Usually I’m not a fan of remakes or reboots, but 20th Century Fox’s Predators (produced by Robert Rodriguez) is showing incredible promise. Instead of focusing on the predators themselves like in AVP, Rodriguez insisted on building strong characters to be the focal point of the film. He wanted a cast that would be comparable to the memorable characters of the original movie.

Playing a combination of mercenaries and convicts are; Adrien Brody, Danny Trejo, Alice Braga, Topher Grace, and Walter Goggins — who are transported to another planet to be hunted by the predators. On the planet they meet a scavenger played by Laurence Fishburne, completing the main cast.

This alone is a great step towards rejuvenating the Predator franchise. The problem with the AVP movies was that the cast weren’t built up; they weren’t likable; they just weren’t memorable. The audience only wanted to see the aliens and predators kill off the cast in a brutal fashion. There was no story with substance or a character arc to captivate the audience; to get them emotionally invested in the film.

Howard Berger, who worked with Stan Winston on the original Predator states that they’re going back to the original designs for the new movie; they want to remain faithful to it. New alien designs have also been done to compliment Winston’s on the world where the group are dropped off on. There’s going to be a more focus on building suits rather than a reliance on CG, which I’m glad to hear.

The film is due for release on July 9, 2010.