In the new The Predator movie, we are introduced to the idea that the Predators have been splicing their DNA in order to make themselves the strongest race in the universe. And then there’s the Predator dogs. Now that the concept is out there, where should the franchise go next? Yes, The Predator ends with a sequel-bait scene that teases what the focus of future movies could be, but the question remains. GameSpot asked the cast exactly what new kinds of Predators they'd like to see during interviews at the Toronto International Film Festival, and Keegan-Michael Key had a surprisingly great answer.
“It would be scary, but I would love to see what a flying Predator looks like,” said Key, who plays Coyle. “Like, what is a Predator that has an exoskeleton made with wings, or however it works? I don’t know how that would necessarily form itself, but I’d like to see what that looks like.”
“I don’t know how that would work,” responded Augusto Aguilera, who plays Nettles. “Unless they do a hybrid between a Predator and a bird. But it has to be a pretty cool bird. It can’t be like, a pigeon or anything like that.”
“It has to be like, a pterodactyl,” Trevante Rhodes, who plays Nebraska Williams, chimed in.
Sure, the idea of a flying Predator is very out there, until you hear what Thomas Jane, who plays Looneys member Baxley, proposed. “What would a spider and Predator combination look like?” he mused. It's unclear whether a Flying Predator and a Spider Predator would be natural fits to the Predator universe, but we all know how it worked out for Gremlins 2, so who’s to say?
If all these sound ridiculous, it’s because Shane Black’s reboot/sequel is loaded with his signature sense of humor, all mixed with a good dose of killer action.
“I really had to throw myself into the story and trust Shane to find the tone and the balance,” Key explained. “Sometimes you know you can do it and sometimes it can’t happen until editing.”
Key’s improv comedy background, and Shane Black’s affinity for it, meant a lot of jokes had to be cut. “We had so much funny backstory that was cut,” Key continued. “There were times where I knew that the other people in the scene or off-camera [didn't have] a clue of what [Thomas and I] were doing.”
If there ends up being extended bloopers from the movie, Trevante Rhodes has an idea of what they could entail. “Every one of us would say a bunch of one-liners from other films in between setups,” said Rhodes. “And so we would try to sneak them into the film.”
“But none of them made it,” Aguilera jumped in. “And we tried so hard. We used obscured movies like Dolemite or The Room and just tried to get them into the movie. Hopefully they show up in some bloopers.”
Of course, give it to Jacob Tremblay (Rory McKenna) to put the Predator hybrid argument to bed. “You know what would be cool? Like a crocodile or a T-Rex Predator.”
“They still have short arms,” Boyd Holbrook (Quinn McKenna) chimed in to tease his The Predator co-star. “You know that if a T-Rex falls over it’s not going to be able to get back up?”
Still, Holbrook had something to say that puts a serious question mark on all the suggestions. “How could they sneak up on people? Especially the T-Rex?”
The Predator is in theaters now.
