Following the critical success of his throwback buddy cop comedy The Nice Guys, filmmaker Shane Black is heading back to a different kind of world he's familiar with - that of The Predator. Black, of course, portrayed the wisecracking Hawkins in the 1987 original and is now tasked with reviving the classic sci-fi property in a new installment that's striving to have the feel of an event movie while delivering plenty of scares and thrills. Black has done a great job assembling a talented cast, which includes Logan actor Boyd Holbrook in the lead, with big names such as Olivia Munn, Trevante Rhodes, Keegan-Michael Key, Thomas Jane, and Jacob Tremblay (among others) all filling out key roles.

Fox plans to release The Predator in less than a year from now (as of this writing), so Black and his team need to start rolling the cameras soon. Back in January, it was reported the film would begin production at some point this month, and now it's confirmed that is indeed the case. The group will be getting to the chopper in about a week.

While speaking with Comic Book at the Logan junket, Holbrook broke the news, saying The Predator starts shooting in "Twelve days." Since this particular interview took place on Sunday, February 12, it means Black is targeting February 24 as day one. Granted, this could change depending on how things shake out, but it sounds like Black and company will be hard at work before the month is over.

In the past, Black has offered an overarching idea of his approach to the material without revealing any details about the actual plot. There has been some speculation about a suburban setting this time around, but conflicting reports have painted a muddled picture on that front. It will be interesting to see if Fox decides to unveil an official synopsis to commemorate the start of filming - as studios are wont to do on occasion (see: Marvel's Black Panther). Many people are curious to see what Black has in mind, and releasing a brief summary would be a good way of clearing some rumors up while maintaining a semblance of secrecy.

The Predator is actually set up nicely for success, and hopefully it can live up to its on-paper potential. Though Black has just three feature film directorial credits to his name, they've all been well-received (even the polarizing Iron Man 3), and his skill set as a writer is unquestioned. Over the course of his career, he's demonstrated a knack for subverting genre tropes and offering fresh takes on familiar concepts, which is exactly the kind of formula the Predator franchise needs if it is to stand out from the crowd. If everything goes smoothly, The Predator could be the latest in a growing line of R-rated action films that strike gold in February, after the likes of Kingsman, Deadpool, and John Wick: Chapter 2 before it.

Source: Comic Book