The Predator has been on many people’s list of most anticipated films of 2018 and from a outside perspective, for good reason. The film has a all star cast with the likes of Boyd Holbrook (LOGAN), Sterling K. Brown (BLACK PANTHER) and Olivia Munn (THE LEGO NINJAGO MOVIE) as well as a talented behind the scenes crew with Shane Black, known for his directorial work on ‘IRON MAN 3’, ‘THE NICE GUYS’ and many more iconic films, signed on as the director on the project.
However trouble came around when reshoots were announced for the film, typically this is obviously common for blockbusters to do reshoots for a few weeks at most to reconfigure some parts due to test screening responses and such, however it was clear that ‘THE PREDATOR’ was not just having pickups, these were extensive reshoots.
From this point on, I should add that this film has went through extensive reshoots and may have different cuts, so I would like you all to take what I say next with grains of salt, none of this is confirmed with the studio or representatives either.
The film began to do test screenings in fall of last year and as I have been told, the film was not in good shape, the third act was very very poor and from sources, they predicted that if that cut was to be released in cinemas, it may have only gotten a 25% on Rotten Tomatoes for example (keep in mind however this is the opinion of my source). Obviously this year, The Predator is one of 20th Century Fox’s tentpole blockbusters and the September slot (if it stays there) will likely prove beneficial for the film if it turns out well in the end.
Continuing on, after the poor results from test screenings, they went into reshoots, from my knowledge the entire third act was changed which you can learn more about in AVP Galaxy’s report, after the reshoots, I am aware that many screenings with audiences have taken place to begin ironing out issues and making the film as good as they can get, I was able to gather some non-spoilery information from a source regarding one fairly recent cut of the film.
Regarding the visual effects and the general look of the film, they clearly have a long way to go before the effects are finished, with lots of grey CGI and blue screen used, however a cool detail is that although the ‘Upgrade Predator’ is all CGI, the original Predator is in fact entirely practical and is said to look really impressive. As for the unfinished VFX, from my perspective it does not sound like they can finish the VFX for that early September release date as of now but I am unaware of how far the VFX has came along since this test screening so this is purely speculation on my behalf. It is also important to note that there are no noticeable reshoots in this cut of the film which is very reassuring to hear, after films such as Justice League and Fantastic Four which have also had extensive reshoots have produced films that have clearly shown reshoots in them.
As for how the film has changed, the third act is pretty much completely different compared to what it was originally, you can find out how the original third act was like in AVP Galaxy’s report but as for how the reshoots have changed other parts from the film, from my knowledge they have added flashbacks featuring Boyd Holbrook’s character at the beginning of the film, however the unfortunate news is that Edward James Olmos was no longer in this cut of ‘THE PREDATOR’ that I was informed about which is a real shame. Also it’s set at Halloween, do with that information as you will.
To conclude though, it seems that the best movie comparison I can make with ‘THE PREDATOR’ is what happened with ‘ROGUE ONE’. Rogue One’s third act was bad but extensive reshoots were done and ended up saving the film and making it the great Star Wars movie that we have today, this seems the same case for Shane Black’s ‘THE PREDATOR’ besides that Shane Black still stayed on as director for reshoots unlike Gareth Edwards with Rogue One. This is supported with what my recent source said regarding that the film was decent and would likely get around a 65-70% on Rotten Tomatoes (keep in mind however this is the opinion of my source) and considering they still have a few months to iron out issues in the film, it seems that ‘THE PREDATOR’ should end up being a pretty good film, especially for fans of The Predator franchise.
Let us know your thoughts, are you excited for The Predator? And what are your thoughts on what is mentioned in this editorial?
The Predator, directed by Shane Black and written by Fred Dekker and Shane Black, stars Trevante Rhodes, Keegan-Michael Key, Olivia Munn, Sterling K. Brown, Alfie Allen, Thomas Jane, Augusto Aguilera, Jake Busey, and Yvonne Strahovski, The Predator opens September 14th.
Here is the synopsis for the film:
From the outer reaches of space to the small-town streets of suburbia, the hunt comes home. The universe’s most lethal hunters are stronger, smarter and deadlier than ever before, having genetically upgraded themselves with DNA from other species. When a boy accidentally triggers their return to Earth, only a ragtag crew of ex-soldiers and a disgruntled science teacher can prevent the end of the human race.
