The Predator Date Released: September 14, 2018 (September 12, 2018 – UK)

Directed By: Shane Black

Certificate: US: R | UK: 15

Tagline: The Hunt Has Evolved

Length: 107mins

Starring: Boyd Holbrook, Olivia Munn…

Budget: $88M

The Predator , known by fans as Predator 4, is the name of the upcoming Predator sequel from Shane Black. The script was written by Shane Black and Fred Dekker and was released September 14, 2018 in the United States while the UK got it two days earlier on September 12th.

Official Synopsis

From the outer reaches of space to the small-town streets of suburbia, the hunt comes home in Shane Black’s explosive reinvention of the Predator series. Now, the universe’s most lethal hunters are stronger, smarter and deadlier than ever before, having genetically upgraded themselves with DNA from other species. When a young boy accidentally triggers their return to Earth, only a ragtag crew of ex-soldiers and a disgruntled Science teacher can prevent the end of the human race.

The Predator is Announced

On June 24, 2014, it was revealed that Shane Black will direct a reboot to Predator. He will write the treatment for it and Fred Dekker will write the script. John Davis will produce the new Predator film. On June 25, 2014, Shane Black clarified that he will be making a sequel in the Predator series and not a reboot.

In August 2015, producer John Davis said Shane Black’s script has a fresh perspective and will reinvent the franchise. At the end of November 2015, Fred Dekker confirmed that the script for Predator 4 had been “turned in”. On the 16th of February 2016, Shane Black confirmed Predator 4’s title was in fact The Predator. On February 28, 2015, Fox announced the release date as March 2, 2018 though this was later changed to February 9, 2018 to avoid clashing with monster shark movie Meg.

The new Predator film will be a blockbuster reportedly and have a much higher budget than the $50M spent on Predators. In May 2016, Shane Black confirmed The Predator will be R-Rated. In April 2017, Fox announced a new release date of August 3, 2018 for the movie, delaying it by six months. The Predator was delayed yet another time and ill now be released September 14, 2018.

The Director of The Predator

As stated above, Shane Black is directing the new Predator reboot. Shane Black is no stranger to the franchise having played commando Hawkins in the 1987’s Predator. Most recently, he co-wrote and directed 2013’s Iron Man 3. Whilst promoting The Nice Guys, Shane Black spoke about how he became attached to The Predator, stating he hadn’t initially wanted the job despite Fox getting in contact and asking him to do it. It was Fox’s willingness to make a big budget, “spectacle” film that convinced Black to become involved.

The Predator Cast

There were rumours circulating for years that Arnold Schwarzenegger might reprise his role as Dutch Schaefer. In June 2015, Arnold Schwarzenegger said he hadn’t been contacted about Shane Black’s Predator sequel. In March 2016, Arnold Schwarzenegger will be having lunch with director Shane Black to discuss The Predator. Schwarzenegger was very unhappy with the script and refused to take part, saying he’d only do it if “there’s a chance that they rewrite it, or make it a more significant role.”

In April 2016, rapper 50 Cent said he would have a role in the Predator film. During a Q&A after a showing of his latest film, The Nice Guys, Shane Black revealed that the main characters name would be Quinn McKenna.

In September 2016, Benicio Del Toro was in talks to join the cast but later dropped out. In October 2016, Boyd Holbrook was in talks to replace Del Toro. A few weeks later, Olivia Munn (X-Men Apocalypse) was in talks to be playing a scientist in the movie.

The current cast are as follows:

Boyd Holbrook as Quinn McKenna , a former Marine and Special Forces commando who discovers the existence of the Predators. James Franco was originally offered the role before Benicio del Toro was cast, but Del Toro later backed out due to scheduling conflicts.

, a former Marine and Special Forces commando who discovers the existence of the Predators. James Franco was originally offered the role before Benicio del Toro was cast, but Del Toro later backed out due to scheduling conflicts. Olivia Munn as Casey Bracket , an evolutionary scientist and a biologist. Her character is brought in by the CIA to look study the alien creature.

, an evolutionary scientist and a biologist. Her character is brought in by the CIA to look study the alien creature. Trevante Rhodes as Nebraska Williams , one of the Loonies who Quinn meets on the prison bus.

, one of the Loonies who Quinn meets on the prison bus. Keegan-Michael Key as Coyle , a man who joins Quinn and Williams to fight the Predators.

, a man who joins Quinn and Williams to fight the Predators. Sterling K. Brown as William Traeger , a CIA agent who imprisons Quinn but later works together.

, a CIA agent who imprisons Quinn but later works together. Jacob Tremblay as Quinn’s autistic son, Rory , who is able to read the Predator language.

, who is able to read the Predator language. Yvonne Strahovski as Quinn’s ex-wife Emily and the mother to Rory.

and the mother to Rory. Alfie Allen as Lynch , a former Marine who is part of the Loonies group.

, a former Marine who is part of the Loonies group. Thomas Jane as Baxley , a military veteran from the Afghanistan and Iraq war who has Tourettes.

, a military veteran from the Afghanistan and Iraq war who has Tourettes. Augusto Aguilera as Nettles , one of the Loonies group.

, one of the Loonies group. Jake Busey as Sean Keyes , the son of Peter Keyes, from Predator 2 is a scientist for the government agency.

, the son of Peter Keyes, from Predator 2 is a scientist for the government agency. Niall Matter as Sapir.

Production

The Predator was originally due to begin filming in September 2016 but that was delayed. Filming commenced in February 20, 2017 and ended filming May 15, 2017 in Vancouver, Canada. Amalgamated Dynamics who are no stranger to the franchise having worked on Alien 3, Alien Resurrection, AvP and AvP Requiem handled the practical effects such as the Predator costume.

Marketing

The first teaser trailer was shown at Cinemacon in April 2018 and it was later released online on May 10, 2018.

On June 26, 2018, a new The Predator trailer was released.

On August 31, 2018, 20th Century Fox released the final trailer for The Predator.

Sex Offender Controversy

Just hours before The Predator was due to premiere on September 6th, it was reported that 20th Century Fox had cut a scene out at the last minute featuring Steven Wilder Striegel who was a registered sex offender. L.A. Times reported it with statements from actress Olivia Munn, director Shane Black and 20th Century Fox. Fox stated they weren’t aware of Striegel’s background but Shane Black initially tried to defend Striegel, who was a friend of his. Later the same day, Black apologised and said he was ‘misled’ by a friend. Olivia Munn criticised Shane Black for casting him but thanked Fox for deleting the scene.

Munn also criticised her castmates for not giving her any support. On September 8th, The Predator cast members were scheduled to do interviews at TIFF to promote the film. Munn later said a number of them cancelled any interviews along side her and one even walked out of an interview when the deleted scene was mentioned. Olivia Munn said that none of her castmates had reached out to her and criticised them for making her feel like the bad guy. She did an interview with The Hollywood Reporter and she said she felt lonely sitting there by herself and Shane Black hadn’t spoken to her directly but appreciates his public apology.

As part of L.A. Times’ original report, they asked the other castmembers for statements but they refused. Munn said she had contacted them directly and encouraged them to make statements. None of them did but made some comments in the subsequent days. Olivia Munn, Trevante Rhodes and Augusto Aguilera did an video interview with L.A. Times. Rhodes and Aguilera said they weren’t disappointed in Black but more at the situation and thanked Olivia for speaking up. Munn said she didn’t accept Black’s apology because it wasn’t done to her personally.

The next day on September 8th, Keegan-Michael Key issued a statement and said that he wasn’t scheduled to do any interviews with Munn and that he’d reached out to her the previous week to say he was proud of her. Sterling K. Brown also issued a statement apologising to Munn and thanked Fox for deleting the scene. On September 10th. Boyd Holbrook apologised for being quiet but thanked Munn for speaking up. He said he did cancel press interviews on the previous Saturday because he didn’t want to cause any further pain to the victim.

On September 13th, the victim involved in Striegel’s crime came forward and identified herself. She thanked Munn for raising the situation. On September 17th, Jake Busey told Vanity Fair “I think it could’ve been done like a month from now, and let the studio and the director have their night of the release and the movie, and not destroy the movie over a discovery that was made a year after filming—and 10 years after the incident. I think the timing could have been better. The director was in tears at the red carpet, which is not really the way you want it to be. But it’s done, it’s put to bed.” Olivia Munn took to Twitter to criticise Vanity Fair for running the story with Jake Busey and said she wasn’t responsible for putting the story out publicly.

The deleted scene in question would have served as Casey Bracket’s introduction. Striegel played a jogger who bumps into Casey as she is with her dog.

Reception

The Predator currently has a 33% ‘Rotten’ rating on Rotten Tomatoes based on 255 reviews. The film gained a mixed reception with critics. Many praised the characters and the relationships with each other and the film is very gory and graphic despite copious amounts of CGI blood. The film, however, falls apart in the final act – many reviewers said it was rushed, badly edited and the visual effects were poor. The new Upgrade Predator also doesn’t bring much to the table other than being bigger and stronger than a regular Predator.

Box Office

In its first weekend, The Predator came out on top with $24 million domestically while overseas, it made $30.7 million for a worldwide total of $54.7 million. For comparison sake. 2010’s Predators made $24.7m in its opening weekend while AvP Requiem made $10m. They both went on to make around $128m worldwide. The bad news, both those movies were made for around $45m and media outlets are reporting that The Predator cost $88m to make. The Predator ended up making $51M domestically and $109.5m overseas for a worldwide total of $160.5m.

Merchandise

A novelization of The Predator, written by Christopher Golden and a prequel novelization called The Predator: Hunters And Hunted, written by James A. Moore were released shortly after the film came out. NECA also released a Fugitive Predator figure and later a Thermal Vision Fugitive Predator figure in December 2018. They’re currently working on an Assassin Predator figure too.

The Predator Stills



Fugitive Predator

Fugitive Predator



Upgraded Predator



Casey Bracket

Upgraded Predator





Upgraded Predator





The Predator Concept Art



Emissary Predator

Predator Spider Hybrid (Jared Krichevsky)

Upgraded Predator Battle Skin Armour (Constantine Sekeris)

Emissary Predator

Predator Hybrid (Ben Mauro)

Predator Ship (Victor Martinez)

Emissary Predator

Emissary Predator

Emissary Predator (Ken Barthelmey)

Emissary Predator

Predator Ship (Victor Martinez)

Emissary Predator

You can view more pictures in the The Predator Gallery.

The Predator Magazine Articles



Total Film (August 2018)

Starburst Magazine (September 2018)

SciFi Now (September 2018)

SFX Magazine (September 2018)

Empire Magazine (August 2018)

Empire Magazine (July 2018)

The Predator News Archive

Genetic Aberrations, Revisiting The Predator – AvP Galaxy Podcast #95 ( )

CoolProps Unveil Predator Hound Concept Maquette! ( )

Writer Fred Dekker Talks Original Third Act for The Predator ( )

Shane Black & Fred Dekker’s Early Draft of The Predator ( )

Jake Busey Talks The Predator Deleted Scenes ( )



You can full the full news archive for The Predator here.