Skip to main content

Shane Black’s Predator sequel is still happening, and the script is almost done

Just shy of a year ago, it was reported that Iron Man 3 writer/director Shane Black was working on an “inventive sequel” to John McTiernan’s 1987 sci-fi action film Predator with writer/director Fred Dekker. There’s been little in the way of updates on that project since the June 2014 news broke, but a new interview suggests that the film is still on track.

“I’ve read a lot of [Black’s] script and I think it’s genius,” producer John Davis told Collider. “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. He’s just an amazing writer-director.”

Recommended Videos

“He’s got a way of looking at this that makes you excited again,” added Davis. “I love this franchise. It was the first movie I ever did. I remember in being in the jungle with Arnold [Schwarzenegger] as a 28-year-old and going, ‘This is a fun business!’… Shane’s amazing. He’s an amazing storyteller.”

The original film cast Schwarzenegger as the leader of an elite team of soldiers tasked with rescuing American hostages held by  guerilla forces in a remote jungle region of Central America. Their mission is complicated by the arrival of a seemingly unstoppable alien hunter who begins hunting Schwarzenegger’s team.

Along with Schwarzenegger, the film’s cast included tough-guy actors Carl Weathers and Jesse Ventura, as well as Black himself as a bespectacled soldier named “Hawkins.”

McTiernan’s immensely successful 1987 film spawned a 1990 sequel starring Danny Glover, as well as the 2010 spinoff movie Predators, starring Adrien Brody, Alice Braga, Topher Grace, Danny Trejo, and Laurence Fishburne. The race of alien hunters also appeared in several crossover films with the Alien franchise, beginning with 2004’s Alien vs. Predator and then again in 2007’s Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem.

It’s unknown whether Black’s Predator sequel will acknowledge any of the other films in the franchise.

“Shane’s got a writing partner, Fred Dekker. They’ve been doing it together and Fred’s great,” said Davis of Black’s frequent collaborator, who directed 1987’s The Monster Squad, which was co-written by Dekker and Black. “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.”

Black’s next projects are expected to be the ’70s noir film The Nice Guys — starring Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe — and the pilot for Amazon’s upcoming spaghetti western series Edge.

There’s currently no timetable for the Predator sequel.

Rick Marshall
Former Contributing Editor, Entertainment
A veteran journalist with more than two decades of experience covering local and national news, arts and entertainment, and…
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 3 + 4 gets a visual upgrade but stays wonderfully familiar
THPS 3 + 4

The year was 2001, and I was flat on my back in the middle of the street after bailing hard from a failed ollie.

Once I dusted myself off, I decided to try again, but in a safer, more digital aspect. Two decades ago, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 devoured my free time, and now the remake is back and doing the exact same thing. An excellent remake, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 + 4 brings two classic titles to a modern audience but adds little to the original experience in a way that leaves the game feeling curiously anachronistic.

Read more
Superman review: DC is back and better than ever!
Superman review: The Man of Steel soars to new heights
Superman readies to fight in Superman.

The new DC Universe made its theatrical debut with the release of James Gunn's Superman. Set three years after he revealed himself to the world as Superman, the film follows Clark Kent (David Corenswet) when he struggles to face threats at home and abroad and come to terms with his Kryptonian heritage, all while Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) tries to turn the public against him with a global conspiracy.

Starting right in the middle of the action, Superman kicks off the DCU with a thrilling blockbuster adventure filled with action, humor, heart, and life. It is easy to forgive the excessive expositional dialogue when the film delivers an exciting and thought-provoking tale that stays true to the comics while putting a new spin on the Man of Steel.

Read more
If you have to watch one Disney+ movie this July 2025, stream this one
The cast of Saving Mr. Banks

Unlike most streaming services, the movies available on Disney+ tend to conform to a fairly standard mold. You've got a lot of big franchise films and a lot of movies aimed at children, and not a whole lot in between.

If you're looking for something a little more robust, or at least aimed at adults, you might want to check out Saving Mr. Banks. The movie tells the story of Walt Disney's quest to adapt Mary Poppins and his various attempts to woo the author of the book series it's based on, P.L. Travers. While the film is undeniably a little hagiographic, here are three reasons you should check it out.

Read more