How Dan Trachtenberg's Predator Reboot Can Fix The Franchise's Mistakes
The Predator franchise may not have entirely run its full course, but it could use a bit of revitalization. That's why the news that 10 Cloverfield Lane director Dan Trachtenberg would helm the next installment could be cause for excitement, depending on how the entry can amend past mistakes related to tone, characters, and the in-universe lore.
According to Dan Trachtenberg, he had already been working on the new Predator project for almost four years before the announcement was made public. The fifth entry in the series (not counting the Alien vs. Predator films) will reportedly not have any connection to The Predator, the confusingly-named previous film that was co-written and directed by original Predator cast member Shane Black. Plot details and further information about Trachtenberg's film are unknown, though television writer/producer Patrick Aison, who worked on Jack Ryan, Kingdom, and Treadstone, is reportedly writing the screenplay.
It goes without saying that the original Predator movie is an action classic, filled with quotable one-liners, blazing guns, and an alien menace whose screen presence rivals Arnold Schwarzenegger's. The rest of the franchise never came close to replicating that magic, though there are highlights and standout moments throughout. The series arguably reached its low point when it crossed over into the world of Alien, specifically the rightfully scorned Alien vs. Predator: Requiem sequel. Since then, the Predator has remained solo but has struggled with balancing new and old elements. Here's what the new film should concentrate on in order to create a satisfying story.
The first Predator movie was an exercise in genre conventions. It's often remembered and labeled as a pinnacle of '80s action movies, but the film contained elements of horror as well as comedy alongside the brouhaha. Explosive action scenes coexisted with quiet, suspenseful moments in which the Predator stalked and hunted its game with slasher-like dedication. '80s action was always violent, but the skinned bodies that the group finds add a whole other layer of brutality and dread to the equation, too. Amidst all this chaos, though, are those iconic quips and one-liners that allow for fun and refreshing levity.
The Predator sequels, even for all their redeeming qualities, have always struggled to replicate this near-perfect balance of tones. The Predator, in particular, was a full-out comedy, shunning the horror aspects of the franchise almost entirely. It's important to make a Predator movie fun, but too much goofiness can ruin the idea of the hunter-creature being a menace. On the other hand, this is a franchise that owes its success to embracing and subverting action tropes and sets out to intentionally exaggerate its characters' testosterone levels so that their eventual deaths are all the more shocking. A completely straight-faced Predator movie would simply not be a Predator movie.
Speaking of characters, the original Predator is well-loved for its charismatic cast of lovable heroes, a Spec Ops team that had legitimate chemistry with each other. They may have been exaggerations, but they were also people whose survival the audience could root for, as well as whose demise they could feel for. The other films tried to replicate this camaraderie, but they never could capture that lighting in a bottle. Danny Glover's Lieutenant Mike Harrigan was suitably cast as an action cop hero in Predator 2, but he operated more as a lone fighter. Predators brought the sense of a team back, but the characters in that movie were more defined by their combat roles than their personalities as if they were part of a fighting game roster.
The Predator had an interesting idea in the way its team of mentally fraught, but playfully crude Marines subverted and parodied the hyper-masculinity of the first film's soldiers, but their behavior was often cartoonish and their jokes didn't land. Trachtenberg's Predator, like the original film, doesn't necessarily have to include deep, fully three-dimensional characters, but it would benefit greatly from having a strong central cast that can engage the audience. This doesn't mean that the film has to repeat its predecessor, either. In fact, the story might be more impactful if it concentrates on someone else other than muscle-bound military folk, but the human characters should shine as much as the Predators do.
Ultimately, the Predators have to stand out in a Predator movie. One of the most memorable aspects of the creature involves its mysterious but discernibly intricate culture, an element that has always been teased in various franchise entries. Killer aliens in cinema have had generally simple and unsophisticated motivations for invading and murdering, but the Predator, or more formally "Yautja," operates on more morally complex guidelines. They're clearly intelligent and live by what seems to be a strict code of honor that allows them to hunt sentient beings for sport, but only under specific conditions. All of this worldbuilding tempts one to explore, but daring writers must be careful lest they commit the screenplay sin of over-explaining at the cost of storytelling and action.
This begs the question: should Trachtenberg explore the richness of the Predator culture or portray it as an enigma? The Predator has been the biggest offender of delving too deep into the mythology, which became a muddled mess of Predators seeking out human DNA to create hybrid creatures. Predators managed to take place on an alien planet, but dared its characters to figure out Predator culture to survive, while the trophy room from Predator 2 became a quintessential aspect of the mythos. The upcoming film could travel a similar route, hinting at a larger world while keeping the Predator a mystery the main characters must solve. On the other hand, the story could benefit from a greater focus on sci-fi lore as long as the characters and plot are integrated smoothly. Either way, Trachtenberg has his work cut out for him, but his excitement about the project might mean that he has managed to perform a balancing act for a new Predator film.