Some readers might be under a misconception regarding the upcoming Robert Rodriguez’ Predators: namely, who the director is. Despite his name being prominently featured in the title, it’s not Rodriguez who’s in the director’s chair. Rather, it’s Nimrod Antal, perhaps best known for the 2007 suspense film Vacancy.

Predators is due out next summer, but until then, Antal has another movie set to hit theaters: the crime thriller Armored starring Matt Dillon, Lawrence Fishburne and Jean Reno. Meanwhile, his debut feature Kontrol was a comedy thriller set on the Budapest Metro.

The fact that none of his other films was particularly special effects-driven might make Antal seem an odd fit for Predators. But in an interview with ComingSoon.net, Antal said he and Rodriguez were able to find a happy medium, despite his preference for doing things in-camera and the latter’s reliance on CG animation.

"I think we both recognize that the original film was as good as it was because of the practical, because it was a guy in a suit, because it was the jungle, so we stay true to that," Antal said. "We were in Hawaii for a month in the jungle, so there's going to be some pretty impressive locations."

Antal said he has had numerous conversations over the film with Rodriguez, who was involved in writing the screenplay. However, even if any major decisions regarding the movie go through Rodriguez, Antal said he has been given creative freedom to make Predators his own.

So far, that vision has included hiring more average-looking character actors like Adrian Brody over muscular action-hero types, to avoid comparisons to the original Predator, which starred Arnold Schwarzenegger.

"Again, it was a challenge in finding a balance. I think when we cast Adrian, there were a lot of people going, 'What?' but at the same time, if we cast a Vin Diesel in that role or if we cast anyone who is Arnold-esque, we would have been attacked for doing that. So we decided early on to go in a very different direction as far as the casting process, but it turned out fantastic."

"He plays a mercenary in the film and if you look at the guys in Iraq and Afghanistan today, they're not 'yolked-out' Schwarzenegger-looking guys. They're all very wiry and thin guys, and I think it's going to play well," Antal said.

You can read the full interview with Antal, which includes his comments on whether a certain governor of California will appear in Predators, here.