Of the numerous comebacks that have come around this decade, none has been more exciting and promising than the return of 1980s action-movie guruShane Black, and I’m including even the greatMichael Keaton’s resurgence in that round-up. For a Marvel sceptic like myself, the shock and thrill of witnessing his brilliant, evocativeIron Man 3, easily the best Marvel film to be released thus far, was not unlike an awakening, seeing just how character-driven and inventive the MCU could be if the projects were given to genuinely unique artists like Black.
The writer-director, who pennedLethal Weapon,The Long Kiss Goodnight,The Last Boy Scout, andLast Action Hero, among other movies, will release his follow-up toIron Man 3,The Nice Guys, this summer but his reboot of thePredatorfranchise looms even larger on his release schedule. And during a discussion aboutThe Nice Guys, which looks like an awful lot of fun, withThe Thrillist, Black touched on how he ended up taking on the reboot, entitledThe Predatorofficially, despite refusing to work on the script for the original classic and having major hesitations about coming back to the tainted franchise.
Here’s what Black had to say about taking over the reboot after saying no to the original script:
They called me and I was reluctant. I said, “Look. You guys at Fox, I mean, I enjoy these movies, but we’ve been churning out theseAVPwhatever, they each cost a certain amount of money, they’re okay, but there’s no effort to elevate them or make them any kind of an event.” They’re just sort of anotherPredator. “Oh, there’s another one that came out.” They said, “What if we said to you we want to reinvent this, and really treat it with as much of an event status, or as much hoopla as we would theAlienprequel, which is coming out also? We really want to make this something. The kind of movie that people line up for.” I said, “Really, you’ll spend a bunch of money?” They go, “Yep.” I go, “Make it really scale, spectacle?” “Yep.” “Shit, that sounds interesting.”
He went onto suggest that the film would be anIron Man 3-level event movie:
I think the first one was great, and it was contained, and it was a perfect little gem for what it was. I think there’s an expansion that needs to take place, and also just a love for that era, that movie, and the mythology of the Predator. I think that they came to me knowing pretty much that… they said, basically, if I wanted to makePredatorbut treat it like it wasIron Man IIIinstead of just another little movie. I said, “Let’s really do it right this time.”
The Thrillist went onto ask whether or notArnold Schwarzeneggerwould be returning for the latest film, Black said that negotiations are currently in process and the script itself must remain a secret for the time being, which is not surprising at all. I’m a hesitant supporter ofNimrod Antal’s wonkyPredators, as well as the trashyPredator 2, but the fact that Black will (presumably) give the film the size, scope, and personality that such a modern sci-fi classic deserves in its remake makes me extremely impatient to see how all of this develops.
