[Spoilers] “There’s Definitely A Plan In Mind” – Dan Trachtenberg And Josh Wassung Discuss Predator: Killer Of Killers

As we’re eagerly awaiting the release of Predator: Killer of Killers animated anthology film, Dan Trachtenberg and Josh Wassung reveal more details about the project in an interview with Fangoria and Gizmodo. In the interview with Fangoria, Trachtenberg, while speaking of Prey, says:

Sometimes people make a cool movie and then the sequel is just a sequel to the cool movie. Not a cool movie in and of itself. I was really racking my brains, what would be, not just the next minute of this story we just told, but actually what has not been done in the franchise before?

This led Trachtenberg to ask himself what more could be done time period wise? Fangoria reports:

Enter Killer of Killers. Trachtenberg co-directed the anthology alongside John Wassung, marking his feature directorial debut. Trachtenberg and Wassung had worked together many times before. Wassung and his company The Third Floor had done lots of visual effects work, specifically pre-visualization. “He was like, ‘Dude, I know we just do pre-viz but I really think me and the company here are ready to do a finished project,” Trachtenberg explained. “I love me an underdog story and they showed me some tests that they had done. They were incredible. And I was like, ‘Oh my gosh. Animation. Okay. What if we do Predator animated?’”

When it came to how Wassung approached the project, the interview states:

“We worked really hard, really, really rapidly,” Wassung said. “We did pre-viz for the movie while he was working on the script.” They were able to get the movie in decent shape, with several internal screenings at the studio, before Trachtenberg had to leave to actually begin filming Badlands in New Zealand. Even so, they stayed in touch frequently, even as Trachtenberg was neck deep in production on a live-action blockbuster. “We had a trust because we worked together for years,” Wassung said.

“If you could pause it at any point in time, it should really feel like you’re looking at a painting,” Wassung added.

Regarding questions about the future of the Predator franchise after the release of Predator: Killer of Killers and Predator: Badlands, Wassung in the interview lets us know:

 “We need to give Dan just a little bit more time to finish Badlands because he’s still working so hard on that movie but yes, we are definitely talking about it,” Wassung said regarding a possible follow-up to Killer of Killers. “We would love to explore what happens next.”

And beyond the potential of a Killer of Killers follow-up, Trachtenberg teased us with the potential of a Prey 2 being the alleged 3rd project that’s already in the works:

I had a bunch of big ideas when I finished Prey, I would love to get to all of them. There’s definitely a plan in mind, but the movie (Predator: Killer of Killers) has to do well. So, we’ll see. The third story, which I can’t speak to yet, is what would happen with Naru.

This next quote has potentially mild spoilers for the upcoming animated film, so caution is recommended for anyone avoiding any spoilers. In one of the recent trailers, there is a shot of a mysterious, unknown Predator. Many fans have speculated that the visible bone decorations from that Predator’s attire are of Alien origins. Trachtenberg fills us in on some of the details about that mysterious character:

What I think is really cool about the design of the warlord Predator is he’s the biggest one we’ve seen. He’s got a cape made of bones and the face mask he’s wearing is actually a Yautja skull, another Predator skull that he’s wearing, being the top dog. I love that design and I think what people are seeing as Xenomorph might actually be Predator or other species.

In the interview with Gizmodo, Trachtenberg talks about the early conceptualisation of the anthology and also adds:

“Truly, the great key turn was ‘Oh wait a second. It’s not three stories. It’s one story,’” Trachtenberg said. “First thinking of Twilight Zone: The Movie and then realizing, ‘No, no, there’s another kind of anthology.’ Pulp Fiction is also an anthology, and that really does feel like one story. So yeah, then the champions all coming together in an arena suddenly felt like ‘Wow, this gets wider at the end.’ It doesn’t just get bigger and longer, it gets wider and covers stuff that was already happening theoretically in the franchise that we didn’t even know about.”

Thanks to BlackNoir for the news! Keep your browsers locked on Alien vs. Predator Galaxy for the latest Predator: Killer of Killers news! You can follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube to get the latest on your social media walls. You can also join in with fellow Alien and Predator fans on our forums. Want to support what we do here at AvP Galaxy and get exclusive perks while doing so? Check out our Patreon!