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The Predator: Every Update You Need To Know
The Predator brings the one ugly motherf*cker back to the big screen in 2018 after an eight-year absence. Written and directed by Shane Black, who starred in the original Predator, the film aims to update the fearsome Yautja with a darker tale and star-studded cast. We’ve collected everything you need to know about The Predator, from it’s long-gestating story to the recent third-act changing reshoots, as well as when you can expect the first trailer.
Release Date: September 14, 2018
Cast: Boyd Holbrook, Olivia Munn, Keegan-Michael Key, Jacob Tremblay, Thomas Jane
Director: Shane Black
Writers: Fred Dekker, Shane Black
The Predator has put together a strong ensemble cast, with Boyd Holbrook (Logan) playing lead character Quinn McKenna, a special forces commando; James Franco, Benicio del Toro and Conor McGregor were previously offered the role.
McKenna teams up with a group of war vets to take on the alien hunters, which includes actors Keegan-Michael Key, Alfie Allen, Thomas Jane and Trevante Rhodes.
Jacob Tremblay (Room) playa McKenna’s autistic son, Rory, while Yvonne Strahovski plays Quinn’s ex-wife Emma. Sterling K. Brown plays a government agent who enlists Quinn’s help in the fight against the Predators, and Edward James Olmos plays a general. Jake Busey will also play the son of Peter Keyes, a shady government agent played by his father Gary in Predator 2.
The Predator is directed by Shane Black, who in recent years has established himself as a major Hollywood filmmaker. He previously helmed The Nice Guys and Iron Man 3, which in spite of its controversial Mandarin twist, would go on to make over $1.2 billion worldwide. Black is no stranger to the Predator series either; he previously played Hawkins in the 1987 original, who is the first on-screen victim of the hunter.
In addition to directing, Black also co-wrote the screenplay. Black is a veteran screenwriter, becoming famous at a young age for his Lethal Weapon script. During the 1990’s he became one of the highest paid writers in Hollywood thanks to his scripts for The Last Boy Scout and The Long Kiss Goodnight.
Co-writer Fred Dekker is best known for writing and directing Night Of The Creeps, The Monster Squad and RoboCop 3. Black & Dekker co-wrote The Monster Squad together, in addition to The Predator and a TV reboot of 1960’s spy show The Avengers.
The studio hasn’t revealed an in-depth synopsis for The Predator yet, so most of what’s known about the film comes from cast interviews. The movie will take place in the suburbs, and at some point, McKenna witnesses a Predator UFO. He’s arrested by the government, dismissed as crazy and thrown on a bus with hospitalized war veterans. The government agents then try to have Quinn killed, but they’re overpowered by the vets, who team up with Quinn to hunt the aliens.
Quinn’s son Rory is also a savant with languages, and during the story will be called upon to communicate with the aliens. Fred Dekker and Jake Busey have also indicated the movie will reveal the true reasons the Predators keep coming to Earth.
Conflicting early reports from cast and crew made it difficult to say if The Predator was a straight-ahead reboot or not, but it’s since been confirmed that at least the solo Predator movies are still canon (although the Alien Vs Predator movies remain trapped in non-canon limbo).
The strongest direct link is Jake Busey, playing the son of real-life rather Gary from Predator 2, suggesting plot ties to that entry. Arnold Schwarzenegger was also offered a cameo as Dutch but turned it down due to the size of the role. So, while the movie will have nods to past movies, it seems it will press ahead with its own story.
Despite initial filming having wrapped in June 2017, there still hasn’t been any footage released for The Predator. After a period of silence co-writer Fred Dekker teased in March that a trailer was inbound. Director Shane Black later told a fan on Twitter to expect a teaser to arrive in Mid-April. Black later backtracked and revealed the first trailer would be a Cinemacon exclusive, before being released at some point in May.
The Predator has been long awaited in more ways than one. The studio initially set the release date for March 2, 2018, only to push the date forward to February 9 instead. The movie was then delayed while the film was shooting, setting a new date for August 3. Yet another delay was announced recently to make room for additional photography, and The Predator will now (hopefully) land September 14, 2018.
The Predator has been long awaited in more ways than one. The studio initially set the release date for March 2, 2018, only to push the date forward to February 9 instead. The movie was then delayed while the film was shooting, setting a new date for August 3. Yet another delay was announced recently to make room for additional photography, and The Predator will now (hopefully) land September 14, 2018.
Co-writer Fred Dekker took to his Facebook page in March to confirm the film was shooting additional photography and also revealed The Predator was being post-converted to 3D. This seems like an unusual move for a movie that wasn’t shot with 3D in mind, but perhaps the studio felt the movie was a good candidate for post-conversation based on the footage they were seeing.
