Shane Black Says THE PREDATOR Will Take Place In Present Day

Last we heard from Shane Black, things were moving right along for The Predator, which Black was calling the biggest Predator movie ever. Prior to that, Arnold Schwarzenegger famously announced his intention to have lunch with Shane Black, a meal we all suspected might result in Schwarzenegger's return to the franchise. 

Now, in a new interview with Collider, Black is reiterating some of these points, downplaying others, and offering a pretty big scoop on when The Predator will take place. 

As far as Schwarzenegger's involvement goes, Black says:

We have not talked about it, which is good because I’m not supposed to talk about it anyway. Not supposed to talk about details of the script. And I shouldn’t.

...I think it’s something we’re looking into, and as this thing evolves and takes on more of a shape, we’ll figure out how best to honor the tradition of what is really a remarkable first movie and even parts of the rest of them as well.

We get it. The contracts haven't been signed yet. Fair enough. This is all sort of par for the course, but the next bit - about when The Predator will actually take place -  is a bit more interesting. Black says the film is set in present day (which, assuming we're interpreting that literally, means that it'll be set when it's shot, which looks to be next year). That means the events of The Predator will be taking place three decades after the events of the original. And maybe - probably - Schwarzenegger's going to have a part to play.

So, let's speculate. Let's say Schwarzenegger is involved. Right off the bat I'm wondering how Predator 2 (which, while released in 1990, was set in 1997) fits into this, or if it'll even be acknowledged. Would Black bring back a current-day Dutch, have him face down the Predator again, and never mention that, y'know, one of these things was once loose on the streets of Los Angeles, terrorizing both Danny Glover and Gary Busey? Or will Dutch be well aware of what went on in L.A. that summer? 

And what about those dumpster-fire Alien VS Predator movies? Will they be mentioned?

Also, Black's previous comments about The Predator being an "event-sized" spectacle left me wondering if this one might not involve a Predator invasion. Would that approach make more or less sense with Schwarzenegger involved? 

We are blindly shotgunning questions at the wall here, folks. Please join me in the act of reckless speculation in the comments below.