Dan Trachtenberg Addresses Potential Return To Iconic Sci-Fi Franchise 10 Years After Directorial Debut

As he returns to the studio that gave him his big break, Dan Trachtenberg is weighing in on a potential Cloverfield return.

Having first found success in the world of commercials and short films, particularly his Portal adaptation, Trachtenberg made his feature directorial debut with 10 Cloverfield Lane, the second installment in the J.J. Abrams-produced sci-fi trilogy. The years since have seen the filmmaker garner further acclaim for helping launch Prime Video's The Boys franchise as director and executive producer on its pilot, as well as helming the past three Predator installments.

Now, in an interview with ScreenRant's Ash Crossan to discuss the home media release of Predator: Badlands, Trachtenberg shared his thoughts on a potential Cloverfield return in the wake of signing his first-look deal with Paramount. The director clarified that rejoining the franchise "wasn't the reason to go" back to Paramount, but he did tease that he "could do" another film in the sci-fi series, having "kept in touch with the folks at Bad Robot and J.J." in the 10 years since his film:

Dan Tratchtenberg: It was almost like a, "Oh my God, wait, when we were talking about stuff, it came up, and I was like, 'Oh yeah, wait a second. I've done that. I could, maybe.'" So maybe, and I certainly kept in touch with the folks at Bad Robot and J.J. [Abrams], and we've certainly discussed different things over the years, not Cloverfield related.

With three films currently released, and a fourth reported to be moving forward in late 2022, the Cloverfield franchise is notable for bringing in a different director for each installment. Matt Reeves, who was primarily known for his TV work as creator on the hit college drama Felicity, helmed the 2008 original film and has served as an executive producer on subsequent installments, while Julius Onah directed 2018's Cloverfield Paradox. The next movie is set to be helmed by Hallow Road's Babak Anvari.

While the franchise has been notable for delivering standalone stories, Abrams has previously teased discussions about eventually connecting the Cloverfield movies proper, including a potential team-up between Mary Elizabeth Winstead's Michelle and Gugu Mbatha-Raw's Ava. Trachtenberg has also previously expressed an interest in making a direct 10 Cloverfield Lane sequel, while indicating that the in-development fourth movie is going to be a direct follow-up to Reeves' original.

With him now being set back up at Paramount, the door certainly is open for Trachtenberg to make a new Cloverfield movie as part of his three-year deal. His 2016 directorial debut remains the most acclaimed installment in the series, and the filmmaker previously indicated his intent to develop both original stories and dive into the studio's IP, though has remained mum on what of the latter he has his sights set on.

Ultimately, there are a few things currently keeping Trachtenberg from making a Cloverfield return just yet. In addition to the aforementioned fourth movie from Anvari, the director has frequently expressed a desire to do projects that explore concepts and themes in ways he hasn't seen. As such, he may not yet have an idea about how to both tell a new story with Michelle that also matches this creative goal.

The other key hurdle for his Cloverfield future is his simultaneous focus on Paramount projects and the next Predator movie. He confirmed to ScreenRant that he's still in the ideation stage for what the next film will be in the sci-fi action franchise, but won't be leaving it behind even as he works with Paramount. With 20th Century Studios likely to be champing at the bit for his next film after a record-setting three-movie run, including Predator: Badlands becoming the highest-grossing installment yet, Trachtenberg may take his time conjuring up a new Cloverfield tale.

Be sure to dive into some of ScreenRant's other Predator: Badlands-related coverage with:

• Dan Trachtenberg on his Predator future after his Paramount deal
• Trachtenberg on how Badlands almost included other Predator and Alien franchise cameos
• Trachtenberg on Dek's mom's design and his plans for her introduction in a Badlands sequel
• Trachtenberg, Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi & Alec Gillis reflecting on Badlands in a special post-screening Q&A

Predator: Badlands is now available on Hulu and will arrive on 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD 2/17.