Thirty years ago, Shane Black turned in a short-lived but delightful supporting role in John McTiernan's Predator, a cult-classic creature feature that starred Arnold Schwarzenegger in the heroic role of the musclebound commando, Dutch. Fast forward to 2017. Black is now writing and directing The Predator, a sequel to the original film, and it sounds like he wants Dutch to play a part, with Schwarzenegger returning to fill the role.

Unfortunately, that part was apparently too small and insignificant for Schwarzenegger. Thanks to a tip from AvPGalaxy, we have an idea of the context of Dutch's appearance, which helps to explain the reason why Schwarzenegger turned it down. (He would, however, consider playing another villain in a future Batman film.) So don't get your hopes up for Dutch's return unless something major changes in the run-up to The Predator's February 9, 2018 release date.

In a chat with Yahoo!, Schwarzenegger was candid about his response to the offer to play a small part in The Predator:

My all-time favorite film of yours is Predator, and Shane Black is now rebooting the franchise with The Predator. Are you involved with it in any way?

 

They asked me, and I read it, and I didn’t like it — whatever they offered. So I’m not going to do that, no. Except if there’s a chance that they rewrite it, or make it a more significant role. But the way it is now, no, I won’t do that.

AvPGalaxy reports that the small cameo would have appeared at the end of the film and would comprise only a few lines that helped set up the sequel. And yes, you can bet that the 20th Century Fox folks are banking on a sequel regardless.

As for Black, he responded to a follow-up inquiry on Twitter:

So either Dutch gets a bigger part or he won't be back at all; I'm not sure which track fans of the Predator franchise would rather see at this point. Stay tuned; we'll report more on The Predator as it becomes available. In the meantime, you can catch up on our recent write-ups below:

• ‘The Predator’: Shane Black Shares New Image of His (Doomed?) Cast
• Boyd Holbrook on Not Playing an Over-the-Top Villain in ‘Logan’
• ‘The Predator’ Cast Revealed in First Image
• ‘The Predator': Boyd Holbrook Says Arnold Schwarzenegger Probably Won’t Cameo; Reveals New Character Details
• [Updated] ‘The Predator’ Adds ‘Moonlight’ Breakout Trevante Rhodes