Dan Trachtenberg, director of the newest Predator movie, went from working behind the counter at Willow Grove Mall’s video store to leading one of Hollywood’s biggest sci-fi franchises, writes Jake Kring-Schreifels for Philadelphia Magazine.
The Willow Grove native spent over a decade directing commercials, podcasts, and short films before breaking through with 10 Clover Lane, a 2016 claustrophobic domestic drama. That success led to multiple television projects, that culminated in 2022’s Prey for Hulu. This established him as a leading voice in today’s genre filmmaking by reimagining the Predator franchise as an 18th-century survivalist tale.
“The stories that I dream up are often taking elements from different genres and putting them together in new ways and creating a new recipe to give audiences an exciting new experience,” he said.
Following the success of Prey, he stayed with the franchise, co-directing the animated anthology Predator: Killer of Killers this summer. His latest and most ambitious film, Predator: Badlands, hit theaters this month. The inventive genre mashup stars Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi as Yautja and Elle Fanning as a female synthetic, with the story told from the apex hunter’s perspective.
Read more about Willow Grove’s Dan Trachtenberg in Philadelphia Magazine.
