More than a decade after missing out on the Predators directing gig, Neil Marshall is still hoping to make a Predator movie
Back in the mid-1990s, Robert Rodriguez wrote the screenplay for a Predator sequel that would be titled Predators… but the studio decided to put that one on the shelf for fifteen years before circling back to Rodriguez and giving him the chance to bring Predators to the screen. Rodriguez produced the movie and hired Alex Litvak and Michael Finch to rework his old script. The search for a director came down to two contenders: Control, Vacancy, and Armored director Nimród Antal and Dog Soldiers, The Descent, and Doomsday director Neil Marshall. The job ended up going to Antal, but more than a decade later, Marshall is still hoping he’ll get his chance to make a Predator movie someday.
Marshall was asked about being in the running for Predators while speaking with Inverse, and he said, “As far as I’m aware, I got down to the last two directors. We were both invited separately to visit Texas and met with Robert Rodriguez. I saw his studio, went out for some barbecue, and he sounded me out. It was great but he hired the other guy; that’s the way it goes. I love the franchise, and I’d love to make a Predator movie sometime, the same way I’d like to do an Alien movie too. There’s a bunch of things I’d have done differently if I was directing Predators. All things considered, I’d rather start from scratch and do a fresh take on the Predator concept, rather than do anything that’s come before me.“
When the interviewer said the Predator could work within any setting or time period, Marshall agreed. “Very much so. Could we do Predator on the beaches of Normandy? I’d love to see Predator in the desert. Put the Predator in Afghanistan or somewhere like that. That would be cool. Predators versus ninjas! That would do me.“
20th Century Studios seems content to leave the Predator franchise in the hands of Prey director Dan Trachtenberg for now, and they have him working on both a Prey sequel and a separate Predator film called Badlands (which is set to star Elle Fanning), but there are a lot of filmmakers out there who would love to work on a Predator story. Neil Marshall wants the job, a Predator movie would be a dream gig for Atlas director Brad Peyton, the Predators creative team wanted to make “Die Hard on a Predator ship,” etc.
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