We've watched director Shane Black assemble an interesting cast for THE PREDATOR, his "inventive sequel" to 1987's PREDATOR, as the production start draws near. There's Boyd Holbrook as an ex-Marine who discovers the existence of the Predator aliens, Olivia Munn as a scientist, Sterling K. Brown as a government agent, Jacob Tremblay as an autistic child, Trevante Rhodes as another ex-Marine, Keegan-Michael Key as a man who teams up with these formers Marines in the fight against the Predators (yes, there will be more than one), and Thomas Jane in a mystery role.
One thing we've never gotten a confirmation or denial on is whether or not PREDATOR star Arnold Schwarzenegger will be showing up in the film. Schwarzenegger and Black did meet for lunch last year, but was a cameo deal made? We don't know.
One person who doesn't expect to see Schwarzenegger on set is Holbrook, who also says THE PREDATOR is not a sequel, even though it was Black who described it as an "inventive sequel". According to Holbrook, it's not a reboot or a remake, either. Here's what he had to say about the film and the possibility of Schwarzenegger making a cameo:
I’m currently working on Predator. It’s not a sequel; Shane Black has made something totally new, somehow keeping within the realm of Predator [while also being] absolutely new in terms of the story that we’re talking about today, and rooted in something real. It’s real fresh. I don’t think you’re going to see [Arnold] Schwarzenegger. It would kind of make it a gimmick. It’s horror, science-fiction and a western.”
Of course, Holbrook could just be casting doubt on a Schwarzenegger cameo so it will be a surprise if it does actually happen.
Schwarzenegger or not, THE PREDATOR will be in theatres on February 9, 2018. Then we'll get to see this "totally new" Predator story that Black cooked up with his THE MONSTER SQUAD co-writer Fred Dekker.
Holbrook in LOGAN