<P> In June 2014, Fox announced a sequel . Shane Black, who also starred as supporting character Rick Hawkins in Predator, directed, and co-wrote with Fred Dekker, while John Davis produced . Davis has said of the film that he thinks it is fresh and reimagines the franchise in a "different, interesting way". In February 2016, Black stated that the title of the new sequel would be The Predator . He has referred to the project as an event film which aims to elevate the Predator series: "It's an attempt to' event - ise' the Predator again...(An attempt to) make it more mysterious ." Black also expressed that the film would mark a return to the "intimate" scale of the original film and that the filmmakers hoped to achieve "the same sense of wonderment and newness that Close Encounters had when that came out ." </P> <P> The film is set in the present day and the titular character has upgraded armor . The film follows the events of Predator and Predator 2, but is set prior to the events of the 2010 film Predators . Black has said that he looked for plot details set up in the previous Predator movies that he could retrospectively link back to with the new film . To that end, Jake Busey was cast as Sean Keyes, the son of Peter Keyes (a character who was portrayed by Busey's father Gary Busey in Predator 2). In February 2016, the studio revealed a teaser image of the film, confirming the title The Predator . </P> <P> Martin Whist served as the film's production designer, while effects house Amalgamated Dynamics provided the creature effects for The Predator, having done so previously for the Alien vs. Predator films . </P> <P> Chief - executive - officer of 20th Century Fox Stacey Snider shared her thoughts on The Predator and Shane Black and Fred Dekker's script: </P>

Who plays the predator in the new movie the predator