The Alien and Predator franchises have been joined at the hip across various forms of media for the last 30 years, so it wouldn’t come as a surprise to discover that Disney had tasked 20th Century Studios to work on an episodic series for the latter after confirming that the Xenomorphs are coming to the small screen, with Ridley Scott and Noah Hawley overseeing development.
We’re already getting a cinematic reinvention in the near future, with 10 Cloverfield Lane director Dan Trachtenberg’s period-set reboot focusing on a tribe of Comanche warriors having been in the works for years, although it was only recently confirmed to be part of the extraterrestrial franchise, with Trachtenberg doing a solid job of keeping it under wraps for so long.
Of course, there’ve been no shortage of rumors that multiple Predator projects are in the works, ones that extend to Netflix anime shows and the return of Arnold Schwarzenegger in a theatrical sequel, even though he’s turned down the opportunity to reprise his role of Dutch on a handful of occasions already. And hot on the heels of the news that Alien was being eyed as Disney’s next potential mega-franchise, it didn’t take long to hear that Predator could be in line for similar treatment, with an R-rated series rumored to be in the works at Hulu.
Both brands have slid down the totem pole of cultural relevancy over the last decade, but all it takes is one acclaimed movie or TV show and everything is back on track, something the rebranded 20th Century Studios will be fully aware of as Disney continues to capitalize on the wealth of recognizable properties that they inherited following the Fox takeover, with Alien and Predator two of the undoubted crown jewels.