New ‘Predator’ Finds its Lead in Amber Midthunder, Readies for Production
The new Predator film is closer than initially expected, and it has already found its lead!
One of the wildest news from 2020 (and that’s saying a lot) was 20th Century Studios putting a new Predator film, with 10 Cloverfield Lane director Dan Trachtenberg attached, in active development after the flop of 2018’s The Predator. This was especially surprising considering that Disney had just acquired Fox and all its properties; everyone was expecting them to hit the brakes for a while with the franchise and maybe look for a “back to the roots” take on the material.
Trachtenberg’s film reportedly follows a Comanche woman “who goes against the gender norms and traditions of her tribe to become a warrior.” This project started development back in 2016 under the name Skulls, which is still being used, in order to cover up its true nature: a refreshing Predator installment completely disconnected from the other entries in the famous sci-fi franchise. Apparently, Trachtenberg and Fox (now 20th Century Studios) were going for both a secretive production and a small marketing campaign which would have mimicked that of 2016’s 10 Cloverfield Lane, a surprise spinoff that came out of nowhere and garnered critical acclaim.
The good folks at DiscussingFilm, who have been trailing this project for years now, reported on Friday that the film’s main lead has been found: Native American actress Amber Midthunder, who has quite a bit of experience working on shows such as Legion or Roswell, New Mexico. She also had a small role in David Mackenzie’s 2016 banger Hell or High Water, which was no small production. She will next appear in Jonathan Hensleigh’s The Ice Road starring Liam Neeson, Holt McCallany, and Laurence Fishburne.
Additionally, DF is saying the film is nearing its production start date in Calgary, Alberta (Canada). This is backed by a recent IG post by Trachtenberg himself that showcases the working title Skulls plus a bit of information about a camera test:
This new Predator entry has no tentative release date as of yet, but a late 2022 or early 2023 target is likely if they are aming to start principal photography soon.
Francisco J. Ruiz is that guy who has watched Jurassic Park a thousand times and loves Star Wars. His hunger for movies is only matched by his love for video games. He graduated in English Studies from the University of Malaga, in Spain. As he keeps writing about what he enjoys (and doesn’t) for websites all over, he’s continuing his studies.
