The Predator Trailer Reveals the Return of the Universe’s Most Lethal Hunter
If anyone is going to reboot The Predator franchise and give it some new blood, writer/director Shane Black is a great candidate. It all began in 1987 with John McTiernan’s now iconic film, which boasted a sensational cast that included Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers and—Shane Black himself! Now 31 years later Black’s putting his own spin on the cosmic killer, and the first official trailer is here for your viewing pleasure.
One of the most brilliant things about 1987’s Predator was how it turned Arnold Schwarzenegger in his prime into prey. He was up against something that was bigger, stronger, faster, meaner and, for a time, smarter. This was something a revelation, considering the Arnold of 1987 had already been Mr. Universe, Conan the Barbarian, Conan the Destroyer, The Terminator and Commando. Yet here he was getting lifted off his feet by the Predator—with one arm—and flung like he was a rag doll. In Black’s The Predator, there are not only multiple alien hunters, they’re even stronger, meaner and bigger than the ones Arnold faced.
We know Black is a deeply talented filmmaker, and with this great cast he’s got a shot at reviving the franchise. He’s one of the best dialogue writers in the business, and with these actors and a villain this iconic, we’ve got high hopes for the film. The Predator stars Boyd Holbrook, Trevante Rhodes, Jacob Tremblay, Keegan-Michael Key, Olivia Munn, Sterling K. Brown, Alfie Allen, Thomas Jane, Augusto Aguilera, Jake Busey and Yvonne Strahovski.
The trailer is solid, giving us a bit of the flavor of McTiernan’s terrifying jungle hunt with some of the follow-up films block-to-block city fighting. There’s also some of Black’s trademark quipping. The one through-line to all Predator films, as Black himself has said, is that it’s a hunt. The Predator is a hunter, and the humans are his prey. Until, of course, they flip the script and go after him.
The Predator opens September 14, 2018.
Featured image: A deadly Predator escapes from a secret government compound in Twentieth Century Fox’s THE PREDATOR. Photo Credit: Kimberley French.
