In the three Predator movies that we've seen (discounting the Alien vs. Predator chapters), a new setting has been selected each time out. The first movie, of course, brought us to a South American jungle; Predator 2 was set in Los Angeles; and Predators took audiences to the titular creatures' homeworld. Shane Black's upcoming sequel The Predator will be continuing this tradition, but in a very unusual location: the suburbs.
This bit of information has been revealed by The Hollywood Reporter, though it seems that's the extent of the details that they have about the script that is being co-written by Shane Black and Fred Dekker. Beyond its suburban setting, the only other thing that we know about the story is that it will once again follow a group of characters, and that it will fit into the canon of the franchise and won't be a reboot.
Of course, we should also mention that the new trade report about The Predator comes packed with a new cast addition as well. Earlier this fall we learned that Boyd Holbrook would be replacing Benicio Del Toro as the central protagonist in the film, but now we have learned that Olivia Munn is also in talks to join the growing ensemble. While Holbrook will be playing Special Forces commando Quinn Mackenna, there are no details about Munn's role beyond the fact that she is a scientist (it's easy to roll your eyes at what looks like "sexy scientist" casting, but we can hope that a filmmaker as talented as Shane Black will make it work).
Things didn't work out with Benicio Del Toro as the lead of The Predator due to scheduling conflicts, which were largely caused by the fact that the new action movie is hurtling towards its start date and getting serious about putting all of its pieces in place. When I spoke with Shane Black late last month, he noted that we should be hearing a whole lot more casting announcements in the coming weeks. Hopefully those announcements will come paired with at least minor details about the plot.
Production on The Predator is gearing to start up in early 2017, with Twentieth Century Fox having announced that the film will be out in theaters on February 9, 2018 (a weekend they've grown to like thanks to Deadpool's success). We should be hearing a whole lot more about the coming blockbuster in the coming weeks and months, so be sure to stay tuned for all kinds of updates.
In the meantime, hit the comments section below to tell us what you think both about The Predator being set in the suburbs, and Olivia Munn joining the cast as an as yet unnamed scientist.
