PREDATOR: BADLANDS Director Hints at Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Possible Return After Meeting

Could Arnold Schwarzenegger be gearing up for a return as Dutch in the Predator franchise? If director Dan Trachtenberg has his way, the answer might be yes.

During Friday’s Predator: Badlands panel at Comic-Con, Trachtenberg teased the Hall H crowd, revealing he recently had breakfast with the original Predator himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and that the meeting might lead to something big.

“I got to meet him for breakfast and cook up stuff for that guy,” Trachtenberg said, hinting at a potential return for Dutch.

Schwarzenegger first brought Dutch to life in John McTiernan’s 1987 sci-fi action classic Predator, where his elite team faced off against the ultimate alien hunter in the jungles of Central America.

Since then, the franchise has exploded into nine films including two crossovers with Alien, and the upcoming Predator: Badlands.

Despite the franchise’s long history, Schwarzenegger has never returned to play Dutch, until now, sort of.

Last month, fans got a surprise when the franchise’s first animated entry, Predator: Killer of Killers, dropped. Trachtenberg also revealed a new epilogue scene, now streaming on Hulu, that features Dutch alongside Danny Glover’s Lt. Mike Harrigan from Predator 2 and Amber Midthunder’s Naru from Prey.

The scene depicts all three characters in sleep chambers being collected by Predator warriors.

The director confirmed that he needed Schwarzenegger’s blessing to pull this off: “I got his approval to use his likeness in that scene,” he said, adding that the breakfast meeting made it possible.

Trachtenberg has been instrumental in breathing new life into the franchise, having previously helmed Prey and the animated Killer of Killers. With Badlands marking his third major outing, he seems committed to pushing the universe forward, and possibly bringing its most iconic character along for the ride.

Predator: Badlands stars Elle Fanning as Thia, a character who forms an unexpected alliance with a young Predator who arrives on the deadliest planet in the universe to hunt the deadliest creature. It’s a cool concept, but the idea of Dutch returning in some capacity? That’s the kind of move that could send fans into overdrive.

If Trachtenberg really is “cooking up stuff” for Schwarzenegger, it raises some big questions, but it would have to be an animated project.

We’ll have to wait and see, but one thing’s clear, Trachtenberg isn’t done surprising us, and Dutch might not be finished fighting predators yet.

Predator: Badlands hits theaters on November 7. Would you want to see Arnold back in live-action? And if so, how do you think Dutch should fit into the modern Predator saga?