Predator 4 cast: Will Dwayne Johnson replace Arnold Schwarzenegger in Shane Black directed movie?

Predator 4's filming will begin during autumn this year in Vancouver, Canada, writer-director Shane Black has said. Black, who previously helmed Lethal Weapon, Iron Man 3, wants to keep the plot and cast details a top secret but at the same time teased a future meeting with Hollywood star Dwayne Johnson.

"I'm meeting with him in a couple of weeks. Who knows," the director told IGN hinting at plans of casting him as the lead man. Sequels of the original movie, in which Schwarzenegger's Major Alan "Dutch" Schaefer defeats a mysterious creature, have never been able to retain the first film's charm. Johnson's casting rumours definitely raises hopes as the former WWE star-turned-actor enjoys a huge fan following globally.

In a separate interview with Empire, Black teased a "mysterious," story ahead for the science fiction movie and admitted that it is challenging to frame a story for a franchise that was overdone in past years.

"It's an attempt to 'event-ise' the 'Predator' again. An attempt to make it more mysterious. The Predator has been so overdone. Every couple of years, there's a knock-off churned out. Very low budget with a guaranteed return. [We want to achieve] the same sense of wonderment and newness that 'Close Encounters' had when that came out. That's what we want. It's very impossible. But we're gonna try. It doesn't have to be 50 Predators riding motorcycles. It just has to feel like a powerful story that has a lot of flavours and textures."

There is a fair amount of fan speculation on the internet regarding the movie, with many assuming that the reboot will follow the timeline of the sequels.

"Well it seems to me if we set ours in 2018 which is when the film is set, then we can only be a prequel to that one, so you could say yes it exists, but people won't be discussing it really. ... It's in the midst of the mythology. It's a movie that's set in our present-day. Or maybe the day after tomorrow," he told IGN.

The Predator is scheduled to premiere in theatres in March 2018.