Robert Rodriguez to Produce Predators Sequel

News, Projects

Despite a 70 percent drop in box office take in its second week in theaters, Robert Rodriguez told an audience at the San Diego Comic-Con that a Predators sequel is likely to happen and he will be returning to produce.

Predators, a combination sequel/reboot to the ’80s alien action franchise, was released earlier this month to mixed reviews and a box office take that probably won’t make up its production and marketing costs. While the film is likely to end up making its money when it is released on DVD and Blu-ray, it’s surprising that Fox would move forward on a sequel without first confirming Predators will be a financial success.

In his announcement, Rodriguez teased that the next film would be larger in scope and that several ideas he had for Predators were shelved due to the studio’s desire to release a scaled-back film that would test the market for future movies about the alien hunter.

At this stage in the game, Rodriguez says he is fielding pitches from writers on how they would approach his basic idea for a sequel. He will pick the best pitch and move forward from there. It’s not known at this time if Predators director Nimrod Antal will return to direct the sequel or if Rodriguez himself might step behind the camera.

The Buzz: While Predators may not have been a huge success with audiences or critics, I felt it was a pretty fun flick that managed to combine shallow yet entertaining action with a good set up for possible future stories.

My biggest complaint about the film had to do with the small scale of the movie’s action. There just didn’t seem to be enough balls to the wall explosions and/or alien-caused carnage. I’m hoping that Fox will see beyond any box office underperformance and let Rodriguez ratchet up the excitement in any future Predators films.

Specifically, I’d love to see more alien species on the Predators‘ hunting planet reserve. It would really increase the exoticness of a movie about alien hunters by including prey from different solar systems. What would be exceptionally cool to this movie geek would be if Fox OK’d the inclusion of alien species from some of their other science-fiction franchises. And I’m not just talking about Xenomorphs. Throw in some Na’vi from Avatar, some of the shapeshifting alien bounty hunters from The X-Files, the exo-skeleton-sporting bugs from Independence Day or even the Newcomers from Alien Nation.

Heck, why not go all out and work out a deal with Marvel to combine the Predators franchise with the X-Men. Wouldn’t that be the definition of awesome … or am I just letting Comic-Con bring out the inner geek in me?

Robert Saucedo is an avid movie watcher with seriously poor sleeping habits. The Mikey from Life cereal of film fans, Robert will watch just about anything — good, bad or ugly. He has written about film for newspapers, radio and online for the last 10 years. This has taken a toll on his sanity — of that you can be sure. Follow him on Twitter at @robsaucedo2500.