Bet you didn’t see this one coming. Having faced the Guardians of the Galaxy as The Collector, embracing The Wolfman, and filming a role for Star Wars: Episode VIII, Benicio Del Toro will next encounter The Predator, as he’s said to be in early talks to join the cast of Shane Black’s sequel to the franchise.
Deadline was the first to report the negotiations, which would make Del Toro the first actor to join the film. Details, including who he’d be playing, are scarce. However, THR states that the film will feature an ensemble cast anchored by Del Toro’s character. Assuming these figures will be similar to the army men from the original films, the actor will be putting his Sicario and recent sci-fi experience to good use.
Black had been talking about the film for quite some time before Fox formally announced the film for a release, which was then changed to February 9, 2018, from March of that year. The filmmaker told Collider of The Predator, which he says is set in the present day, at this year’s CinemaCon:
There’s great Predator movies, but to actually play with the idea of making it an event, not necessarily in scale — it doesn’t have to be huge — but it just has to feel like a Predator movie you want to see in the summer and line up for it. And that’s what we’re going for. Let’s get back to the excitement and innovation of that original movie where it felt fresh. I just want to find a way to make it feel fresh and that’s what we’re trying to do.
Black also described the project as an event film and teased the possibility of original star Arnold Schwarzenegger being involved somehow. Fred Dekker, who penned the script based on Black’s treatment, told the Movie Crypt podcast, “If you think of the first Predator as Alien, ours is much more Aliens.”
