Arnold Schwarzenegger might soon reprise his iconic role as Dutch in the Predator universe, according to director Dan Trachtenberg of the upcoming Predator: Badlands.
The 77-year-old actor first portrayed Major Alan “Dutch” Schaefer in the 1987 action-horror classic, where his elite military team encounters a deadly alien hunter during a hostage rescue mission in Central America.
Despite the franchise expanding into nine films, such as Predator 2 (1990), Prey (2022), and Predator: Badlands (2025), Schwarzenegger has yet to return on screen.
However, during the Badlands panel at San Diego Comic-Con on Friday (July 25), Trachtenberg, 44, revealed that he and Schwarzenegger recently met for breakfast and he is “planning to cook up stuff for that guy.”
In addition, Trachtenberg announced that Schwarzenegger granted permission for his likeness to appear in a new epilogue added to the recently released Predator: Killer of Killers. The sequence shows Predator warriors carrying the coffins of fallen humans, including Dutch, Lieutenant Mike Harrigan (played by Danny Glover in Predator 2), and Naru (portrayed by Amber Midthunder in Prey).
This epilogue was not part of Killer of Killers when it was originally released in June. The upcoming Predator: Badlands, set for release on November 7, stars Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi, 24, as the Predator, alongside Elle Fanning, 24, who plays an android.
According to the official synopsis, the story follows “a young Predator, outcast from his clan, [who] finds an unlikely ally in Thia and embarks on a treacherous journey in search of the ultimate adversary” on a remote planet in the future.
Outside the franchise, Schwarzenegger continues to reflect on his fame with characteristic candor. In a June interview with The Sunday Times, the global star spoke openly about public attention and its perks. “You’re absolutely right. What people miss the most is to get attention,” he said.
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“That someone knows them, is aware of them, that they’re somebody. And so they go to a shrink. They lie on the couch, and someone is listening to them. But I go out anywhere to a crowd, and they all listen. And they love to listen to my s***, right?"
“I’m having fifty thousand shrinks sitting out there, and I don’t pay a f***ing penny. I get paid! So, how can I complain about that? OK, yes, there are times when you go to a restaurant and someone comes up and says, ‘Can I take a picture of you?’"
"I can walk into this restaurant at any time, I can sit at any table I want, and I make no reservation. For that, I take a picture with someone. It takes three minutes. So why would I complain?”