The title, setting, and story of Dan Trachtenberg's new Predator movie have officially been revealed. The franchise might have begun in 1987 with Arnold Schwarzenneger, but 20th Century Fox continued to mine the IP for all it was worth in the decades since. Once Walt Disney Studios bought Fox, it was quickly confirmed that new Predator movies would be on the way, even after Shane Black's The Predator failed to relaunch the franchise.
The future of the Predator franchise was secretly given to 10 Cloverfield Lane director Dan Trachtenberg years ago. He's indicated that the movie has been in the works since 2016, but details on what he'll do for the franchise have been heavily guarded. Fox hasn't given the film an official release date, and Legion's Amber Midthunder is the only rumored cast member. This hasn't stopped rumors circulating about what the new Predator movie will contain, but now some major details have been confirmed.
During a recent interview with Collider to promote Jungle Cruise, John Davis and John Fox revealed the title, timeline, and story of Trachtenberg's Predator. They announced that the movie is officially titled Skull that will chronicle the first trip to Earth by the main Predator alien. The female lead approach was also confirmed. The producers didn't confirm exactly when Skull is set, only teasing that it takes place early on in Earth and humanity's history. Production is nearly complete as well, so more details could arrive shortly.
These confirmed details for Skull line up with previously rumored plot details about the Predator reboot movie. Those details teased a story following a Comanche woman named Kee and a setting that predates Europeans colonizing North America. This would explain why Davis and Fox mentioned how Skull is more similar to The Revenant than past Predator movies, as The Revenant was an 1800s survivalist revenge story and not a modern action movie. With the extreme prequel setting, Skull will be able to exist largely on its own without worrying about how it connects to the Predator movies that followed.
As the first Predator movie to come out in the Disney era, it is somewhat surprising to see how much the new installment will seemingly distance itself from the movies that came before it. Many would've thought that Disney would pursue a more nostalgic relaunch of the series and find a way to bring Arnold Schwarzenneger's Dutch back. That certainly won't happen with Skull, which is a refreshing change from Hollywood's normal operations. And even though the new Predator movie might not include the franchise's branding in its title, Disney and Fox will surely make it clear through the marketing how Skull is tied to the well-known series.
Source: Collider