The Predator Is Getting A New Look, Says Director Shane Black

In case you haven’t heard, there’s a new Predator movie in the works, simply called The Predator. This would be the sixth film in the franchise following Predator, Predator 2, AVP: Alien vs. Predator, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, and most recently, Predators.

While the look of the titular Predator has changed slightly from movie to movie, it’s been generally recognizable as, well, a Predator. It sounds like things are going be changed up some in the forthcoming The Predator. ComingSoon.net got some exclusive comments from director Shane Black discussing the Predator’s new look and his emphasis on the story. Accroding to the report, Black stated that the changes are not to “improve,” but, instead to make it fun and “organically different.”

“So what’s the extension of it that makes sense, that’s exciting? There have been a lot of changes to Stan’s design over the years. These different Predator movies have done different things. Ultimately it’s not about design to me, it’s about the story you want to tell. There are people who are always going to agonize over Iron Man, what color his suit is. Maybe this weapon does a new thing, but if the story is not good I don’t give a sh*t what color the suit is. In ‘The Predator’ we’re doing a lot of upgrades to what you would consider to be the traditional Predator technology and look, but hopefully the story is what’s going to drag people in, not just the attention to the minutiae.”

Black is not only directing The Predator, but is also co-writing it with Fred Dekker, with whom he collaborated on 1987’s The Monster Squad.

Black is of course no stranger to writing action movies. In fact, he’s responsible for a number of classics of the genre including Lethal Weapon, The Last Boy Scout, and Last Action Hero, not to mention Iron Man 3, which he wrote and directed. His latest is The Nice Guys, which he directed and co-wrote with Anthony Bagarozzi, which stars Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe.

With The Predator, Black has big shoes to fill when it comes to the original Predator, which is arguably one of the greatest sci-fi action movies of the 80s (if not all time). In this writer’s opinion, the second one wasn’t too shabby either. On the other hand, the more recent Predator outings have left a great deal to be desired by fans, though I suppose it depends on who you ask.

The most recent film – Predators – was more favorably received than the two Alien vs. Predator films, but I don’t think many would put it in a class with Predator – certainly not the way one would place Aliens in a class with Alien. Predators, which was released in 2010, was directed by Nimród Antal and starred Adrien Brody, Laurence Fishburne, and Topher Grace.

Last month, it was reported that rapper 50 Cent will have a role in The Predator. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who of course starred in the original Predator film, has apparently expressed interest in reprising his role as Dutch in the new film as well, though this has not been confirmed. It wouldn’t be out of the question as he did appear in the most recent installment of another major sci-fi action franchise he helped originate with Terminator: Genisys. Unfortunately, the film was panned by fans.

Hopefully, with or without Arnold, The Predator can learn from the mistakes made on that one. With Shane Black and Fred Dekker behind it, it’s hard to imagine it won’t be entertaining at the very least.

The Predator is due out in March, 2018.

[Photo by Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images]