It’s been a bit since we heard about the possible Predator reboot but that has changed. According to the website Collider, Shane Black (“Kiss Kiss Bang Bang“, “Iron Man 3“) will direct the new Predator film. Originally it was thought to be a reboot, will instead be an “inventive sequel” that will mine the rich mythology of the franchise. In a recent interview producer John Davis had this to say:
Shane shot a movie and he’s doing a pilot now, but I’ve read a lot of his script and I think it’s genius. I think it’s genius and I think it’s entertaining, and what it did is recreate a famous franchise in a different, interesting way; looking at it from a different light. He’s just an amazing writer-director. He’s got a way of looking at this that makes you excited again. I love this franchise. It was the first movie I ever did. I remember in being in the jungle with Arnold[Schwarzenegger] as a 28-year-old and going, ‘This is a fun business!’…Shane’s amazing. He’s an amazing storyteller.
Black recently wrapped production on The Nice Guys and has a busy schedule but Davis insisted that they were hard at work on a new script for Predator and he seemed more than excited about it.
Shane’s got a writing partner, Fred Dekker. They’ve been doing it together and Fred’s great. The two of them together, they’ve been in the business for a long time, but the writing is so fresh, the perspective is so fresh. I’m telling you you’re going to get something you don’t expect and you’re going to say, ‘This is the most entertaining way to reinvent a franchise.’ I mean he’s the guy who wrote Iron Man 3.
It’s worthy to note that Black appeared as an actor in the 1987 original and also contributed significantly to the script. There is no set production or release date on the new Predator film but with Black, Dekker and Davis attached it seems like its only a matter of time.