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‘The Predator’ Trailer is Packed with Mandible Money Shots

Fox is determined to deliver on the body count for their second look at Shane Black’s sequel.
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By  · Published on June 26th, 2018

The Hunt has evolved. Shane Black really means it this time. The first trailer for The Predator reintroduced us to the classic creature but offered us very little in terms of the threat he posed to the sleepy suburbs of small-town America. Sure, we met Boyd Holbrook‘s badass military warrior along with various other hapless humans longing to get slaughtered, but it lacked the actual slaughtering.

The new trailer lets loose with the kill-fest. Not only that, but The Predator finally reveals the deadly new addition to their mythology, and he is jacked. Holbrook should just step aside and let these two brutes duke it out. Families should work out their own squabbles.

Not a lot of new info as far as plot is concerned. They’ve pulled almost totally away from advertising young Jacob Trembly‘s involvement. The new trailer keeps most of the action away from the suburbs. Black does not want there to be any confusion about what kind of movie he is making here. This is a monster mash.

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After repeating the basic setup of Holbrook’s team encountering something alien in the jungles of Mexico, the trailer launches with mandible money shot number one. Don’t worry folks, the ugly mutha is the star of the show here.

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Here’s Holbrook poking his nose (literally) where it doesn’t belong. As he investigates a crashed UFO (one of several, but more on that later), he discovers the neon green goo that pumps through our favorite beastie. He gives it a sniff, and woof, that blood is potent. We don’t see it here, but I’m guessing this is where he collects that homing beacon trophy he sent to his son (Trembly) in the previous trailer. That beacon will call down a whole new set of problems.

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Sterling K. Brown aboard the Predator ship. Due to the events of the first two films, the government is fully aware of the existence of these creatures. After decades of anticipation, here’s another chance to reverse engineer the advanced alien technology. I have my fingers crossed that Brown finds another trophy room full of exotic skeletons.

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Still no clear shot of Jake Busey as the son of Peter Keyes, but we do catch that same reflective glimpse of him as Olivia Munn browses his collection of Predator headgear. His mad science army is thrilled to get The Predator on their operating table, but apparently, they need to fire their anesthesiologist. The docs fail to keep their patient on the table, and he repays their bedside manner with a whole swath of bloodshed.

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Mandible money shot number two. A delicious insert used to announce The Predator’s rage at the abuse he received from his captors. Cue his Drowning Pool inner monologue of “Let the Bodies Hit the Floor.”

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Holbrook chuckles from his military confinement, “Isn’t posing a threat kinda the fucking point?” He’s not wrong. With the first trailer holding back on the human body count, 20th Century Fox’s second attempt to get our blood pumping goes wild with the carnage. Olivia Munn steps back in horror as The Predator rips his way through Keyes’ scientists.

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Bodies begin falling from the sky. Crack, crunch, splat.

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Faceless grunts desperately fire back against their adversary, but they’re fodder for our entertainment. Shane Black promises that his film will deliver on the action, and he’s going to achieve new heights of the franchise by throwing numerous goons into the path of the E.T. killing machine.

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Having easily dispatched the nerds, The Predator gets strapped. I want this to be a full Rambo moment, locking his claws into place, holstering his razor disc, lock and loading his shoulder cannon.

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The pulsating countdown clock of the Predator’s detonator watch becomes the unnerving score for the rest of the trailer. Brown reiterates to Munn the terror of this alien invasion, “Predators just don’t sit around making hats out of rib cages. They conquered space.” Maybe these guys are no longer simply satisfied with using humanity as their safari vacation. Maybe they’re looking to permanently set up shop on Earth.

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The trailer ends in a similar fashion to the first one, but with an extra surprise. The Predator pins Holbrook to the wall of his son’s middle school, but they’re interrupted before the two can come to an understanding.

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Crashing through the wall is a swoliosis infected bicep. Brown continues his confrontation with Munn, “I think you know what’s on the ship…

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“…the ultimate Predators.” As was the case in the original film, the hunter becomes the hunted. The Predator we know and love is now the underdog, laid out on some poor teacher’s car.

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A beefed-up, genetically enhanced titan looms over our pal. The king is dead, long live the new king. The Predator species has been playing doctor on themselves, splicing their DNA with various other forms of life throughout the galaxy. Makes sense. If you want to remain top of the food chain, you gotta embrace diabolical science.

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Mandible money shot number three. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. This is a concept we’ve encountered before in the Alien vs. Predator spin-offs, but hopefully Black will deliver the goods where others painfully disappointed.

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Jacob Trembly will be key in bringing the species together. Mucking about inside a fallen UFO might offer his Rain Man brain the rosetta stone to unlocking communication.

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Here comes trouble. Our Predator spots not one but two spaceships flying overhead. Do not expect a simple grudge match, mano a mano.

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“The hunt has evolved” with mandible money shot number 4. What do you think of this Ultimate Predator? He manages to be both leaner and meatier. He’s got the jaw, the dreads, and the gauntlets. His coloring is much darker with patches of red. He seems on brand without straying into absurdity like AvP: Requiem’s Pred-alien.

But if it ain’t broke, why fix it? Stan Winston’s original creature design lives right up there with The Creature From The Black Lagoon. The Predator is perfection. Iconic. This genetically modified update is fine for a punchup, but he better get squashed by the classic.

I’m curious to see if Black can pull off a climactic bout between two heavily letexed/CGed monsters. This is not just Arnie and a stuntman circling and grunting at each other. This needs to be a rock ’em sock ’em battle royale.

The Predator hits theaters on September 14th.

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Brad Gullickson is a Weekly Columnist for Film School Rejects and Senior Curator for One Perfect Shot. When not rambling about movies here, he's rambling about comics as the co-host of Comic Book Couples Counseling. Hunt him down on Twitter: @MouthDork. (He/Him)