Here’s the big story of the day — Dan Trachtenberg is officially entering a new chapter in his career by signing a three-year first look deal at Paramount Pictures.
The filmmaker behind “10 Cloverfield Lane,” “Prey,” “Predator: Killer of Killers,” and “Predator: Badlands” will develop, direct, and produce large-scale theatrical features for the studio.
You can read between the lines here, including the carefully curated statement released by Trachtenberg and Paramount, but it does sound like he’s done making Predator movies over at 20th Century. The last one, ‘Badlands,’ earned $184M against a $105M budget— that’s not good — it probably lost anywhere between $60-$80M.
There’s a nice bit of symmetry here, too. Trachtenberg’s relationship with Paramount dates back to “10 Cloverfield Lane,” a tensely orchestrated sci-fi thriller that marked his feature directorial debut. That film went on to gross more than $110M worldwide on a reported $15M budget. It was the film that made me keep an eye out for Trachtenberg as a talent to watch.
This all naturally raises the question: what does Paramount want Trachtenberg to tackle next?
The InSneider, tackling Trachtenberg’s newly minted deal, is speculating, possibly hinting, that signs might be pointing at the direction of “World War Z.” Whether as a sequel or a full-scale reboot, the project would certainly play directly into Trachtenberg’s strengths. Brad Pitt’s involvement is up in the air, and since David Fincher’s sequel failed to materialize, it might now be up to Trachtenberg to steer this IP forward.
“World War Z” also represents a rare case of a blockbuster that clearly justified a follow-up but never received one. The 2013 film went on to earn roughly $540M worldwide, making it Paramount’s highest-grossing movie of that year.
The fact that a true sequel never materialized remains one of Paramount’s bigger missed opportunities—especially in an era now dominated by long-running IP—making the property ripe for revival under Trachtenberg.