Predator: Benicio Del Toro in talks to star in new Shane Black film

Benicio Del Toro’s sudden return to pop culture prominence continues! The once and future Franky Four Finger has a role in next year’s Star Wars: Episode VIII and his own incipient grimdark action franchise, thanks to the in-development Sicario sequel. And now, EW has confirmed the news, originally reported by Deadline, that Del Toro is in negotiations for a starring role in The Predator, the 2018 sequel/reboot/what-have-you set in the cinematic universe where aliens hunt humans for sport.

No word on who Del Toro would play in the movie, which will be directed by original Predator victim Shane Black. The original film was a Vietnam-inflected tale of Special Forces badasses trapped in a murder-jungle, but it’s possibly/extremely likely that Black’s film will refocus on new terrain.

After a decade mostly spent working on independent films and fronting the unjustly overlooked Che experiment, Del Toro has been dipping his toes back into big-budget Hollywood work. (Presumably, he’ll also reprise his role as The Collector in some Marvel movie or other.) The Predator is currently scheduled for February 2018, and would give Del Toro a showcase tentpole project just in time for his 51st birthday.