When asked to describe Shane Black’s approach to The Predator, Moonlight breakout Trevante Rhodes recently told Yahoo that, together with Boyd Holbrook (Logan), Keegan-Michael Key and the rest of the gang, his ex-marine forms “a bit of a motley crew” while spearheading a special Predator-hunting operation. The result? An R-rated reboot filled with crackerjack energy, camaraderie and, frankly, “exactly what you expect a Shane Black movie to be, set in the world of the Predator.”
For a writer-director renown for fostering on-screen chemistry – think Lethal Weapon and its modern-day doppelgänger, The Nice Guys – Rhodes’ interview about The Predator‘s motley crew is exciting in and of itself, but Black himself has today delivered the next best thing: an action shot of those aforementioned monster hunters. Flanked by Thomas Jane, Augusto Aguilera, and Game of Thrones actor Alfie Allen, Holbrook, Key and Rhodes are suited, booted, and ready to confront an extra-terrestrial menace.
Indeed, the preliminary story tidbits that have found their way online suggest The Predator will unleash multiple aliens upon the streets of Los Angeles, at which point Jacob Tremblay‘s youngster becomes a powerful player in the cross-species conflict. Shackled with a rare form of autism, Tremblay’s character displays a natural prowess for learning new languages, which ought to come in handy when attempting to communicate – or, at the very least, understand – those invading monsters. Rounding out the cast is X-Men: Apocalypse star Olivia Munn, who’s on board to play a gifted scientist tasked with deciphering the peculiar anatomy of one of cinema’s most iconic creatures.
The Predator, also starring Yvonne Strahovski, is booked in for theatrical release on February 9th, 2018.