‘Predator’ Getting Rebooted By ‘Iron Man 3′ Director Shane Black
Yep, Hollywood is planning a 'Predator' reboot. That shouldn't come as a surprise. What should come as a surprise is the man who has been hired to bring the project to life: Shane Black, the infamous screenwriter and director who already has a unique attachment to this franchise.
The Hollywood Reporter broke the news and report that Black will pen a treatment for the film and oversee the writing of the screenplay before stepping behind the camera. The script itself will be written by Fred Dekker, who co-wrote 'The Monster Squad' with Black back in 1987.
'Predator' is, of course, the story of a deadly alien who travels to Earth to hunt soldiers for sport in the jungles of South America before meeting his match in one particularly deadly mercenary (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger in the original film). Black played a small role in the film (he's the shrimpy guy who gets killed first) and, according to which version of the story you're told, may have helped fix the screenplay on set.
It's unknown how closely, or if at all, the new film will stick to that template. It would even be easy for Black to create a "remake" that's completely different than the original, suggesting that it's more of a sequel than a clean start. Frankly, though, we're on board no matter what he does. He only directed two films -- the hugely under-seen but beloved 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang' and the smart, crafty 'Iron Man 3' -- but he's the real deal. You don't become the highest paid screenwriter in Hollywood without learning a trick or two.
Black is also hard at work developing 'Doc Savage' (a take on the legendary pulp adventurer) and 'The Nice Guys' (a crime movie starring Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe). Whichever one of these projects comes together first is anyone's guess.
In any case, whatever Black cooks up will be better than the fascinating but awful 'Predator 2' and the lifeless 'Predators,' but will it come close to touching the original film? Eh, probably not. Still, it's a Shane Black movie. It should be worth watching.