Shane Black

Lethal Weapon creator Shane Black likely had his choice of any number of projects after directing the billion box office smash Iron Man 3, and it has been revealed this evening that one of them will be a reboot of the Predator franchise for Twentieth Century Fox as they look to relaunch the series.

The Hollywood Reporter states that the filmmaker (who also penned Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) will write the treatment for this project before handing over script writing duties to Fred Dekker (RoboCop 3), a longtime friend who he previously worked with on 1987’s Monster Squad.

Shane Black actually made a brief appearance in the original Predator starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Back then, the studio had asked him numerous times to rewrite the script and he refused. When they called and offered him a role in the movie though, he accepted, only to find himself being asked to look at the screenplay by the studio execs and producers almost as soon as he arrived on the South American set.

His response? “I’m still not rewriting it.”

Numerous attempts have been made to keep this franchise alive, but they’ve all proven to be unsuccessful. The latest was Predators, a 2010 movie starring Adrien Brody, Topher Grace and Walton Goggins.

Black is a busy man as he looks to start shooting 1970s crime movie The Nice Guys this Fall, with Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe both eyed for roles. He also want to direct Chris Hemsworth in a big screen adaptation of Doc Savage, but as that isn’t a priority for Sony, Predator could come before it.