You wouldn't think a film like Predator would have a strong message with regards to diversity of casting.After all, it's just a film about a bunch of guys armed with one-liners and huge biceps who try to take on an alien hunter and...SPOILER ALERT...fail miserably.Well, the Predator is so much more than that, which is why it's a cinematic classic. We are now in 2018 and it has not aged one bit. Whenever I see its imitations and disgraceful sequels, it is a constant reminder as to how special McTiernan's film was.However, the focus on this article is about two characters, and how forward thinking casting was back in 1987, and how somehow we've gone backwards.I'm talking about DIllon played by Carl Weathers and Mac played by Bill Duke.If you were to read the screenplay, you'd easily asuume these characters would be played by white actors. You have Dillon; used to be a soldier but is now a pencil-pusher and a suit who wants to "get back in the game" and be one of the guys, but he's got the aura about him that doesn't make him trustworthy.Then you have Mac; a mentally unstable soldier who may have a bit of a split personality. On one hand he is very calm, and soft-spoken but then when distressed, he starts talking to himself and acts like he should be admitted.These are not the kinds of roles African-American actors are given. These roles are nuanced, complex and not stereotypical. Meaning, most producers would look for white actors, because these roles are clearly not "black".Where's the "attitude"? The ebonics? The loud-talking? Perhaps a bit of low-level humor? How about an ode to Africa the country?Let's say for instance, Dillon and Mac were played by white actors. So it's 1987. Perhaps they cast Tom Berenger as Mac, and James Woods as Dillon. They'd both do really good jobs, but it wouldn't be anything new. I've seen so many white actors give interpretations of these kinds of roles, that there's nothing new or fresh that would excite me.McTiernan casting Weathers and Duke gave a whole new flavour that you hadn't seen before, because the way in which an African-American will illustrate the soldier-turned-CIA type is very different from how a Caucasian would or a Hispanic would.But the key thing is McTiernan was not of the 2018 school where he wanted to score diversity points by bringing in Duke and Weathers. He simply picked the best actors for the role, and in fact, Arnie would watch Weathers inbetween takes in order to take acting lessons from him. Which showed the level of quality Mr. Weathers was bringing to the table.What makes me really sad is we are now in 2018, thirty one years later, and you probably would not get African-American actors having such roles as this. You just have to look at the Predators film by Robert Rodriguez, and the "African" actor playing the "African" role.Yes, you had Laurence Fishburne whose role was more interesting, but it was so minimal an inconsequential in comparison to Dillon or Mac.That is why Predator is such a special film for me. Seeing black actors who are not in a stereoptypical role and are merely characters, that aren't race specific was so refreshing to see.Refreshing...but this was in 1987.How they interpreted the roles is what really gave the film that extra edge. Because Weathers and Duke gave an African-American spin on what has been done endless times by other Euro-American actors.Seeing how Duke played Mac, was so complex and multi-layered. How serene he was at the beginning, then when you saw him slowly go mad. There was a subtlely to it. Was never over-acted or overblown, but just hit the right note.Then we have Dillon, one of my own personal favorite characters of all time. You feel that you should hate him, but Weathers doesn't give you the cardboard cut-out CIA character. Weathers really gives you tastes of the kind of history that he had with Dutch.Again, subtle, not overdone.Of course, you have one of the best scenes in the film, where Mac is so caught up in his own world that as he shaves his bare skin, he breaks the razor. Meanwhile, Dillon is staring at him and is puzzled by his lunacy. Then Mac quickly turns to Dillon, and there's almost a look of shame, that he's been in caught in his madness.But Dillon just continues to stare.Brilliant, and I have to credit McTiernan. At no point in the film, did we have to know these were the "black" characters. There were no quips, or one-liners alluding to the "ghetto" or the "hood". They were simply just characters, that were total polar-opposites from one another and not "brothers"...because they both have the same skin-tone.I cannot wrap my head around how McTiernan was able to do this back in 1987 and how we are in 2018 and Kevin Hart is still running around acting like a clown, and we have a TV series called BLACK Lightning and a billion-dollar making movie called BLACK Panther.By logic, shouldn't things improve as the years go by? Sorry, I forgot, this Planet Earth and humanity that we're talking about. Donald Trump is president, and there is a far larger right-wing, fascist presence in the world than there has been in decades.Naughty McTiernan, maybe perhaps they should have been called Dillon BLACK and BLACK Mac? HH