Back in February, 20th Century Fox unveiled the first teaser image for The Predator, Shane Black’s upcoming sequel to the the classic sci-fi action flick. Black has completed work on the screenplay with Fred Dekker (of Monster Squad fame), and during the press tour for his upcoming dark comedy The Nice Guys, the director has revealed that not only will they begin production on The Predator this fall, but that the alien hunter will be getting a bit of a costume upgrade.

During a recent junket for The Nice Guys, Black told JoBlo that he’ll begin filming The Predator in either September or October, giving him plenty of time to hit his March 2018 release deadline. That also means that we should know more about casting soon — and whether or not Arnold Schwarzenegger will make an appearance, as previously hinted.

But with a new Predator film — and advances in both practical and digital VFX — comes the possibility for a new costume, or at least one with a few enhancements. VFX legend Stan Winston created the original design for the 1987 film, for which Black did some uncredited rewrites (and had a supporting role). As Black tells ComingSoon, they’re not really “improving” the costume, per se, but they want to give it an upgrade that makes sense to the story and aesthetic:

It’s not to ‘improve,’ it’s make it fun, make it different, make it organically different. So what’s the extension of it that makes sense, that’s exciting? There have been a lot of changes to Stan’s design over the years. These different Predator movies have done different things. Ultimately it’s not about design to me, it’s about the story you want to tell. There are people who are always going to agonize over Iron Man, what color his suit is. Maybe this weapon does a new thing, but if the story is not good I don’t give a sh*t what color the suit is. In ‘The Predator’ we’re doing a lot of upgrades to what you would consider to be the traditional Predator technology and look, but hopefully the story is what’s going to drag people in, not just the attention to the minutiae.

The Predator is set to hit theaters on March 2, 2018, but if you’re eager for a dose of Shane Black before then, you should most definitely check out The Nice Guys, which arrives on May 20.

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