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James Franco is one of those rare actors who seems capable of taking on just about any new challenge a film presents him \u2013 but, if this new rumour is to be believed, he may be set to take on his most formidable challenge yet. <\/p>\n
On this week\u2019s edition of Meet The Movie Press, the typically well-informed journalist Jeff Snieder reports that Franco may be in the running for the lead in \u2018The Predator,\u2019 director Shane Black\u2019s upcoming revival of the sci-fi action franchise.<\/p>\n
He says Franco \u201cmay not be Shane Black\u2019s top choice,\u201d but hugely powerful casting agency CAA are pushing for their client to be cast in the role.<\/p>\n
While Snieder stresses this should be treated purely as a rumour right now, he states, \u201c[Franco] is very high on a list. That\u2019s all I know at this point.\u201d<\/p>\n
And Snieder emphasises it may not just be the agency, but also the studio with a vested interest in the actor: \u201cJames Franco starred in \u2018[Rise of the] Planet of the Apes\u2019 for Fox; he also stars in Fox\u2019s big Christmas comedy, \u2018Why Him?\u2019 \u2026 so Fox seems to like the James Franco brand.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt could be interesting. I think Shane Black wants to do someone a little bit different.\u201d<\/p>\n
Snieder also mentions that Ben Affleck, Christian Bale and Tom Hardy were on Shane Black\u2019s wishlist for the role earlier on \u2013 and, alas, he doesn\u2019t seem to think that Dwayne Johnson is in the running for the film, as had been rumoured.<\/p>\n
Followers of the \u2018Predator\u2019 series will recall that the last film in the series, 2010\u2019s \u2018Predators,\u2019 cast someone \u201ca little bit different\u201d in the lead: Adrien Brody. While there wasn\u2019t necessarily anything wrong with the Oscar-winning \u2018The Pianist\u2019 actor\u2019s performance in the Nimrod Antall-directed reboot, it didn\u2019t reignite the franchise the way Fox had hoped.<\/p>\n
Of course, it\u2019s almost impossible to judge Franco\u2019s suitability for the lead in \u2018The Predator\u2019 as we know nothing about the role, other than that in the current draft of the script (from Black and Fred Dekker) his name is Quinn McKenna.<\/p>\n
If McKenna\u2019s meant to be an uber-tough military man in the same vein as Dutch, Arnold Schwarzenegger\u2019s hero from the 1987 original, then Franco is far from the obvious choice; but who\u2019s to say what the character might be like at this point?<\/p>\n
\u2018The Predator\u2019 is scheduled to hit cinemas in February 2018.<\/p>\n
Picture Credit: 20th Century Fox, Sony, WENN<\/p><\/blockquote>\n