Adding callbacks to previous installments wasn’t the sole purpose of The Predator‘s last-minute reshoots, as it turns out Shane Black wasn’t entirely happy with the original finale, either.
As part of Empire’s deep dive (h/t AvP Galaxy), Black admitted that it was only when he watched The Predator back that he realized the film’s third act, one which was originally shot in broad daylight, “just didn’t work.” And so, the director and his team ordered a spell of reshoots to capture the exact same sequence under the veil of darkness. Now, the difference is quite literally night and day.
The first time we shot the third act it was daytime. It’s all this spooky stuff but then its bright sunlight. It just didn’t work. So I said ‘Ummm, can we do this again at night?’
This certainly jives with Shane Black’s mission statement – to restore the franchise’s scare factor with a back-to-basics reboot. Adding the Ultimate Predator certainly helps matters, too, even if the onset of hybrid creatures has proved somewhat contentious among the Predator fanbase.
But while Universal’s Jurassic World franchise has indulged in genetic engineering, it appears as though The Predator has kept the focus squarely on one radically advanced beast. It’s ten feet tall with sleek, midnight black armor – word is it’s actually “chitinous organic armor” that’s been harvested from the DNA of its victims (yikes) – and cuts an intimidating figure even when standing next to a regular old Predator.
Suffice it to say, Shane Black’s military men have their work cut out for them if they’re to topple the galaxy’s deadliest hunter. Expect The Predator to be unleashed upon the moviegoing masses this September.
