In case you forgot, Predator actor and Iron Man 3 director Shane Black was hired to write the treatment for and direct a new Predator movie for 20th Century Fox last year. Fred Dekker (RoboCop 3) also came on board to pen the screenplay. Over the past year, very few details about the sequel to the Arnold Schwarzenegger classic have emerged, leaving fans in the dark on the film’s status; however, a producer on the film, John Davis (The Man from U.N.C.L.E.), recently gave an update to Collider.
When asked if the sequel was still moving forward, John Davis, who was promoting his show The Player at the Television Critics Association, said, “Oh yes, you better believe it.”
He continued by talking about how Black has been busy lately with other projects, but also complimented Black’s work on the film so far, calling him an “amazing storyteller.” On the topic of the film’s script, which he apparently has read a good portion of, Davis commented, “I think it’s genius and I think it’s entertaining, and what it did is recreate a famous franchise in a different, interesting way; looking at it from a different light.”
Davis mentioned Dekker and the future of the franchise as well, saying, “Shane’s got a writing partner, Fred Dekker. They’ve been doing it together and Fred’s great. The two of them together, they’ve been in the business for a long time, but the writing is so fresh, the perspective is so fresh. I’m telling you you’re going to get something you don’t expect and you’re going to say, ‘This is the most entertaining way to reinvent a franchise.’ I mean he’s the guy who wrote Iron Man 3.”
As of now, there are three films in the Predator franchise: 1987’s Predator, 1990’s Predator 2 and 2010’s Predators. Neither Predator 2 nor Predators managed to match the success of the original film, although the latter still performed nicely at the box office.
Black recently wrapped production on 2016’s The Nice Guys, which stars Ryan Gosling, Russell Crowe and Matt Bomer.