PREDATOR: BADLANDS Director Hints at Arnold Schwarzenegger's Possible Return After Meeting — GeekTyrant
During Friday's Predator: Badlands panel at Comic-Con, Trachtenberg teased the Hall H crowd, revealing he recently had breakfast with the original Predator himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and that the meeting might lead to something big.
'I got to meet him for breakfast and cook up stuff for that guy,' Trachtenberg said, hinting at a potential return for Dutch.
Schwarzenegger first brought Dutch to life in John McTiernan's 1987 sci-fi action classic Predator , where his elite team faced off against the ultimate alien hunter in the jungles of Central America.
Since then, the franchise has exploded into nine films including two crossovers with Alien , and the upcoming Predator: Badlands .
Despite the franchise's long history, Schwarzenegger has never returned to play Dutch, until now, sort of.
Last month, fans got a surprise when the franchise's first animated entry, Predator: Killer of Killers , dropped. Trachtenberg also revealed a new epilogue scene, now streaming on Hulu, that features Dutch alongside Danny Glover's Lt. Mike Harrigan from Predator 2 and Amber Midthunder's Naru from Prey.
The scene depicts all three characters in sleep chambers being collected by Predator warriors.
The director confirmed that he needed Schwarzenegger's blessing to pull this off: 'I got his approval to use his likeness in that scene,' he said, adding that the breakfast meeting made it possible.
Trachtenberg has been instrumental in breathing new life into the franchise, having previously helmed Prey and the animated Killer of Killers . With Badlands marking his third major outing, he seems committed to pushing the universe forward, and possibly bringing its most iconic character along for the ride.
Predator: Badlands stars Elle Fanning as Thia, a character who forms an unexpected alliance with a young Predator who arrives on the deadliest planet in the universe to hunt the deadliest creature. It's a cool concept, but the idea of Dutch returning in some capacity? That's the kind of move that could send fans into overdrive.
If Trachtenberg really is 'cooking up stuff' for Schwarzenegger, it raises some big questions, but it would have to be an animated project.
We'll have to wait and see, but one thing's clear, Trachtenberg isn't done surprising us, and Dutch might not be finished fighting predators yet.
Predator: Badlands hits theaters on November 7. Would you want to see Arnold back in live-action? And if so, how do you think Dutch should fit into the modern Predator saga?
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Insider
34 minutes ago
- Business Insider
Billionaire gaming CEO buys superyacht company that built his and Jeff Bezos' boats
Gabe Newell, the cofounder of video game developer Valve Corporation, has purchased Oceanco, the Dutch builder behind some of the world's most prominent superyachts. The amount that Newell, who Forbes reports is worth $9.5 billion, paid for the shipbuilder has not been disclosed. The previous owner, Mohammed Al Barwani, purchased Oceanco in 2010. Neither Newell nor Oceanco responded to requests for comment from Business Insider. Newell's Valve is behind some of the most beloved video games, including the "Half-Life" and "Portal" series. It also created Steam, the biggest PC gaming platform, and the handheld PC gaming device Steam Deck. With Oceanco, he's moving into sun decks and main decks. The shipyard has built some of the most renowned superyachts and only delivers a couple of fully customized vessels, which cost well into the nine figures, each year. Its largest build to date is Koru, Jeff Bezos's 127-meter-long sailing yacht, which was delivered in 2023 to much fanfare and has been praised for its aesthetics. The Koru build had its controversial moments. Oceanco initially requested that a historic bridge be dismantled to deliver the yacht, but then rescinded the request. Separately, the company was fined for failing to properly trace the teak used to craft some of Koru's furniture and interiors. Oceanco is also behind Alfa Nero, the 82-meter yacht seized from a Russian oligarch in 2023, and Bravo Eugenia, the 109-meter yacht owned by billionaire Jerry Jones. Newell owns at least one Oceanco design: Draak, a 91.5-meter-long yacht with a helipad, spa, gym, and swimming pool. He is also rumored to be the future owner of Oceanco Y722, a 111-meter project expected to be delivered later this year. While the prices of Oceanco's new deliveries are largely kept under wraps, the six yachts for sale from the builder range in price from $5.8 million for a 49-meter vessel built in 1995 to $341 million for a 105-meter superyacht built in 2000. Newell will take a hands-off approach and plans to "leave the team alone,"according to a press release from August 1 announcing the acquisition. There is hope, however, that his tech background will influence production.
Business Insider
an hour ago
- Business Insider
Billionaire gaming CEO buys superyacht company that built his and Jeff Bezos' boats
Some gamers spend weekends on the couch. Others spend them luxuriating in the most expensive assets money can buy. Gabe Newell, the cofounder of video game developer Valve Corporation, has purchased Oceanco, the Dutch builder behind some of the world's most prominent superyachts. The amount that Newell, who Forbes reports is worth $9.5 billion, paid for the shipbuilder has not been disclosed. The previous owner, Mohammed Al Barwani, purchased Oceanco in 2010. Neither Newell nor Oceanco responded to requests for comment from Business Insider. Newell's Valve is behind some of the most beloved video games, including the "Half-Life" and "Portal" series. It also created Steam, the biggest PC gaming platform, and the handheld PC gaming device Steam Deck. With Oceanco, he's moving into sun decks and main decks. The shipyard has built some of the most renowned superyachts and only delivers a couple of fully customized vessels, which cost well into the nine figures, each year. Its largest build to date is Koru, Jeff Bezos's 127-meter-long sailing yacht, which was delivered in 2023 to much fanfare and has been praised for its aesthetics. The Koru build had its controversial moments. Oceanco initially requested that a historic bridge be dismantled to deliver the yacht, but then rescinded the request. Separately, the company was fined for failing to properly trace the teak used to craft some of Koru's furniture and interiors. Oceanco is also behind Alfa Nero, the 82-meter yacht seized from a Russian oligarch in 2023, and Bravo Eugenia, the 109-meter yacht owned by billionaire Jerry Jones. Newell owns at least one Oceanco design: Draak, a 91.5-meter-long yacht with a helipad, spa, gym, and swimming pool. He is also rumored to be the future owner of Oceanco Y722, a 111-meter project expected to be delivered later this year. While the prices of Oceanco's new deliveries are largely kept under wraps, the six yachts for sale from the builder range in price from $5.8 million for a 49-meter vessel built in 1995 to $341 million for a 105-meter superyacht built in 2000. Newell will take a hands-off approach and plans to "leave the team alone," according to a press release from August 1 announcing the acquisition. There is hope, however, that his tech background will influence production. "What happens when you let yachtbuilders talk to worldbuilders? When craftsmen get access to tech usually reserved for game devs and mad scientists?" the press release says. "You get innovation that doesn't just look good. It feels good."
Business Insider
2 hours ago
- Business Insider
The big question inside Disney: What's going to happen to Hulu?
Nine Disney streaming staffers tell Business Insider that it's become impossible to ignore the company's increasing emphasis on Disney+ over Hulu. "Internally, the Hulu brand isn't a priority," an employee on the ads side of Disney's streaming business said. The Mouse House has been steering bundle subscribers to the Disney+ app by loading it with most Hulu movies and shows and some ESPN content. Unbundled Disney subscribers can also watch some Hulu and ESPN shows free of charge on Disney+. But Disney+ content isn't available on Hulu. Disney CEO Bob Iger said in May that these changes are "definitely having a positive impact" on the streamer's engagement and cancellation rate. Disney is also making changes internally. It's discouraging Hulu-only ad buys and merging the platforms' ad servers, employees said. Two sales-side employees said they need special permission to sell a Hulu-only ad spot, excluding certain interactive ads that only work on Hulu. They said the sales team is pushing advertisers instead to buy across both Disney+ and Hulu, as part of what one of the staffers called a "massive" companywide push "to prioritize Disney+ over everything." And last week, Disney moved to a unified ad server for Disney+ and Hulu. This shift, known internally as "Mission Control," was labor-intensive and at times painful but necessary, the employees said. "Everything going through one ad server makes a lot less work for everyone involved when it comes to getting ad campaigns live," the first ads employee said. Disney's changes show the Hulu brand is now decidedly on the back burner, this person said. They viewed the shift as mostly positive and said further unification of Disney+ and Hulu would give consumers a better experience while simplifying the ad sales process. Hulu fans' migration to Disney+ is off to a slow start, so far. Two Disney streaming employees with access to viewer data said the overwhelming majority of Hulu viewership still comes directly from the Hulu app, not through Disney+. Hulu has centered its identity on dramas and comedies for adults and next-day TV. Disney is seeing some progress, though: One Hulu-focused streaming employee said the "Hulu on Disney+" section has been starting to get more engagement as subscribers start to discover that they can use Disney+ as an all-in-one app. However, the Hulu-focused employee, who's familiar with the service's analytics, said many Hulu subscribers don't pay for Disney+ and aren't necessarily interested in its family-friendly content dominated by franchises like Marvel, Star Wars, and Disney animation. Several media analysts support Disney's direction, though, in going all in on Disney+. Further integrating Hulu into Disney+ could save the company about $3 billion through "the elimination of duplicative technology and administrative costs," MoffettNathanson's Robert Fishman said in a mid-July note. UBS media analyst John Hodulik told BI in July that Disney fully consolidating Hulu into Disney+ is "one of the steps they need to take to Netflix-ify their streaming business." Impacts on Hulu's business Although Hulu still gets most of its viewership from its stand-alone app, there are signs Disney's emphasis on Disney+ could be affecting its ad business. According to analysts at MoffettNathanson, Hulu generated the most US ad revenue of any paid streaming service in the second quarter, thanks to its mature ads business, which launched in 2008. However, Hulu's ad revenue fell an estimated 0.3% last quarter, MoffettNathanson said. Hulu was the lone paid streaming service that didn't grow ad revenue in the second quarter, according to the firm. Meanwhile, Disney+ saw its advertising revenue soar 67% year-over-year in that same span, MoffettNathanson said. Despite that, Disney+ has a long way to go to catch up. Hulu's ad revenue was more than four times that of Disney+ last quarter, MoffettNathanson said. "Hulu having slightly lower ad revenue year-over-year while Disney+ has seen a huge increase makes perfect sense to me," the first employee on the ad sales side said, considering the company's continued emphasis on Disney+ over Hulu. Another Disney+ employee said that "eyeballs are shifting into the Disney+ interface," in line with what one of their Hulu-focused colleagues said. Both Disney+ and Hulu have seen gradual subscriber growth, even though Disney hiked prices of each service's ad and ad-free tiers last October. Hulu is well ahead of Disney+ in how much money it makes per subscriber in the US. Hulu brought in $12.36 per subscriber in the first three months of this year, while Disney+ only generated two-thirds of that sum. But Hulu's average revenue per subscriber has fallen in each of the last three quarters, while Disney+'s has steadily risen. Life after Hulu? The idea of shuttering the stand-alone Hulu service has been raised internally as a thought experiment, an employee on the business side of Disney's streaming division who had been involved in those discussions said. "Every time we go through that in our long-range plan, these things come up," this person said. "You're looking at, 'Alright, what would happen if we did this? Could we cut this? Could we merge? What would happen?' So you do those analyses in the background, but not all of them ever come to see the light of day." A longtime Hulu employee said that Disney's focus with streaming has been on a "unified platform." They added that Hulu's tech had "serious degradation" issues and could feel outdated, given that it's one of the oldest streaming services. Still, one potential issue with shutting down Hulu as a stand-alone app is that it's emotionally intertwined with the brand for staffers, sometimes called "Hulugans." "Old employees have an affinity for it," a second veteran Hulu employee said.
