Hulu has been quietly making some huge plays, including acquiring rights to distribute the Hellraiser reimagining that is set to film this summer with David Bruckner (Southbound, V/H/S, The Ritual, The Night House) behind the camera.
Without getting too complicated, Hellraiser creator Clive Barker regained his rights through a legal loophole, which was spearheaded by lawyer Marc Toberoff of Toberoff & Associates. In fact, Toberoff has helped several creators regain their rights, including the infamous Friday the 13th case, not to mention A Nightmare on Elm Street, They Live, Beetlejuice, Psycho, Angel Heart, and many, many others.
Toberoff is also helping the writers of Predator (1987) regain their rights, allegedly revealing that the film will be distributed by none other than Hulu, AvP Galaxy reports, while also confirming to Bloody Disgusting they heard the news on last night’s stream with The Hollywood Reporter.
This is all extremely interesting because it’s potentially revealing Disney’s plans for Hulu, a streaming service they own adjacent to Disney+.
As we learned this year with HBO Max, even though the streaming service is still owned under the same umbrella as New Line Cinema and Warner Bros., they still have to pay for the streaming rights to their own films. What this means is that a film with a lower budget can reach the profit zone before ever even filming, and a project with a higher budget can mitigate risk for the studios.
Looking back at the 2018 The Predator, 20th Century Fox struggled to recoup its massive $90M budget, which put the franchise in serious peril. With the rise of the streaming service mixed with theatrical and PVOD options, a film like Predator could recoup its entire budget before it’s even released on Hulu…or in theaters. In short, it’s a game-changer.
It makes you wonder what else Hulu is up to behind closed doors? I mean, they’re already developing an “Alien” series alongside FX. Could a new film finally be on the horizon?
As for the next Predator, Dan Trachtenberg (10 Cloverfield Lane) is directing under the shooting title Skulls.
In the film, Amber Midthunder (“Legion”) stars as a Comanche woman who goes against gender norms and traditions to become a warrior.
Patrick Aison (“Jack Ryan”) wrote the script.
Amber Midthunder in FX’s “Legion”