Predator 4 filming update: Director Shane Black says 'the train is rolling'

The extraterrestrial/human killing warrior will return to Earth in the upcoming instalment of The Predator. Although the movie was announced by 20th Century Fox in 2014, pre-production is picking pace and Shane Black, who is helming the science-fiction action thriller, finally revealed some details of the fourth instalment of the 1987 blockbuster film.

"To the best of my knowledge, the train is rolling. It took some convincing because they've been putting out these movies all along with a $50-60 million budget, and they all had a guaranteed return. But there was never the sense that it was an event picture. It was more like 'I understand another Predator is coming out — maybe we'll see it maybe we won't'," the 54-year-old told AFP (via Screenrant).

The Predator series has a massive fan following and Black has kept details of the fourth movie under wraps, but he did drop a hint that fans might get to see a "significantly bigger" movie as compared to the previous editions – filming for which will begin in October this year.

Keeping fans' request in mind, the director is also hoping to add Arnold Schwarzenegger to the movie's cast, who could be seen reprising his role of Major Alan "Dutch" Schaefer. Even as the movie is set to premiere on 2 March 2018, 20<sup>th Century Fox is yet to reveal the complete cast of the film. Black is currently co-writing the script along with Fred Dekker and expectations are high as the director's Iron Man 3 did was a hit at the box office.

In March this year, Schwarzenegger interacted with fans and teased that he was waiting to meet with Black to discuss the Predator reboot. "I haven't talked with him [Shane Black] yet but I'm going to meet with him for lunch sometime soon. Just as soon as I'm finished with this [Arnold's Sports Festival] and "The Apprentice" and all this stuff... But I will get together with him. If there is any news, we'll of course let you know right away. There's also a meeting coming up soon about Conan, about the project moving forward," the actor said.