‘The Predator’ Main Character Revealed, And It’s Not Who You Think

The Predator will drop in theaters on March 2, 2018, and speculation as to what it will be like in comparison to the other films in the series has been rampant.

One of the particularly juicy tidbits is the possibility that the original film’s hero, Dutch Schaefer (Arnold Schwarzenegger), could be returning for another round with the cloaked alien that nearly killed him the first time through.

While a Dutch return is expected by some — and definitely not off the table as far as casting is concerned — the smart money says that helmer Shane Black (Iron Man 3, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) goes with a younger and less gubernatorial hero.

In a recent interview with Empire, the usually reserved Black revealed his main character’s name, and sorry, Dutch fans, it’s not the Muscles from Brussels.

“The hero of the film, the name I’ve given the guy, is Quinn McKenna,” Black said.

Unfortunately, he didn’t have any more details than that. No casting, no character attributes. Just a name and a gender, one or both of which, Black said, could change.

(Hey, there have been women named Quinn before. Perhaps a Glee-The Predator crossover is in order?)

Anyhow, it’s just one small development in a continuation that is developing rapidly. The last time audiences got a chance to see the Predator in action, it was in another jungle setting against Adrien Brody in the surprisingly solid Predators.

The word “surprisingly” was used there to delineate director Nimrod Antal’s solid actioner from the disappointing Alien vs. Predator mashup films that preceded them and the duller-but-not-altogether-incompetent Predator 2 with Danny Glover and Gary Busey.

By picking Shane Black to helm The Predator, veteran producer Joel Silver is hoping to restore the series to its former glory, and he may have picked the right guy.

Black proved he could still make a big-budget blockbuster work with Iron Man 3, and he has a sensibility for the 1980s and 90s, having starred as the first victim in the original film while penning classics like Lethal Weapon, The Monster Squad, The Last Boy Scout, and The Long Kiss Goodnight.

Hollywood continues to be big on him, allowing Black to write and direct The Nice Guys while lining him up for Doc Savage as well.

As for details on The Predator story, here is what Black has had to say so far, revealed in an interview with Den of Geek.

“[T]he same sense of wonderment and newness that Close Encounters [of the Third Kind] had when that came out [1977]. That’s what we want. It’s very impossible. But we’re gonna try. It doesn’t have to be 50 Predators riding motorcycles. It just has to feel like a powerful story that has a lot of flavours and textures.”

With it now less than two years away until The Predator makes his appearance in theaters, the marketing machine is progressing about at the pace that it should.

Arnold Schwarzenegger Will Be Older If He Appears In 'The Predator' https://t.co/LZkiD0H96E pic.twitter.com/KVG5GlCONq

— Heroic Hollywood (@heroichollywood) May 18, 2016

Watch for Black and Silver to release more casting information in the coming weeks now that the main character name is out there.

Also, it is important to reiterate that Black is writing the script and directing the film, which means the script probably won’t be “finished” until shooting wraps up.

He’s already threatened to change the Quinn McKenna name, and depending on Schwarzenegger’s involvement, the character dynamic could be in for a major shift.

That said, Arnie isn’t as big of a box office attraction as he used to be, so it’s entirely possible that Black and Silver will want to let this incarnation stand on its own two legs.

But what do you think, readers?

Should The Predator bring back Schwarzenegger, and would you go with the R rating of the original or PG-13? Sound off in the comments section!

[Image via Predator screen grab]