The Predator: Moonlight Actor Reveals Character Details

Screen Rant

By James Roberts

Published Mar 8, 2017

Moonlight star Trevante Rhodes offers some details about his role in writer/director Shane Black's upcoming franchise revival, The Predator.

You would be hard pressed to pinpoint who among Moonlight’s phenomenal cast was the breakout star of the movie, but Trevante Rhodes seems poised to take on the world. His emotional turn as the eldest Chiron in the Best Picture Oscar winning film was a work of underplayed genius, cementing him as an actor of pure talent and endless capability. That’s a gift he will be putting to great use in the months and years to come.

Of his upcoming roles, none are quite as anticipated as his upcoming appearance in Shane Black’s (The Nice Guys) The Predator. A revival (not a sequel!) of the famous 1980s-born sci-fi/action franchise, no one knows quite to expect from Black’s vision. So far, plot details have been minimal, but the cast, at least, is quite impressive. Rhodes is joined by Boyd Holbrook (Logan), Olivia Munn (X-Men: Apocalypse), Keegan-Michael Key (Keanu), and Jacob Tremblay (Room). Though specifics are still thin, we now know a bit more about The Predator and Rhodes’ role in it.

In a new interview with Yahoo, Rhodes reveals that his character, Nebraska Williams, is a former marine who enlists in a special operation to hunt the Predator along with his friend Quinn McKenna (Holbrook), who heads the elite force. Rhodes couldn’t say much about the movie, which is currently in the middle of filming, but what he does say gives us some insight about what to expect.

“We form a bit of a motley crew. It’s what you expect a Shane Black movie to be, set in the world of the Predator.”

That alone suggests a sort of mix between the original Predator and 2010’s Predators. The elite squad of commandos recalls the crew of the original Arnold Schwarzenegger-led classic Predator, while the motley crew of resistance is in line with the Nimrod Antal-directed Predators. As a writer, Black is known for whip-smart dialogue and genre-bending entertainment, starting from his debut script, Lethal Weapon. His scripts are deftly written and tightly plotted, and with his foray into directing over the last decade or so, he’s proven himself more than capable of helming a film as large as a Predator movie would need to be.

As for Rhodes, he’s welcoming the chance to put some distance between himself and his star-making turn in Moonlight. Even without knowing all the details, The Predator is about as diametrically opposed to small budget Oscar-winner as you can get, a fact Rhodes embraces:

“Chiron is so distant from the person I am; it’s important for me to distance myself from that so people can understand that was the character.”

Truthfully, if he can handle a role like Chiron, Rhodes can probably handle most any role. That brings a welcome level of talent to The Predator. He’s certainly stretching his range here, and it’ll be interesting to see what he brings to his role. There’s sure to be more information about The Predator as the year moves on, so stay tuned and we’ll keep you posted as news develops.