Shane Black’s The Predator exists in the same universe as the previous films, but it won’t actively acknowledge them.
That’s according to Olivia Munn, who spoke to Yahoo! about Black’s long-brewing franchise revival, and how it’s anchored by a cadre of “amazing comedic actors.” That ensemble cast has tapped the likes of Boyd Holbrook (Logan), Trevante Rhodes, Keegan-Michael Key, and the so-hot-right-now Jacob Tremblay, who has landed one high-profile gig after another following his scene-stealing performance in Room.
From the few story details that have found their way online, we can gather that Tremblay has a fairly significant role to play in The Predator, as his autistic youngster is one of the only characters able to deduce the alien language. That makes him a valuable asset for Boyd Holbrook’s Special Forces commando, Quinn McKenna, who takes the fight to those ugly motherfuckers in present-day suburbia.
However, when Olivia Munn was asked to clarify the continuity of The Predator, the actress stayed clear of spoiler territory to confirm that Shane Black’s reimagining can be considered “standalone” in nature.
Well, we just wrapped and it comes out next summer, and I’m so excited about it. It’s really cool because it’s a standalone, so we have the [same] inspiration and – we’re in the world of Predator so we have all the other movies that exist in it – but we don’t need to acknowledge them. We’re not erasing [the films]. We just kind of kick it up another level. It’s a really cool movie because it feels very present day, and it’s a great ensemble of really amazing, funny comedic actors too.
As for the Predator itself, well, it sounds about as ugly and nightmarish as you remember, with Black and his VFX team doubling down on practical effects.
He’s moved by this guy with a remote control. And you can see it, it’s so visceral. It’s really intense. It’s jarring, actually, because it’s not animated or CG – it’s just right there.
“You’ll never see him coming.” The Predator will claw its way into theaters on August 3rd, 2018 – just don’t refer to Shane Black’s long-in-development revival as a sequel.