Shane Black is going to be talking Predator on his new press tour for The Nice Guys, which looks absolutely tremendous. Black spoke to the Thrillist about a lot of things, including how he was drawn back into the world of the Predator, and what sort of scope he’s aiming for in this new remake/reboot hybrid thing.
They called me and I was reluctant,” Black told Thrillist. “I said, ‘Look. You guys at Fox, I mean, I enjoy these movies, but we’ve been churning out these AVP whatever, they each cost a certain amount of money, they’re okay, but there’s no effort to elevate them or make them any kind of an event.’ They’re just sort of another Predator.” But the studio wants Predator to be an event once again, as it should be, and they referenced the new Alien/Prometheus pictures. “What if we said to you we want to reinvent this,” he said, “and really treat it with as much of an event status, or as much hoopla as we would the Alien prequel, which is coming out also? We really want to make this something. The kind of movie that people line up for. I said, ‘Really, you’ll spend a bunch of money?’ They go, ‘Yep.’ I go, ‘Make it really scale, spectacle?’ ‘Yep.’ ‘Shit, that sounds interesting.'”
That shit does sound interesting. Let’s go big.
Shane Black also dives into the history and mythos of Predator and what it deserves in this new film he’s working on. Talk about exciting:
“I think the first one was great, and it was contained, and it was a perfect little gem for what it was. I think there’s an expansion that needs to take place, and also just a love for that era, that movie, and the mythology of the Predator. I think that they came to me knowing pretty much that… they said, basically, if I wanted to make Predator but treat it like it was Iron Man 3 instead of just another little movie. I said, ‘Let’s really do it right this time.'”
And what about Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has been floating around this project for some time. Having Dutch back in the game could really elevate things, and could be something fans of the original would salivate over and line up to see. As for Arnie’s involvement, Black simply says they’re “still in talks” and the “script [is] still a secret.” Let’s make this happen.
