There is only one full week to go before production begins on “Skulls”, the fifth film of our favorite intergalactic hunter franchise! Provided filming is not halted by the U.S. Courts on June 3rd, this Dan Trachtenberg helmed entry shooting in the magnificent landscapes of Alberta, Canada will finally feature a Predator story set in the past, where Comanche warrior natives will go up against the deadly alien creature!
So as we patiently wait for that June 7th production date, we wanted to share some casting tidbits and some solid speculation which are hopefully as half as tasty as the Skulls cookies made for director Dan Trachtenberg’s 40th Birthday back on May 11th!
It turns out that “Skulls” had a very large casting call earlier this month, seeking a large assortment of “Indigenous Background Extras”, which included the need for the following age groups:
- Kids (ages 6-8)
- Female Teens (ages 15-17)
- Males & Females (ages 20-50)
- Elders (ages 60-70)
All of these actors hired will be required to work a continuous two full weeks of filming beginning June 7th through June 21st. Considering the crowd the production is assembling at the same time, it’s possible that all of the scripted scenes that take place within the community settlements of the Comanche lead protagonists will be filmed within these two weeks.
And speaking of the leads, the casting call was also seeking two lead protagonists stand-ins. A stand-in is a person of similar build and height that can “stand in” for a lead actor prior to filming an actual scene, to assist the crew in setting up the logistics of the scene like camera angles and lighting.
The physical requirements of these stand-in actors were listed as:
- Female, indigenous (ages 20-30, slim build, 5’6″ tall)
- Male, indigenous (ages 20-30, slim build, 6’2″ tall)
Assumingly these stand-in parts are for the main sister & brother roles of Kee and Taabe – actress Amber Midthunder reportedly cast as Kee definitely fits the build and height – we perhaps now have a better description of how her brother Taabe will appear in stature.
Now this talent search has also implied that “Skulls” will perhaps contain some scenes of Kee and Taabe when they were much younger, per the Extras sought out in the casting call:
- Indigenous Mother with Baby and young Sister (6-8 years of age) + Aunt (cohort family)
Finally, thanks to the great detective work of our forum community at Alien vs. Predator Galaxy like ace3g and Whos_Nick, we have known for several months that actress Stefany Mathias tried out for the role of Aruka, the mother of Kee and Taabe.
Well now we can see from her Instragram posts and comments that she’s just traveled to Alberta Canada, where she was “heading off to shoot for a month” , so it seems very likely that Mathias was cast in “Skulls” either in the desired role of Aruku (or perhaps an alternate role at the least).
Filming for “Skulls” is slated to begin on the 7th of June and finish the 20th of August, so 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!
Maybe if they served more ice cream to employees at work, there would be more fans of "work culture"!
But in all fairness, to avoid putting words in one's mouth, we don't know for certain why sad fan is sad. He might be fearing Autism seeking Predators - part 2 perhaps. Or more ADI Crabators!
Personally, I don't believe there is any incentive for Disney/20th Century Studios to settle and share a piece of the profit pie with the Thomas Brothers if they think they can keep it all to themselves until January 13, 2023. And Disney appears confident, or at least is projecting confidence that this will be the case and the courts will agree with them, considering the money they have already invested in "Skulls" to this point.
Disney's lawyers are probably the best that money can buy, so if I had to speculate, I'd lean towards their apparent confidence and believe a preliminary injunction will not occur. That's what's going on in my head space at least.
Whatever way you come at it, there's something for studios to learn by setting a precedent here.
So what do you speculate, Voodoo? You think the judge passed this injunction which could force Disney to dangle those dollar signs? And if so, do you think there's a settlement the brothers accept? I hate to think Disney would give up on a production that's about to start without using every option.
I see it as less a studio paying attention to obligations and more a studio taking advantage of a situation. It appears more calculated to me. I see it as the studio understanding a copyright termination letter requires notice upon serving, and upon the realization the first termination letter had errors, waiting until the final year to point out such errors so the new notice from the date of the corrected letter would maximize the length of their copyright ownership. That's my take at least.
As awful as it would be to the makers of Skulls, torpedoing them at the 11th hour could be just the wake up call needed for studios to never put something into production without being damn sure they have their rights in order in the future.
Since it appears Disney/20th Century Studios is not fighting the third termination letter and not fighting that the US copyright of Hunters will change hands to the Thomas Brothers on January 13, 2023, I think the only precedent this will set is - hey creators, make sure your damn copyright termination letters don't have major errors before you serve them!
It would be awful for the people involved on the film, but Fox never should have let it get this far without sorting out this mess. And at least everyone would be paid for the time they've already spent on production. A small silver lining, but one nonetheless.
Just send the cast and crew home packing? I don't think taking that roll of the dice hoping for a cease and desist can be anything other than a dangerous detriment to Skulls, regardless if a settlement is reached down the line or it's trial by jury - no guarantees which even if a preliminary injunction was ordered.
There's also no guarantee of a film just continuing down the line. Actors, crew many will find other work and make other commitments as the months roll by. If one wants specifically Skulls itself to continue in its current form or even continue, I strongly believe a preliminary injunction is the last thing they should be hoping for. I'm sure not!
Thanks BDJ!