Who is the new Arnold Schwarzenegger for this generation? Would you believe me if I told you it was Adrien Brody? No, really-- Variety is reporting that Brody has been cast as the human in lead in Predators, a reboot of the franchise that originally starred Arnold Schwarzenegger as the action hero ridding the world of giant-headed alien beasts.

There's a huge cast along with Brody for the ride, including Alice Braga, Oleg Taktarov, Mahershalalhashbaz Ali, Louiz Ozawa, and two actors we already knew were taking part, Danny Trejo and Walt Goggins. Filming starts pretty much immediately in Hawaii, and the film is already set for a July 9, 2010 release date.

So-- Adrien Brody, ass kicker? I mean he was great in The Pianist and everything, and has been earning his indie cred with The Darjeeling Limited and The Brothers Bloom, but who would have guessed that he'd follow all that up with a movie about fighting aliens? I'm counting on this being a fun lark for an established actor, not the beginning of a deep slide into schlock. We've got to count on director Nimrod Antal to bring this over to the right side of things.

UPDATE: THR is additionally reporting that Topher Grace, another unlikely action hero who actually acquitted himself pretty well in Spider-Man 3, is in negotiations to join the cast as well. And he wouldn't just be the schlub! THR writes that he'd play "an accountant-type whose unassuming facade masks a dangerous serial killer." This movie gets crazier by the minute.