A couple of months back we learned the name of the hero lined up by Shane Black to lead his sequel, The Predator. In case you missed it, it’s the very rugged-sounding Quinn McKenna. Today we might have stumbled upon who will breathe life into that action hero monicker. No, sorry, it’s not The Rock. It’s – rather surprisingly – James Franco.
The news hails from the Meet The Movie Press podcast, which this week featured former Wrap reporter Jeff Sneider. Apparently Franco is at the top of a shortlist for the role of McKenna. He dropped the scoop toward the end of the broadcast, adding that we should take everything with a truckload of salt, as at this stage it’s only a rumor.
Granted, it might indeed just be chatter at this point, hence the warning of massive amounts of salt. However, as the film recently moved its release date up from March to February 2018, 20th Century Fox might be ready to start pre-production. But Sneider adds that “maybe Franco isn’t Black’s top choice” – so it could all be hot air.
As for Franco, he’s a pretty busy entertainer as of late, dipping his finger into all the pies (figuratively speaking) and adapting every Faulkner novel possible. He’s not an obvious choice to lead a cult action franchise, especially as he’s not shown off that side of his screen persona much before.
But what do you think, would James Franco make a solid lead for The Predator? He’s got big Arnie-sized shoes to fill, that’s for sure.