As the fifth Predator film “Skulls” written by Patrick Aison and directed by Dan Trachtenberg is deep within its pre-production stage, we have collected a few minor updates to share since our last report on the preparation for this anticipated film!
First and foremost, we have learned once again through the Local 212 chapter of the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees that the first day of filming for Skulls has actually been pushed out a week. Originally slated to commence production on the 31st of May, according to the IATSE, filming will now begin on the 7th of June and finish the 20th of August:
Regardless of the one week delay, director Dan Trachtenberg and team appear to be hard at work preparing for this new Predator film’s production. Just this past week, thanks to Instagram pages of Dan Trachtenberg and Jeff Cutter (who we assume will be the cinematographer on the film), we have learned that the crew has been scouting some of the beautiful locations in Alberta, Canada as they select the perfect spots for filming!
Now in regards to casting, while nothing has been officially announced by 20th Century Pictures or any specific performer in regards to their ties with Skulls, it’s interesting to note that Canadian actor Kyle Strauts revealed on his Twitter account that he has been currently training for a “huge film”:
If you recall, the one and only Kyle Strauts has donned a Predator suit before, when he played one of the Emissary Predators in the Shane Black 2018 film “The Predator”. His role was ultimately cut from the film, but is it possible that actor and performer Kyle Strauts has now been cast as a Predator again and will be the featured intergalactic hunter in “Skulls”?
We’ll find out as news develops, so be sure to keep your targets set on Alien vs. Predator Galaxy for all the latest Predator 5 news! You can also follow us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube to get the latest on your social media walls. Be sure to join in with fellow Alien and Predator fans on our forums as well!
And a special thanks goes out to our community members ace3g and Whos_Nick for the social media scoops!
I am not suggesting the judgment will be made upon personal feelings.
But we're talking a preliminary injunction versus a permanent junction here, where production would be stopped not based on the merits of the arguments, but based on the merits of the initial claims and its surrounding ramifications.
All things being equal, it's my understanding the judge has to absolutely factor in what exactly she would be stopping (which is a movie is in production right now) and weigh those ramifications on the strength of the claims. This is one of Disney's key points in this countersuit... a You can't do this now - we're working on a film at this very moment! It can't not be taken into account in a temporary injunction.
In regards to legal precedent. To my understanding it has to be specific. It can't be productions have been stopped before. Legal precedent would be a previous case where a preliminary injunction was enforced to stop a film currently in pre-production, based on errors in a copyright termination notice.
Movie productions are constantly shut down for legal and/or non-legal reasons. I have friends in the industry that have worked on shows/films that shut down two weeks into shooting. Sometimes it's a studio regime change. Sometimes it's budgetary reasons. And a lot of other times it's legal reasons. Whatever that reason is, jobs being on the line do not matter. And a judge, even if they feel sympathy for the crew, cannot make a decision based on personal feelings. The decision will be based on how they interpret the complaints. I will say that half my screenwriting friends believe Disney will open their pocket book and settle if the hearing doesn't go their way, while the other half think Disney loses completely and production is stopped. So we're back to speculating and being hopeful (whichever way you're leaning) for another two weeks.
I admit to being part of those with a sense of false hope considering we keep uncovering little bits of production information, like updated crew jobs, scouting photos, BIRTHDAY COOKIES, etc. We assume that if this is going on then something must be happening behind the scenes favoring Disney/Fox we're not privy to. But the fact remains we know nothing at all and won't until May 27th.
https://i.ibb.co/0Mqv9fh/IMG-20210512-093102.jpg
Exactly. It wouldn't make sense for Disney to stop production on their own on a "what if..." They're smart to continue on the off chance things go their way. That way they're not behind on scheduling as the studio time has already been booked. However, if that injunction is placed, then unfortunately that puts an end to that.
I super hope so!
That cookie actually hype me up!
by @dannytrs 5 hours ago
This is 40. Thank you @lindseygazel and @tysonbreuer for the bday cookies.
Predcake !!!
https://cdn1.smihub.com/view?q=%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
https://cdn3.smihub.com/view?q=%3D%3DwMwYDZzgTPkl2cfNmbfZyNGJTRxMEM20TZvZyNykzNzkTOjlDMmV2YjF2M2EDZ0MWO0YTY2kTYjVmZ10DavZCNtcTPiN2YmEUQBFkQVpmdCJUQB1TbkVmJtJjNZVWLYF0Y3YFRlVnNxx0VR1zYo92Xj52XmUDMx0DdhN2Xj52XmQXZu5ibkNmYm5SYuZmLx0SM2l2am5SbhJ3ZhR3culWP0h2Xj52XmETPwR3PnBnau42XycjM0gTOycDO5YDN2gTM3ADOz8VOwcjN5YzMwYTM3kjM4EzX1QDO5gjM0gTMvADOwEDewgDMxM3L1MTZvUTMtUDO4IjLxUDdvY3L0Vmbu4GZjJmZuEmbm5SMtEjdptmZu0WYydWY0Nnbp9yL6MHc0RHa
by @jeff_cutter 37 minutes ago at Calgary, Alberta
When the director has a birthday you get to eat cool cookies like these! Happy Bday @dannytrs #skullsmovie #predator
Nooooo ! Don't give Kradan Predators, give them to Voodoo ! His Preds are fine !
Nailed it!
What's interesting is Jen Roomes posted that she is working for both studios... StudioADI during the week and Onyx Forge Studio on the weekends. I would love to know what she's doing at each studio! 🤔
Let's try this again lol
Where have you been?
In all seriousness though I think there's a wrinkle here. If my recollection is correct, Wang was a freelancer hired by ADI for AvP Requiem. But a few years later, Steve Wang created his own studio (Onyx Forge Studios) that is now a competitor to ADI, bidding on the same jobs, etc. So like with The Predator, where ADI had creature duties, but an entirely different studio had armor & bio-mask duties... I believe it could possibly turn into a similar situation here.
But yeah, ADI doesn't have the revenue to maintain talent on the payroll as permanent employees so they hire freelancers per job. We saw them advertising for workers recently, which tipped us that this probably for Skulls:
https://www.avpgalaxy.net/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Screenshot_20210311-105213_Instagram.jpg
Woah
https://s3.gifyu.com/images/58u57qa9b529a6bff1dab1.gif
Very good post and very true, I would add :
4. Predator design, if it sucks the movie will suck too.
Besides the creature and its equipment, the sound design is also important, and the pred vision.There were small differences between the pred visions in the first two movies, such as the heartbeat missing, but nevertheless both were quite similar and produced that eerie feeling.A lot of other details really made the character for me, like the difference between the mask removal in the first two movies, and the more recent ones,they removed them like cheap Halloween masks
Can't be a bad new, but I will remain cautiously optimistic .Nicotero worked on Predators but the original pred was a failure.
That's exactly why I said it's all about job responsibilities: "Give Steve Wang & Onyx the entire Predator and let ADI do the weapons, the armor, Comanche stunt weapons, etc. etc."
It goes back to the one thing you and I agreed on that with ADI Predators, for some reason, something gets lost between maquette and the final executed product. That's why I hope Onyx gets the entire Predator soup to nuts... and ADI gets the Predator armor and accessories which is something ADI does a very good job with in my humble opinion!
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a1/a9/6e/a1a96e52af3a389098df2203812f926d.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/XL36YwY/IMG-20210508-072348.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/v4yCGJf/IMG-20210508-072337.jpg
https://i.ibb.co/YTvDNtC/IMG-20210508-072404.jpg
Well, I personally think everything is a case by case basis, but I do know with Predators, that skin rolling and folding in unnatural ways is definitely craftsmanship... and definitely not in the concept art or maquettes.
https://i.ibb.co/gj8kqf5/20210311-153852.gif
https://www.stanwinstonschool.com/ckeditor_assets/pictures/805/content_steve_wang_bts_avp_requiem_20th_century_fox.jpg?1352307729
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/a1/a9/6e/a1a96e52af3a389098df2203812f926d.jpg
Going back to AvP-R, the Strause bros constantly banged on about their love for Aliens and wanting to go back to the domeless look. It was ADI's first proper chance to revise the Alien properly since Alien Resurrection and what they turned in was an unfathomably fat neck to hide the actor's head, and the worst looking Alien head in any Alien film. It couldn't look further from the ridged head in Aliens if it tried. So yeah it's definitely the craftsmanship.
But with Wang possibly on board, I see it at the very least...
https://img.17qq.com/images/kmhcmhdkdcv.jpeg
I like how all of this is picking up, but man, I hope this doesn't come crashing down May 27th. 😕
It happens. If you remember, Studio ADI didn't handle The Fugitive's Armor or Bio-Mask, just the Predator itself.
I think its absolutely possible. Perhaps even probable. From my perspective, you don't bring the great Steve Wang on a Predator film just to do native American outfits I'd wager (if that's what this is). But if Onyx is indeed sculpting & creating a Predator, Steve Wang is a veteran artist and monster maker - I would assume he is probably doing that himself and/or with a team in mind he already knows. He wouldn't advertise that kind of work on Instagram I bet.
Provided this speculation is correct, we just have to see how all this work is partitioned, who's doing the Predator(s), and if so, how much of that Predator work is Wang & Onyx actually doing. Just a maquette? The whole actual suit? We'll see!
At least there's hope though!
Oh oh... So they would do the comanche outfits/weapons etc ? Is it possible they also do some of the pred stuff ?