Despite receiving a somewhat lukewarm reception from critics, Predators nevertheless scored an impressive 5 million off the back of a -50 million budget. With the film yet to be released on DVD, the expected sales almost render a sequel inevitable. Unlikely star Adrien Brody, when quizzed on the possibility of further instalments at this year’s New York Comic Con, seemed optimistic.
“I think it’s done well enough to justify [a sequel] for sure… I think the goal initially was to make a film that is worthy of [a franchise]. The film is even structured that way, to kick in for another one. I’d be excited. I’d be excited to do it. I think that was part of the allure.”
Although a left-wing choice for the third Predators movie (compared to Arnold Schwarzenegger at least) and despite Brody’s attempts to bring complexity to the character, the movie remained a collection of clichés and stock characters in which the forced romances were almost as predictable as the sequence of mortalities.
That said, the mixed reviews tended to agree on one thing. The palpable haze of testosterone and nostalgic soundtrack marked a return to form for a franchise which is largely held to have strayed with Danny Glover’s Predator 2 (am I really the only person who disagrees?). A sequel may allow director Nimród Antal, producer Robert Rodriguez and star Adrien Brody to deliver some such complexity.
Brody used the same interview to debunk rumours suggesting that he was in talks to star as Ant-Man in Edgar Wright’s high-tech spy-hiest film.
“I haven’t been involved in any of those discussions – I have mentioned it to my reps who have been kind of covert about their response as well, which is very strange to me. I said ‘Is there any validity to this, what is this?’ and they said ‘Well…it’s too early to say.’ It was very strange and I kind of dropped it at that…Not everything that is bandied around the Internet is factual, but sometimes there are elements that do stem from truth that people who are in the middle of it aren’t aware of either. We’ll see.”
It’s hard to believe that, while on the topic of Marvel projects, Brody wouldn’t bring up Fantastic Four: Reborn if he had indeed been approached for the part of Reed Richards. While enthusiastic at the prospect of leading one franchise, it remains to be seen whether the Oscar-winning actor would choose to head two genre juggernauts.
