,” so it’s clear that, whether or not there’s a plan for a return now, that was at least discussed.
The door is certainly open to a variety of possibilities. We could see Dutch return in a future animated film, or we might actually see a live-action follow-up. Fans were interested in seeing a sequel to Prey after that film's success. Almost certainly, any potential sequel to that would take the events of Killer of Killers into account. Could we even see Dutch and Naru together? What a team-up that would be.
Dan Tractenberg’s next foray into the world of Predator will be another unique take on the franchise. Predator: Badlands will actually see one of the titular aliens as the hero of the story.
After that, we don’t really know what will happen next, but it certainly sounds like Dan Trachtenberg is looking at staying in the world of Predator, and perhaps it could include a return for the franchise’s original hero.
