Dan Trachtenberg, who has spent the last several years reviving and steering the Predator franchise for 20th Century Studios, is planting his flag at Paramount Pictures.
The filmmaker has signed a three-year first-look directing and producing deal with the studio. He will develop, direct and produce feature projects with his producing partner, Ben Rosenblatt.
The deal marks a return to the Melrose lot for Trachtenberg, who made his feature debut with 2016’s 10 Cloverfield Lane for Paramount. And it’s the latest big-name filmmaker deal for the David Ellison-owned Paramount, which is headed by co-chairs Josh Greenstein and Dana Goldberg.
“As a kid I remember seeing the Paramount logo and dreaming of the epic adventure that would follow,” said Trachtenberg in a statement. “Now to have the opportunity to bring new huge and emotional stories to giant screens is a literally a dream come true. Ben and I cannot wait to join Dana, Josh, Don, and the entire Paramount team in pursuing our shared vision of making Paramount once again the apex of cinema.”
Paramount, since being acquired last summer, has brought filmmakers and producers such as the Duffer Brothers (Stranger Things), Jon M. Chu (Wicked), James Mangold (A Complete Unknown), Issa Rae (Insecure) and JD Lifshitz and Raphael Marguelies (Barbarian) into the fold as its stocks up with cupboard with talent.
Stated Greenstein and Goldberg: “Dan has an extraordinary ability to deliver films that are both daring and deeply entertaining. He has a rare instinct for tension, scale, and storytelling that connects with audiences worldwide. We’re excited to welcome him to the studio.”
Trachtenberg is coming off the success of Predator: Badlands, the third of his Predator features. Released in November, Badlands became the highest-grossing entry in the franchise’s 38-year history, earning $184.5 million worldwide and surpassing the previous franchise record holder, 2004’s Alien vs. Predator ($177.4 million).
That came on the heels of his animated feature Predator: Killer of Killers, which was released in June on Hulu. He first took on Predator with Prey, the 2022 movie that revitalized the franchise by taking it into the colonial West. The movie earned Trachtenberg two Emmy nominations, including outstanding directing for a limited series anthology or movie and outstanding writing for a limited series anthology or movie.
Rosenblatt was a producer on the Snowpiercer and Ripley series, in addition to producing Trachtenberg’s Predator franchise films.
Trachtenberg, who also directed the pilot for Amazon series The Boys, is repped by CAA, Untitled and Johnson Shapiro.