Dan Trachtenberg, the filmmaker closely associated with Predator's recent resurgence, is reportedly moving from extraterrestrial hunters to a very different kind of Disney property. He is said to be developing and directing an untitled movie inspired by Sleeping Beauty, Disney's classic animated fairy tale, with collaborators Rayna McClendon, Alex Anfanger, and Dan Schimpf involved in its creation.
The project has not been formally detailed, and there are no plot specifics, release plans, casting announcements, or production dates attached to it at this time. Still, the reported creative team offers an intriguing early clue about the intended approach. Trachtenberg and television writer Rayna McClendon are said to have originated the idea, while Alex Anfanger and Dan Schimpf are reportedly writing the screenplay. Trachtenberg is expected to direct.
Most importantly for audiences trying to place the film within Disney's existing catalogue, the reported project is not connected to the two live-action Maleficent films starring Angelina Jolie. That distinction leaves wide-open questions about how it will relate to the 1959 animated feature, its familiar characters, and the traditional fairy-tale version of the story.
A surprising next step after Predator
Trachtenberg's name carries particular weight for genre fans because of his work on the Predator franchise. His 2022 film Prey arrived as a major critical and audience success, taking the long-running science-fiction action series into an earlier historical setting and centering its conflict on Naru, a young Comanche woman determined to prove herself as a hunter. The Hulu release gave the property a renewed sense of momentum after a lengthy period in which its future felt far less certain.
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That success did not stand alone. Trachtenberg subsequently remained active in the wider Predator universe through Predator: Badlands, a theatrical feature, and Predator: Killers of Killers, an animated anthology movie released on Hulu. Both projects helped make him one of the key creative figures associated with the franchise's current era.
For that reason, news of a possible move to Sleeping Beauty is an unexpected development. A fairy tale built around an enchanted princess, a curse, a sleeping kingdom, and a formidable villain may appear far removed from the survivalist tension and creature-driven action of Predator. But Trachtenberg's career has also been defined by taking recognizable genre material and finding a fresh entry point into it.
His previous filmography includes the tightly contained thriller 10 Cloverfield Lane, which used a limited setting and uncertainty over the outside world to create escalating dread. Prey, meanwhile, demonstrated an ability to strip a venerable franchise back to a clear central conflict while giving it a distinct atmosphere and protagonist. If the new project does proceed, the question will be whether that same instinct can find something newly compelling within one of Disney's most famous animated stories.
What is known about the creative team
At present, the reported talent behind the movie is clearer than the movie itself. McClendon is attached as a co-creator of the underlying idea with Trachtenberg. Anfanger and Schimpf are reportedly handling the script, meaning the pair will be responsible for translating that early concept into the eventual feature screenplay.
There is no indication that the film will be a straightforward live-action remake of Disney's animated Sleeping Beauty. It is only described as being inspired by the classic film and as taking the material in an entirely new direction. That wording could encompass many possibilities: a new perspective on familiar events, an original story set alongside the traditional tale, a tonal reinvention, or a movie that borrows only selected elements from the animated feature. Until Disney or the filmmakers provide more information, none of those possibilities should be treated as confirmed.
The reported intent is also that the finished movie should feel recognizably like a Trachtenberg project. That is perhaps the most interesting part of the early report, even if it is also the least specific. His work has varied in setting and scale, but suspense, danger, resourceful characters, and heightened genre concepts have consistently played important roles. A Trachtenberg-led fairy tale could potentially emphasize the menace of an ancient curse, the isolation of a kingdom under enchantment, or the survival stakes that are often softened in more conventional retellings.
That does not necessarily mean the project will be dark, violent, or action-focused. There are no confirmed details about its rating, visual style, audience, or tone. The contrast between the director's Predator work and the Disney source material has already inspired plenty of speculation, but the available information only establishes that the new film is expected to have a distinct authorial character.
Sleeping Beauty has a long Disney history
Disney's animated Sleeping Beauty debuted in 1959 and remains one of the studio's best-known interpretations of the fairy tale. Its visual design, particularly the stylized medieval-inspired backgrounds, has given the film a lasting identity separate from many other Disney animated features. It also cemented Princess Aurora and Maleficent as central figures in Disney's larger collection of characters.
The story has been adapted and reworked many times beyond Disney, owing to its roots in European folk and literary traditions. Disney itself returned to the material in a major way with Maleficent in 2014, followed by Maleficent: Mistress of Evil in 2019. Those live-action films repositioned Maleficent as their leading figure and explored the character with considerably more sympathy and complexity than the animated version's purely villainous presentation.
The reported lack of any connection to those Jolie-led films is therefore significant. It suggests Disney is not simply continuing that established live-action branch. Instead, it appears to be considering another interpretation that can exist on its own terms. Whether Aurora, Maleficent, Prince Phillip, the three good fairies, or other familiar characters will appear in the new film has not been disclosed.
Disney has frequently revisited its animated library through remakes, sequels, reimaginings, and projects built around supporting characters. Yet the description of this film as a new direction may make it somewhat different from the most direct remake model. For viewers, that uncertainty is likely to be part of the appeal: the project is recognizable enough to invite expectations, but currently undefined enough that it could ultimately become something quite unlike previous versions.
Predator fans may have to wait for Trachtenberg's next franchise chapter
Trachtenberg's apparent shift to a Disney fairy-tale project will naturally prompt questions about his future with Predator. His recent contributions have made him a popular choice among fans who would like to see another film or television project shaped by his perspective. However, no new Trachtenberg Predator project is identified alongside the reported Sleeping Beauty plans.
There is also another commitment ahead of him. Trachtenberg is currently in pre-production on an unidentified, non-Predator film for Paramount. That project has not been publicly defined in the available information, but it means the filmmaker's immediate schedule is already not exclusively tied to Disney or to the Predator universe.
As a result, audiences should expect the reported Sleeping Beauty movie to remain at an early stage for some time. Development announcements can evolve considerably before cameras roll, especially when a project has yet to reveal a title, cast, story, or release window. The film's reported existence is an interesting sign of Disney exploring another route into a familiar property, not a guarantee of what the final version will look like.
An unusual combination worth watching
On paper, a director associated with Prey and Predator tackling Sleeping Beauty is a striking pairing. That surprise may be exactly why the project has generated immediate interest. Trachtenberg has shown a willingness to approach established worlds from angles that are more focused and distinctive than simple repetition, while Sleeping Beauty contains a deep reserve of imagery, mythology, and dramatic tension that has not been exhausted by prior adaptations.
For now, there is more mystery than certainty. The title remains unknown. The story is unknown. The cast, format, timetable, and exact relationship to Disney's animated classic are all unknown. What is known is that Trachtenberg, McClendon, Anfanger, and Schimpf are reportedly assembling a fresh take on a foundational Disney fairy tale--and that it will stand apart from the existing Maleficent films.
That is enough to make the project one to monitor. Whether it becomes a suspenseful fantasy, a revisionist fairy tale, a character-driven drama, or something that defies those categories altogether will depend on details Disney has yet to share.
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