It might be safe to get excited about Predator again

It’s surprising when you consider how many beloved franchises have more bad films in them than good ones.  Alien, Terminator, Jurassic Park … the list goes on, and let’s be honest: this is largely due to the insistence on creating never ending sequels, sequels that tend to lose the magic of the originals after years of inactivity.

One of the franchises that tragically falls into this category is Predator.  The first film has a great concept, which manages to be memorable for more than its Schwarzenegger one-liners.  But after the disaster that was Predator 2 in 1990, the franchise has struggled to stay relevant, with various studios and writers trying their hand at making Predator new and exciting, only to fail critically and financially.

Well good news is here friends, as yet another Predator film is on the way, and here’s the kicker: it probably won’t suck!

While there are next-to-no details available regarding the forthcoming film, we know who the talent is behind it: Shane Black.  If you’re unfamiliar with his work, Black has written and directed some of the most revered films of the last three decades, including Lethal Weapon, The Last Boy Scout, Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, and most recently, Iron Man 3.  The film is being co-written with Frank Dekker, who brings a wealth of genre writing with him, such as House, episodes of Tales from the Crypt, and Monster Squad, which he previously co-wrote with Black.  The most recent progress made on Predator was found in a tweet from Dekker, who said that he and Black had submitted the script to the studio.  Even with nothing known about the film or the direction that it’s taking, the talent behind the film is enough to get excited about.

For those unaware, the last formal entry in the series was Predators in 2010, which attempted to be a reboot of the franchise.  The film starred Adrian Brody, Topher Grace and Lawrence Fishburne, but its poor performance and reception caused the studio to rethink launching a franchise from it.  From what we know of the upcoming film, Predator will act as a sequel rather than another reboot.  Black said in an interview with Collider: “Why start over, when you’ve all this rich mythology yet to mine?”.  Rather he intends to get inventive with the sequel, which could breathe some new life into the struggling franchise.

A release date for the film hasn’t been officially announced, but expect that with the script now submitted, more details will start to follow throughout 2016.