Shane Black Wants To Make ‘The Predator’ An Event Film
We’re only a short while away from seeingShane Black’s third directorial effort,The Nice Guys. Just the other day we got a green-bandtrailerfor the 1970s-set buddy comedy, which starsRyan GoslingandRussell Crowe. Next for Black, if all goes according to plan, isThe Predator. According to the filmmaker, the ambition is to make the sequel a genuine event film.
The last few times we’ve seen these bloodthirsty aliensappear has mostly been in modestly budgeted action films.Predatorsand theAlien vs. Predatormovies aren’t exactly “big,” at least by most tentpole releases' standards. Black, as proven byIron Man 3, knows how to make a big movie — and that’s what he’s planning to do withThe Predator.
In an interview withThrillist(part of which we’vecovered elsewhere), Black explained his reasoning for taking on thePredatorfilm:
They called me and I was reluctant. 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. “Oh, there’s another one that came out.” They said, “What if we said to you we want to reinvent this, and really treat it with as much of an event status, or as much hoopla as we would theAlienprequel, 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.
“They’re okay” is possibly the highest praise theAlien vs. Predatormovies have ever gotten. They didn’t do much to help this franchise’s name or develop the series' mythology. WithThe Predator, Black wants to dig deeper into this untapped world:
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 III instead of just another little movie. I said, “Let’s really do it right this time.
What’s one possible way to expand thePredatorfranchise? By maybebringing backArnold Schwarzenegger. Black wouldn’t comment on Schwarzenegger’s potential involvement, but he said they’re “still in talks,” meaning there’s still a chance we’ll see Arnold play Major Alan Schaefer again.
