Silver Surfer
Veteran
The Predator is heading back to Vancouver for some more reshoots. Fans of the long-running Predator franchise were thrilled to hear Shane Black had signed on as director. Black previously wrote the scripts for Lethal Weapon and The Last Boy Scout, in addition to directing Iron Man 3. He also had a link to the series already, having played the part of ill-fated commando Hawkins in the 1987 original.
Part of the reason Black signed on for The Predator is that he wanted to re-energize the series, but the production has been bumpy. The release date has been pushed back multiple times, it took a surprisingly long time for a trailer to arrive and the movie went back for extensive reshoots in March. It has since been revealed this additional photography was to rework the finale, with Black recently stating the original, daylight-set third act just wasn’t scary enough. It was also revealed that an action scene had been removed, in addition to several hybrid creatures.
The Predator is set for release in September, and now a report from Production Weeklyreveals the movie – which has the working title Ollie - is heading back to Canada for an additional 2 days of filming. There’s no indication of what is being shot but given how close The Predator is to the release date, it could be an additional scene to set up further entries.
The movie’s producer John Davies recently confirmed he’s looking to make a trilogy, and while he wants Black to return, there are no set plans. Fans are still holding out hope that Arnold Schwarzenegger's Dutch could make an appearance. A cameo for Dutch was actually written into the screenplay but the actor turned it down - apparently feeling the role was too small - so perhaps the new reshoots could be to add some sort of appearance by the character to set up a sequel.
It’s hard to predict how audiences will respond to The Predator. The hybrid ‘Upgrade’ Predator who serves as the movie’s main antagonist has received a mixed response, but given Black’s track record the movie should at least provide a fresh take on the series. The response to the recent trailers has also been much more positive, and the reshoots are also said to have toned down some of the comedic elements that test audiences found confusing.
