The "Predator" franchise is in a good place. The series of films, which kicked off in the '80s trailing Arnold Schwarzenegger as he fought off a scary alien in a rainforest, has evolved through the decades, resulting in many iterations of varying quality. As of late, the franchise has entered a great and new era, releasing movies that have pushed the formula to new directions and reaped new groups of fans. Is Schwarzenegger coming back to the franchise?
According to Ben Rosenblatt, the producer of the incoming "Predator: Badlands," Schwarzenegger fans can have some hope. “Obviously, the holy grail of Predator movies would be getting Arnold back in there,” he said to Deadline.
“It’s always been something in the back of our minds—that it would be really great to see him come back to this franchise that he’s made iconic, and that’s made him iconic.”
Schwarzenegger played Dutch in the original 1987 movie, with his role becoming one of the eras most definitive action heroes. His contribution helped launch the "Predator" monster as one of those iconic movie villains, reaping millions of dollars in the box office.
Rosenblatt also made it clear that Schwarzenegger is in touch with the "Predator" team. “After Predator: Badlands comes out, we’ll see and have more conversations,” he said. “Hopefully, we’ll have a chance to do something with Arnold, because that would be awesome.”
While Schwarzenegger has yet to make a live action return to the franchise, he's done some voice work for various related projects, including the animated anthology film "Predator: Killer of Killers" and the video game "Predator: Hunting Grounds."
More details about the 'Predator' franchise
The "Predator" franchise is currently made up of 9 movies of different genres and qualities. Dan Trachtenberg, the director behind the new "Predator: Badlands" shared that this film is a perfect entry point for new fans, being set off in the far future.
“We’re cognizant of how, in this day and age, with all the media that we have, some of it can feel like homework and you kind of have to like remind yourself of where in a timeline does this sit between this movie and that movie and I really did not want that to be the case with Badlands," he said in an interview with IGN.
He's been working on the "Predator" franchise over the past couple of years, directing "Prey," in 2022, and "Predator: Killer of Killers" earlier this year.