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Narcos star Boyd Holbrook is coming on board Fox’s The Predator, a reboot of the Predator alien action franchise that launched in 1987. He will be replacing Benicio del Toro, who was in talks for the project, but fell out due to scheduling issues.
Shane Black is directing from a script by Fred Dekker. John Davis, Joel Silver, and Lawrence Gordon — who produced the original — are producing with hopes to begin shooting next year. Fox has already slotted The Predator for a Feb. 9, 2018, opening.
Plot details are under wraps. The original was directed by John McTiernan and starred Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, and Jesse Ventura as commandos attempting to rescue hostages while being stalked in a jungle in Central America by a fearsome extra-terrestrial, played by Kevin Peter Hall.
Holbrook starred on Narcos, Netflix’s drama about the life of Pablo Escobar. His other credits include The Skeleton Twins, Very Good Girls, Gone Girl, Hatfields & McCoys, and a lead role opposite Elisabeth Moss in The Free World.
He’s also starring as the villain in Logan, the sequel to 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine and 2013’s The Wolverine, along with Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Richard E. Grant, Stephen Merchant, Eriq La Salle, and Elise Neal. The film — Jackman’s last portrayal of Wolverine — is scheduled to be released on March 3.