With Shane Black's The Nice Guys finished and due for release in a couple of months, it looks like his next project is gearing up its publicity machine. That film, lest we forget, is the fourth instalment in the Predator franchise (sixth if you count the two AvP films), and in what appears to be an official missive, studio Fox have released a new teaser image via the accredited Predator Facebook page. They've also revealed the title. Taking a cue from The Wolverine (and Ice Cube{
There's not a great deal to go on, although that title does suggest a singular enemy in blunt contrast to Predators, which promised an army and gave us a trio. What's visible behind the text - "You'll never see him coming" - looks like a battle-scarred version of the seven-foot beast, sporting his infamous shoulder cannon. The picture was accompanied on Facebook by the message, "Here we go again, bro": a Bill Duke line from John McTiernan's original film.
Black was in that film as an actor, of course, ostensibly to be on-hand in the jungle as a writer should the screenplay need tweaking. "As if that script needed any work," he marvelled later. His connection with the franchise goes right back to the beginning then, which makes another sequel a far more interesting prospect in his hands than it might nave been otherwise.
He's been developing the film with writer Fred Dekker since mid-2014, and has previously assured everyone that what's on the cards is a continuation, rather than a remake or a reboot. "It's an inventive sequel," he explained. "As far as Fred and I are concerned, why start over, when you’ve all this rich mythology yet to mine? I like the idea of expanding and exploring the existing Predator mythology, rather than hitting the restart button."
There's no start date or cast yet, but expect more news in the not-too-distant future. Black's The Nice Guys, starring Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe, is out in the UK on May 20.