Shane Black Talks ‘The Predator’ Setting, ‘Looking Into’ Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Return
Shane Black’s new Predator movie has a tentative 2018 release date, and while we’ve been promised that it will “reinvent the franchise,” not much is known about the sequel to the classic action sci-fi flick. The Nice Guys director is currently scripting The Predator with Fred Dekker, and has shed a little light (though not too much) on what we can expect, including when the film takes place and if there’s any hope of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s return.
Collider caught up with Black at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, where he obviously couldn’t say much about the sequel given that the script hasn’t been finalized and the film won’t hit theaters for another couple of years (if we’re lucky). Black confirmed that it’s his next film (“barring an act of God”) and explained his approach to making it an “event” movie:
I mean, there’s great Predator movies, but to actually play with the idea of making it an event, not necessarily in scale—it doesn’t have to be huge—but it just has to feel like a Predator movie you want to see in the summer and line up for it. And that’s what we’re going for. Let’s get back to the excitement and innovation of that original movie where it felt fresh. I just want to find a way to make it feel fresh and that’s what we’re trying to do.
And by “great Predator movies” surely he means “there’s one great Predator film.” Moving on, when asked if The Predator will take place in real time (it hits theaters 31 years after the original film) Black simply offered, “It’s set in present day.”
Not long ago, Schwarzenegger was asked about returning to reprise his role in The Predator, and he seemed quite open to the idea while suggesting that he was planning on meeting with Black soon to discuss it. According to Black, that meeting has not taken place just yet, and while he says he’s “not supposed to talk about it,” he did offer a bit of optimism about the possibility:
I think it’s something we’re looking into, and as this thing evolves and takes on more of a shape, we’ll figure out how best to honor the tradition of what is really a remarkable first movie and even parts of the rest of them as well.
The Predator is currently set for a March 2, 2018 release.