Dear Shane Black: Please Keep Arnold Schwarzenegger Out of 'The Predator'
Arnold said he's ready to meet with the director about the new 'Predator' sequel, but naw dogg. Naw.
After Iron Man 3 made a whole mess of money, writer/director Shane Black could basically do whatever the hell he wanted. First, he made the buddy cop comedy The Nice Guys starring Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe — set for release in May 2016 — then he decided to revisit one of his most beloved properties from nearly 30 years ago: Black’s sequel, now titled The Predator, is set for release in 2018, and it looks like he’s trying to recruit some of the original stars — namely Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Black and Schwarzenegger last collaborated on 1993’s notorious box office bomb The Last Action Hero, and now that the Governator is squarely outside politics and re-committed to his movie career, it makes sense that Black would come calling: to see if the star might strap on fatigues and shoot very large weapons at an alien.
According to a Schwarzenegger fansite called The Arnold Fans (yes, that’s a real thing), Arnie is keen to revisit the role of Major Alan “Dutch” Schaefer, and will meet with Black to discuss how they could make it happen.
Per the site, Schwarzenegger said:
I haven’t talked with him (Shane Black) yet but I’m going to meet with him for lunch sometime soon. Just as soon as I’m finished with this (Arnolds Sports Festival) and The Apprentice and all this stuff. But I will get together with him. If there is any news, we’ll of course let you know right away. There’s also a meeting coming up soon about Conan, about the project moving forward.
You’ll notice that Arnold mentioned the long-in-development sequel of his iconic barbarian character Conan, which is another example of wishful thinking among action movie fans. It’d be awesome for all of these classics to be revisited by Arnold, himself, but it’s that kind of nostalgia that gave us three shitty Terminator movies after T2.
The official poster art for Black's upcoming sequel, 'The Predator.'
The Predator saga has been followed by one lackluster sequel, one kind-of-okay sequel, and two deplorable Alien vs. Predator movies. Dutch is a key part in the Predator mythology, but this Arnold development just reeks of desperation. Maybe it’s best to just leave him out of the new movie altogether. Still, Schwarzenegger coming back for a sequel involving Shane Black is noteworthy. Even if it’s nothing more than a cameo.
The Predator is slated to open with or without Arnold on March 1, 2018.
