From the outer reaches of space to the to the backwoods of southern Georgia, the hunt comes home in director Shane Black’s explosive reinvention of the Predator series. Now, the universe’s most lethal hunters are stronger, smarter and deadlier than ever before. And only a ragtag crew of ex-soldiers and an evolutionary biology professor can prevent the end of the human race.
Young gifted child Rory (Jacob Tremblay), unknowingly triggers the return of “The Predator” to Earth when he tinkered with the package that contains alien technology his dad , Quinn McKenna (Boyd Holbrook), sent to their home from a recent military mission. With the government attempting to cover up the extent of Predator incursions on Earth, a rag-tag group of military veterans must figure out what is going on and how to save the world – or at least themselves – as the battle spreads from the depths of outer space to once-safe suburbia. Rory’s gift for solving puzzles helps him understand the Predator language. “He’s really good at figuring out the Predator,” Tremblay says.
Shane Black directs an extraordinary cast from the script he penned with Fred Dekker. Boyd Holbrook heads the ensemble which also stars Trevante Rhodes, Jacob Tremblay, Keegan-Michael Key, Olivia Munn, Thomas Jane, Alfie Allen, Augusto Aguilera, and Sterling K. Brown. “The Predator” is produced by John Davis, who brought the seminal Predator franchise to life.
Quinn’s son, Rory, is on the autism spectrum. To help research his role, Tremblay and Black paid several visits to the Canucks Autism Network, a Vancouver-based organization providing sports and recreational programs for individuals with autism. “We made friends and got to hang out with some of the kids,” says Tremblay.
“This wonderful little boy was probably the most dependable actor in the cast,” says Black about Jacob Tremblay, who plays Rory. “He’s a one-take wonder.” Black notes that when they were pressed for time, they never needed to worry about young Tremblay hitting his marks. “We’d get all three shots because he’d do every one perfect, the first take!”
Jacob Tremblay has quickly established himself as one of the industry’s finest working young actors. Tremblay garnered international recognition for his breakout performance opposite Brie Larson in the critically-acclaimed, Oscar-nominated film Room. Tremblay received the “Breakthrough Performance Award” from the National Board of Review, a Critics’ Choice Award from the Broadcast Film Critics Association for “Best Young Actor,” and a nomination for “Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role” by the Screen Actors Guild, among other accolades, for his performance in the film.
“The Predator” opens September 12 nationwide in cinemas from 20th Century Fox.