Shane Black Directing Predator Sequel! - Part 2

[TheVileOne]

Predators, flawed film, but IMO superior to The Predator.

 

[henzINNIT]

I like all 3 Predator sequels about the same (albeit not very much). They all have good elements. I like the extra lore and gadgets in P2. It felt consistent with the original, and made the creatures more interesting without destroying the mystique. Danny Glover was alright too. Predators was a clever spin for a soft reboot and on paper is my favourite story idea. I like the "loonies" as a group of characters in The Predator. No-one has managed to make it work though.

I look forward to one day hearing more about what the hell happened to "The Predator". It was such a spectacular mess. Shame it bombed so hard the original cut will never surface, for curiosity's sake.

I want a new film with larger than life action stars that can rival the original crew (although Arnie himself might be impossible to live up to). The Rock, Batista, John Cena, Jason Momoa, Chris Hemsworth and maybe Vin Diesel for starters.

I'm amazed we've had 3 separate attempts to make a sequel to the original and no-one has done this. You'll never top Arnold's group, but a huge part of the fun of the original is that the Predator is hunting a team of the biggest and baddest. You don't need great actors for this, you need great hulking slabs of meat. Your list is pretty good, but I reckon you don't even need some of the bigger names, just bigger dudes.

I’m wondering if Sterling’s character originally had a different death. When it happened I wasn’t sure if I missed something because it was so quick.

The night scenes in the woods were reshoots so yeah he must have had a different death originally.

 

[Iceman]

I'm amazed we've had 3 separate attempts to make a sequel to the original and no-one has done this. You'll never top Arnold's group, but a huge part of the fun of the original is that the Predator is hunting a team of the biggest and baddest. You don't need great actors for this, you need great hulking slabs of meat. Your list is pretty good, but I reckon you don't even need some of the bigger names, just bigger dudes.

True, but they could help the thing take off IMO.

I think many of those on the list would be up for it too, maybe all of them.

 

[samsnee]

That could be very cool but I don't think it's a reason to not also try going down the route that the first film did at some point. And the problem for me is that the other films didn't have the kind of over-the-top alpha males of the first film, or at least not actors that are much more alpha than people you see every day. So maybe it is time to actually try the comic book style Predator 1987 ridiculous alpha male route rather than the modern Jason Bourne style alpha male route.

For an all female film who would you suggest as the cast? (as that would interest me a lot too)

Not sure. I would want someone who could actually act, and not just be physical like a Ronda Rousey or Ruby Rose. You also want someone who would be believable in that sort of role, so while it would be cool to see a Keira Knightley in it, she just doesn't exude that kind of physicality.

Maybe a Natalie Dormer type or Gemma Arterton? Rebecca Ferguson would be good but I feel like she gets her action in the Mission Impossible movies.

 

[henzINNIT]

True, but they could help the thing take off IMO.

I think many of those on the list would be up for it too, maybe all of them.

Batista has surprising chops and a lot of charisma, I'd go for him as the lead personally. He certainly stood out to me the most from your list. For the rest, I'm sure you could do some deal with WWE to fill a team up with monsters. They'd probably give the film more buzz for your money than someone like the Rock.

 

[Iceman]

Not sure. I would want someone who could actually act, and not just be physical like a Ronda Rousey or Ruby Rose. You also want someone who would be believable in that sort of role, so while it would be cool to see a Keira Knightley in it, she just doesn't exude that kind of physicality.

Maybe a Natalie Dormer type or Gemma Arterton? Rebecca Ferguson would be good but I feel like she gets her action in the Mission Impossible movies.

I guess there are less female actors well known for macho action movies. I'd be up for it if they could find the right people (just spitballing - Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez , maybe Alicia Vikander if Tomb Raider had taken off). Maybe it is something that could work after more time has passed and more actresses have got these traditionally male-dominated roles.

 

[Iceman]

Batista has surprising chops and a lot of charisma, I'd go for him as the lead personally. He certainly stood out to me the most from your list. For the rest, I'm sure you could do some deal with WWE to fill a team up with monsters. They'd probably give the film more buzz for your money than someone like the Rock.

Yeah, Batista has impressed me so far. The Rock might cost a lot but he'd bring a lot as one of the most popular action stars around today, and he certainly has the physique and charisma. I mean imagine if someone suggested not having Arnie in the first Predator because he cost too much!

 

[henzINNIT]

Yeah, Batista has impressed me so far. The Rock might cost a lot but he'd bring a lot as one of the most popular action stars around today, and he certainly has the physique and charisma. I mean imagine if someone suggested not having Arnie in the first Predator because he cost too much!

True, but this franchise has not made the money to justify the Rock in like 30 years haha. He absolutely fits the bill, I think my resistance to him in particular is the tone of film that tends to follow him. I'd probably cast the Rock and kill him first. It would be a fun cinema moment.

 

[samsnee]

I guess there are less female actors well known for macho action movies. I'd be up for it if they could find the right people (just spitballing - Milla Jovovich, Michelle Rodriguez , maybe Alicia Vikander if Tomb Raider had taken off). Maybe it is something that could work after more time has passed and more actresses have got these traditionally male-dominated roles.

Jovovich and Rodriguez could do these kind of roles in their sleep so I don't think it would be interesting to see them do it again here.

 

[Iceman]

Jovovich and Rodriguez could do these kind of roles in their sleep so I don't think it would be interesting to see them do it again here.

So you don’t really want typical tough gals? You want less obvious choices? With the original I thought the idea was to go straight for the stereotypical tough guy types. Let me know if you have any thoughts later about more potential candidates as it would be interesting to know what you’re going for.

 

[Iceman]

True, but this franchise has not made the money to justify the Rock in like 30 years haha. He absolutely fits the bill, I think my resistance to him in particular is the tone of film that tends to follow him. I'd probably cast the Rock and kill him first. It would be a fun cinema moment.

Unfortunately true lol. He would probably cost more than the film’s box office. He’s obviously well known for his comedy but I think he could handle a similar tone to the original too.

 

[Flash525]

Predator vs the Expendables?

 

[samsnee]

So you don’t really want typical tough gals? You want less obvious choices? With the original I thought the idea was to go straight for the stereotypical tough guy types. Let me know if you have any thoughts later about more potential candidates as it would be interesting to know what you’re going for.

Less obvious but tough. Maybe Tessa Thompson with Alicia Vikander and Vanessa Kirby.

 

[Mysteryman]

Predator vs the Expendables?

If it puts an end to the Expendables franchise, I would support this.

 

[elgaz]

I don't know if an ensemble cast would really be the way to go again at all, certainly not for the majority of the movie. None have had the same chemistry/characters as the 1987 original and I don't think they can recreate that magic. They keep going bigger with the numbers and spectacle and it's not really working.

Perhaps the way forward is a pared back Logan-style movie. One guy against the Predator, and cast a very good actor to play him. Set it in an isolated, haunting environment. Less about the effects and tech, and more about tone/atmosphere and 2 beings using all their skills to try and outwit each other.

 

[samsnee]

How about this. A movie from the Predator POV. It’s like Castaway where you see him stranded somewhere trying to survive with no tech. Then you realize he’s being hunted by something. You don’t really see what it is, just that it’s setting traps and occasionally trying to attack him at night. Then at the end when the Predator finally kills it, he takes off its mask and sees it’s a human.

 

[I'm Venom]

I'm not the only one who wants this, but I'd love a Predator sequel that ties everything together. Have Arnold, Brody, Danny Glover, Holbrook, etc. Basically have every main character that has survived a movie team up to fight a few of them.

It would be the equivalent of how Fast Five kind of tied together all the characters from the movies before moving the franchise forward with them all as a team.

One thing I'd love to see that most people probably wouldn't care for is Jean Claude Van Damme playing one of the Predators, for a couple of reasons. He was originally picked to play Predator in the very first one so it'd be full circle in some ways, and there have been multiple versions of Predators: Berserker, Elder, Hybrid, etc. They could have Van Damme play a more agile, much smaller Ninja Predator, and wearing a suit wouldn't be an issue with mocap.

 

[Marvolo]

I wouldnt mind seeing Arnold, Brody, Braga, and Hollbrook return. Those characters are actually qualified and capable enough to be called into fight one of these. Glover's character would be a 73 year old retiree so him coming back doesnt make much sense.

 

[KRYPTON INC.]

How about this. A movie from the Predator POV. It’s like Castaway where you see him stranded somewhere trying to survive with no tech. Then you realize he’s being hunted by something. You don’t really see what it is, just that it’s setting traps and occasionally trying to attack him at night. Then at the end when the Predator finally kills it, he takes off its mask and sees it’s a human.

Brilliant.

Stuff like that is what this franchise needs to do.

Let's be honest... The Predator concept can, as we've seen, get stale fast if you don't find ways to come at it from different angles. Say what you will about PREDATORS or even AvP1, while highly flawed, they stand out a bit by throwing some curves into the basic gist of a story about aliens that hunt humans for sport.

This is why I have never understood why the franchise has never shifted to cable or now streaming. The essential lore of the first two films provides all the rattionale one would need to base a series on. An anthology with perhaps some common thread. Each episode shows the Predators on Earth or perhaps even on other worlds and you get to do exotic locations and intense fights for survival under all kinds of circumstances across time itself. Show the Predators in pre-history discovering humans at the dawn of civilization, encountering the species on Earth that they find the most challenging. Give us a WWII story of doomed Allied troops and Imperial Japanese forces having to call a truce in the jungles of South East Asia because the Predators are taking both sides out. Do stories with no dialog where we see the Predators on alien worlds clashing against some other sentient species very different from mankind or the Xenos.

Despite the one note high concept base of the franchise there are myriad ways to do the Predator that don't just repeat the first film.

 

[I'm Venom]

I wouldnt mind seeing Arnold, Brody, Braga, and Hollbrook return. Those characters are actually qualified and capable enough to be called into fight one of these. Glover's character would be a 73 year old retiree so him coming back doesnt make much sense.

The original pitch for Predators had Arnold and Danny Glover in it. Even until late in development Fishburne's character was going to be Glover.

 

[-JKR-]

Brilliant.

Stuff like that is what this franchise needs to do.

Let's be honest... The Predator concept can, as we've seen, get stale fast if you don't find ways to come at it from different angles. Say what you will about PREDATORS or even AvP1, while highly flawed, they stand out a bit by throwing some curves into the basic gist of a story about aliens that hunt humans for sport.

This is why I have never understood why the franchise has never shifted to cable or now streaming. The essential lore of the first two films provides all the rattionale one would need to base a series on. An anthology with perhaps some common thread. Each episode shows the Predators on Earth or perhaps even on other worlds and you get to do exotic locations and intense fights for survival under all kinds of circumstances across time itself. Show the Predators in pre-history discovering humans at the dawn of civilization, encountering the species on Earth that they find the most challenging. Give us a WWII story of doomed Allied troops and Imperial Japanese forces having to call a truce in the jungles of South East Asia because the Predators are taking both sides out. Do stories with no dialog where we see the Predators on alien worlds clashing against some other sentient species very different from mankind or the Xenos.

Despite the one note high concept base of the franchise there are myriad ways to do the Predator that don't just repeat the first film.

To be fair, Shane Black's original script and filmed version does introduce new elements, and delve into the Predator society more. Unfortunately the studio and producers messed so much with the movie that barely anything that had been originally filmed is left in the final product.

But as Black has previously mentioned, so much stuff has been left on the cutting room floor before it was finished, that making a Director's Cut would be too costly, considering how many VFX shots would need to be completed.

Blame the Internet nerds who cried foul when they found out that two Predators would team up with the humans.

 

[henzINNIT]

Blame the Internet nerds who cried foul when they found out that two Predators would team up with the humans.

I nearly agree. The outraged gossip tsunami that is the internet wrongly influenced the studio into hasty reshoots, but

They were kinda right. Why the constant team-ups? The Predator should be the villain. They should be dicks. The hints at their codes and sophistication is interesting and mysterious, humanizing them is boring

 

[-JKR-]

It made sense in the story.

 

[Marvolo]

I nearly agree. The outraged gossip tsunami that is the internet wrongly influenced the studio into hasty reshoots, but

They were kinda right. Why the constant team-ups? The Predator should be the villain. They should be dicks. The hints at their codes and sophistication is interesting and mysterious, humanizing them is boring

Having the predators join with another intelligent sentient species to overcome a worse foe isnt "humanizing" them. It's making them seem smart. They are hunters and intelligent. They should understand the importance of cooperation and alliances when it serves their purposes. Every member of the species shouldn't be a bloodthirsty butcher with a one track mind.

 

[Verbal21]

Did all the complaining really force them to make a change?