There has been a bit of a scheduling shake-up on Shane Black's THE PREDATOR, the latest entry in the franchise that began with 1987's PREDATOR. It's going to be getting a later start than intended (at one point it was supposed to be filming by now), but it is still on track for a February 9, 2018 theatrical release. Black is knee-deep in pre-production on the film, but he did recently take some time to give our own Eric Walkuski an update on the project's status.
When asked how the script, which Black is writing with his THE MONSTER SQUAD collaborator Fred Dekker, is coming along, Black said,
We've got a solid script, but I like to say it's a living document, to the extent that we haven't cast anybody yet. And when we cast it's going to have new voices to add to it."
There has been some confusion over just what sort of an entry in the series THE PREDATOR will be. Some have referred to it as a reboot, while it has also been referred to as "an inventive sequel". Black attempted to clarify its place in the continuity:
I think it has to stand on its own two feet, but our goal is to make sure it acknowledges that, yeah, it is 30 years later in the continuity of the story. In other words, Dutch Schaefer's patrol, which was attacked and largely slaughtered, happened 30 years ago in the context of the story. It's referenced, it's part of the mythology. In that way, it's more of a sequel than a reboot."
You may have noticed that Black said no one has been cast yet, despite the fact that we recently heard Boyd Holbrook was signing on to replace Benicio del Toro as the lead of the film, since del Toro had to move on due to scheduling issues. When asked if Holbrook will be starring in the film, Black replied,
I hope so. By an act of god, that's the way it seems to be headed. It's quite good news. With Benicio [del Toro] and the scheduling, we just couldn't make it work. We have a release date and we had to start much later than we wanted to. This way, the silver lining is this kid, who I've spent some time with now, he's just marvelous, he's amazing."
And there you have it. THE PREDATOR continues moving forward, heading toward its production start and locked-in release date. It looks likely that Boyd Holbrook will be the star of the film, and Black seems very pleased with that possibility. I haven't seen Holbrook in much, but if he has the Black stamp of approval I look forward to seeing him go to battle with the title creature.