After nearly seven years of lying dormant, thePredatorfranchise is getting ready to make a comeback and in seemingly true-to-form fashion.Director Shane Black, who starred in the originalPredator, is currently working on a new entry in the franchise, simply titledThe Predator, which is getting ready to start shooting for release early next year. The cast has been growing in recent weeks and now,RoomstarJacob Tremblayhas reportedly signed on for the movie.
The Hollywood Reporterbroke the news that the 10-year-old actor is joining the fight againstThe Predator, alongsideBoyd Holbrook, who is playing the main hero in the movie. The part was originally intended forBenicio Del Toro, but he had to drop out over scheduling conflicts.Jacob Tremblaybroke out in the Oscar-winning dramaRoomand that put him on Hollywood’s radar in a big way. Now he is going to make the jump from quiet, indie drama to big, bloody sci-fi movie. THR also had some details about his character, which give us our first look at the plot ofThe Predator, which has been largely kept under wraps until now. Here is how THR is describing his role.
“Tremblay will play the son of Holbrook’s character, an ex-Marine who discovers the existence offierce aliensbut finds that no one believes they exist. The son is autistic and bullied in school but becomes a key player in the fight due to his preternatural ability to learn languages.”
The Predatoris meant to be areboot of the franchise, but according toShane Black, it isn’t going to be wiping the slate clean. The events of the originalPredatormovies will have still happened in this universe, but the description provided by THR does make it seem as though this will be a pretty fresh start, sinceBoyd Holbrook"discovers" the Predators. The news ofJacob Tremblayjoining the cast of the movie comes just after reports surfaced thatPunisherstarThomas Janeis also joining the cast. They are coming on board with the likes of the previously mentionedHolbrook, as well asOlivia Munn,MoonlightstarTrevante RhodesandKeegan-Michael KeyofKey & Peelefame. That makes for a very fascinating mixed bag of cast members so far.
The originalPredatorremains a true action classic and the franchise hasn’t managed to top, or even match, that initial entry, despite quite a few attempts.Predator 2has found an audience in the years since its release, but it tanked at the box office and was not what one would call a critical darling. Then came theAlien Vs. Predatormovies, which, despite having a seemingly bullet-proof concept, really didn’t work all that well. Especially in the case ofAlien Vs. Predator: Requiem, which currently has a very poor 12 percent approval rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. 2010’sPredatorswas probably the bestPredatormovie since the original, but was still middle-of-the-road affair, but it was enjoyable to some degree.
We will likely be learning quite a bit Predatorsince cameras will be rolling shortly, but the cast is certainly taking shape. We do know that the movie is going to be R-rated, “scary,” it will be released in IMAX and we also know the very rough plot details that THR was able to provide withJacob Tremblay’s casting announcement, which should be more than enough to get fans of the franchise excited for this new installment.The Predatoris set for release on June 26, 2025.
