Shane Black’s The Predator, which will serve as a sort-of sequel to the original two Predator films, is set to release early next year. While the film is currently shooting, Black has begun to fill out the rest of his cast for the long-awaited installment in the franchise, including the recent addition of Game of Thrones’ Alfie Allen as an ex-marine who will presumably team up with Boyd Holbrook’s main protagonist character in fighting the Predator alien. Black, who co-wrote The Predator with Fred Dekker (who co-wrote The Monster Squad with Black and served as that film’s director), has also enlisted stars such as Olivia Munn, Keegan-Michael Key and Thomas Jane to serve as supporting characters for the movie.

With such a vast amount of talent at his disposal, fans of not only the Predator franchise but of Black himself (the writer/director who most recently helmed 2016's critically-lauded The Nice Guys) have wondered exactly what he’ll bring to the franchise and, perhaps more importantly, how he’ll redeem it after the middling reception to Predators back in 2010 - as well as the outright negative response to the Alien vs. Predator films. While there most certainly will not be an answer to these questions until after The Predator releases, Black has continued his quest for talent, this time by adding Yvonne Strahovski to the eve-expanding cast.

Via THR, The Predator is in the final negotiations part of adding Strahovski in the role of ex-wife to Holbrook’s character Quinn and mother of their son (Jacob Tremblay). It’s unclear just how much involvement Strahovski’s character will have in the overall development of the movie's plot, but given the ensemble nature of the cast so far, it wouldn’t be surprising if she plays a more vital role.

Strahovski rose to relative fame during her five-year stint on Chuck, the NBC spy comedy which saw her have a co-starring role. Perhaps a little more recently, however, fans may recognize the actress from her time on Showtime’s Dexter as Hannah, love interest to the title character. Both roles show different sides of Strahovski’s talent as an actress, which opens up the possibilities of what kind of character she’ll play on The Predator.

For those fans who are looking forward to The Predator as well as hoping this will help reinvigorate the franchise for the modern era, Black continuing to add capable actors and actresses can only be a positive thing. Mixed in with his dedication to make the film as violent and R-rated as possible as well as his track record with fans and critics, and an optimist might say The Predator is in the best possible hands with Black running the show.

Naturally, however, with Hollywood’s growing obsession with remakes/reboots/sequels, there’s bound to be fans out there who would have been happy if the franchise would have ended way back in 1990, with the Danny Glover-led Predator 2. Judging by what came after that film, it’s hard not to sympathize with this mindset. Still, if Fox is dead set on making The Predator in spite of these concerns, at least the studio can be credited for putting the property in proven and capable hands.

NEXT: The Predator Official Cast Photo

Source: THR