"Dan came to me with a writer and an idea"
This I love. I adore it. This gives me the hope upon hope. This feels like James Gunn, already a lover of the comic, pitching "Guardians of the Galaxy". A single pitch. A single vision. Most likely a passionate vision. And only one writer!!!
This all makes me believe Dan Trachtenberg must be a Predator fan, and we have a good chance he understands the appeal of the character, what works and what doesn't, from everything in regards to story and pacing, to casting and creature design (I'm looking at you ADI - Reign them in Dan!)
There are no guarantees, I get it, even from fans of the material, but Dan is definitely the source of all my optimism!