Predator reboot to be directed by Shane Black

Iron Man 3 director Shane Black,  also known for being the creator of the Lethal Weapon series, is attached to direct a planned reboot of the classic Predator franchise. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Black will also write the first draft of the script before turning it over to Fred Dekker (RoboCop 3) for the final version.

Black has previous with the Predator series, having made some uncredited rewrites to the script of the first film and, would you believe, actually appeared in it. He played Hawkins, the radio operator who told terrible jokes and was the Predator’s first onscreen victim (all that was left was a pile of organs steaming in the jungle).

Black is also in line to direct Doc Savage and a film adaptation of Death Note, a popular Manga/Anime, as well as attempting to get 1970s crime film The Nice Guys off the ground. He’s going to be one busy little bee for the next few years it seems, and it’s unclear which of these projects is first on his to do list.

No word on plot or castings for the new Predator film as of yet, but watch this space.

UPDATE: Black has said that his film will not be a reboot but a sequel. Speaking with Collider: “Why start over, when you’ve got all this rich mythology left to mine?” He also said he liked “the idea of expanding and exploring the existing Predator mythology, rather than hitting the restart button.” Sounds pretty good to us.