20th Century Fox and filmmaker Shane Black are working hard to deliver The Predator in fighting shape, delaying its release from February to September in order to carry out reportedly extensive reshoots. Now co-star Keegan-Michael Key has told CinemaBlend just how extensive those reshoots are: The filmmakers behind The Predator reshot nearly the entire third act of the film!
“We just finished [reshoots] last week, and just about three-quarters of the third act was rewritten,” confirms Key. “And Shane Black is… he’s just a consummate professional, and a consummate writer. He’s a wordsmith! It was a really, really exhilarating experience, and I think that he’s still one of our most vibrant writers of cinema.”
The Predator stars Boyd Holbrook (Narcos, Logan), Olivia Munn (X-Men: Apocalypse), Trevante Rhodes (Moonlight), Keegan-Michael Key (Keanu, Key & Peele), Thomas Jane (The Punisher), Jacob Tremblay (Room), Yvonne Strahovski (Dexter), Alfie Allen (Game of Thrones), Sterling K. Brown (The People vs. O.J. Simpson, This is Us), and Edward James Olmos (Battlestar Galactica, Blade Runner).
Director Shane Black, who wrote the script with his Monster Squad co-writer Fred Dekker, previously confirmed that the film remains in the continuity of the first two movies and isn’t a full reboot of the series. He said there is a reference in the script as to why the film has a singular title, and that the film will carry an R rating.
The original Predator was directed by John McTiernan and starred Arnold Schwarzenegger as the leader of a United States special forces team that comes under attack from an alien entity that prizes the thrill of the hunt above all else. It was followed by a direct sequel, Predator 2, in 1990 before crossing over with Fox’s Alien franchise for two additional sequels, Alien vs. Predator and AvP: Requiem. In 2010, Nimrod Antal helmed a reboot with a new feature, Predators.
The Predator will be released in theaters on September 14, 2018.
