The Predator has finally released its first trailer, and it’s not quite what we were expecting.
With Predator star Shane Black writing and directing the new film, while constantly talking up a return to the franchise’s roots, we were looking forward to an all-out actioner in the spirit of the 1987 original. That film of course had Arnold Schwarzenegger leading a team of testosterone junkies against a technologically-advanced alien soldier in the jungle, and the result was a mashup of sci-fi horror and shoot ’em up action that hasn’t really been topped since. But that’s not really what we’re getting with this new trailer.
The trailer leads off with a kid finding some old Predator armor and playing with it, which seems to signal a Predator ship to Earth (and apparently, the suburbs). We’re then introduced to some soldiers who previously encountered a Predator, and are apparently suffering from PTSD. Then we’re treated to some scientists and science talk about how the Predators are looking to hybridize, presumably with humans, which seems like an odd direction to take for a race that is all about hunting and killing other species. Finally, there are some welcome flashes of action, with the Predator looking particularly badass, and even a shot of a muscle-bound Trevante Rhodes firing a giant machine gun — a shot that wouldn’t look out of place in the original film.
The new trailer isn’t necessarily bad, it’s just not what we were expecting. It’s also just a teaser trailer, meaning a longer, meatier trailer should be arriving within the next couple of months. Overall, we still have faith that Black will deliver a Predator movie that makes resurrecting the franchise worthwhile, and are more curious than ever to see how this film unfolds.
The Predator opens in theaters on September 14.
