Predator (franchise)
Encyclopedia
The Predator film series is a science fiction
horror
film franchise
. Produced by 20th Century Fox
, the series started in 1987 with the film Predator
, which led to two sequels and novel
, comic book
and video game spin-offs.
Included in the franchise are the Alien vs. Predator
films, based on the related franchise
which combine the titular Predator
with the creatures
from the Alien film series
.
's second studio film as director. The studio hired screenplay writer Shane Black
to not only play a supporting role in the film, but to keep an eye on McTiernan due to the director's inexperience. Jean-Claude Van Damme
was originally cast as the film's creature, the idea being that the physical action star would use his martial arts skills to make the creature an agile, ninja
-esque hunter. When compared to Arnold Schwarzenegger
, Carl Weathers
and Jesse Ventura
, actors known for their bodybuilding regimes, it became apparent a more physically imposing man was needed to make the creature appear threatening. Eventually, Van Damme was removed from the film and replaced by the actor and mime artist Kevin Peter Hall
.
The predator creature's design is credited to special effects artist Stan Winston
. While flying to Japan
with Aliens
director James Cameron
, Winston, who had been hired to design the Predator, was doing concept art on the flight. Cameron saw what he was drawing and said, "I always wanted to see something with mandibles
". Winston then included them in his designs. Schwarzenegger recommended Winston after his experience working on The Terminator
.
The film's creature was originally designed with a long neck, a dog
-like head and a single eye. This design was abandoned when it became apparent that the jungle locations would make shooting the complex design too difficult. Originally, the studio contracted the makeup effects for the alien from Richard Edlund
's Boss Film Creature Shop. However, with problems filming the creature in Mexico and attempts to create a convincing monster of Van Damme, wearing a much different body suit, failing, makeup effects responsibilities were given to Winston and his studio, R/Greenberg Associates. According to former Boss Film Creature Shop makeup supervisor Steve Johnson, the makeup failed because of an impractical design by McTiernan that included 12 inches (304.8 mm) length extensions that gave the creature a backward bent satyr
-leg. The design did not work in the jungle locations. After six weeks of shooting in the jungles of Palenque, Mexico, the production had to shut down so that Winston could make the new creature. This took eight months and then filming resumed for five weeks.
The sound of the creature was provided by Peter Cullen
. Despite his resolution not to voice any more monsters following injuries to his throat sustained during the ADR of King Kong
, his agent convinced him to audition. The bubbling sound was inspired by a mixture of the visual of the creature and his recollection of a dying horseshoe crab.
R/Greenberg Associates created the film's optical effects, including the creature's ability to become invisible, its thermal vision point-of-view, its glowing blood, and the electric spark
effects. The invisibility effect was achieved by having someone in a bright red suit
(because it was the farthest opposite of the green of the jungle and the blue of the sky) the size of the creature. The take was then repeated without the actors using a 30% wider lens on the camera. When the two takes were combined optically, a vague outline of the alien could be seen with the background scenery bending around its shape. For the thermal vision, infrared film could not be used because it did not register in the range of body temperature wavelength
s. The filmmakers used an Inframetrics thermal video scanner as it gave good heat images of objects and people. The glowing blood was achieved by green liquid from chem-lite sticks used by campers. The electrical sparks were rotoscoped animation using white paper pin registered on portable light tables to black-and-white prints of the film frames. The drawings were composited
by the optical crew for the finished effects.
Also, in an interview on Predator Special Edition, actor Carl Weathers said many of the actors would secretly wake up as early as 3a.m. to work out before the day's shooting, in order to look "pumped" during the scene. Weathers also stated that he would act as if his physique was naturally given to him, and would work out only after all the other actors were nowhere to be seen. It was reported that actor Sonny Landham
was so unstable on the set that a bodyguard was hired; not to protect Landham, but to protect the other cast members from him.
According to Schwarzenegger, filming was physically demanding as he had to swim in very cold water and spent three weeks covered in mud for the climactic battle with the alien. In addition, cast and crew endured very cold temperatures in the Mexican jungle that required heat lamps to be on all of the time. Schwarzenegger also faced the challenge of working with Kevin Peter Hall who could not see in the creature's suit. Hall could not see out of the mask and had to rehearse his scenes with it off and then memorize where everything was. The outfit was difficult to wear because it was heavy and off-balance.
The film was particularly successful and subsequently inspired a number of comic books, video games and popular anecdotes within the media. Schwarzenegger was asked to reprise his role in a Predator sequel, but was already attached to Terminator 2: Judgment Day
and could not accept the role. The character was rewritten from the developing sequel's script, and the sequel to Predator, directed by Stephen Hopkins
, was scheduled for 1990.
Due to excessive violence, Predator 2
was the first film to be given the newly instituted NC-17 rating in the United States. It was eventually rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America
after being re-cut to its final theatrical length. The film cast Danny Glover
in the lead role, and reprised Kevin Peter Hall as the Predator. Also, returning to the role of Anna in the sequel, Elpidia Carrillo
was slated to be in two scenes but was cut back to a brief appearance on a video screen in the government agents' surveillance trailer. Her character is showing damage to the Central America
n jungle caused by the explosion at the conclusion of the first film.
Sometime later, at a secret operations base on the coast of Guatemala
, a Covert-Ops U.S. Special Forces Unit, led by Major Alan "Dutch" Schaefer, is ordered to rescue a cabinet minister. Dutch makes a point to remind the assigning General and CIA agent Dillon that he leads a rescue team, not assasins. On their way to find the rebel base where the minister is being held, they come across the remains of another American military unit headed by Maj. Jim Hopper, all killed in combat. They find the guerrilla post, including multiple rebels and Soviet
military advisers, and launch an attack, destroying the base and killing the rebels with little effort and no casualties.
Dutch puts together the intelligence items, learning that the "cabinet minister" story was false and angrily confonts Dillon, who reveals that the slain soldiers (they discovered) were the second mercenary unit ordered to attack the base before disappearing. With a female prisoner, Anna, in their custody the group proceeds to their rendezvous point by the border to be extracted. When Anna attempts to escape, Hawkins chases and secures her but is killed by a transparent creature and disappears. Blain is killed moments later while searching for Hawkins' body. When Sergeant "Mac" Eliot rushes to assist Blaine, he sees the creature's eyes flash. Frightened and enraged, he immediately opens fire, joined by the remaining members of the unit as they arrive. Afterwards, the team cannot locate any signs of the attacker and proceeds on, taking Blain's body in tow. Later that night the creature uses a boar as a distraction on the team's "night defensive position" to collect Blain's body as well.
At daybreak, the team stages a booby trap with Dutch figuring that the creature is a hunter, using the trees for cover and manages to net their attacker. Through struggling to get free, it shoots in all directions and hits a dead vined log that falls and seriously injures Poncho. Vengeful, Mac and Dillon pursue the creature, only to find it waiting for them as they are tricked, separated and killed by its advanced weaponry. With the hunter in hot pursuit, Billy makes a suicide-stand against the creature, which buys the trio of survivors time to flee. It quickly dispatches of Billy, kills Poncho and slightly wounds Dutch after a brief exchange of gunfire. Dutch realizes that the hunter won't attack an unarmed Anna as it would be "no sport" and tells her to "get to the chopper" at the rendezvous point.
Dutch flees through a closure of trees and the hunter gives chase. Although panicked, Dutch escapes after falling and sliding down a steep bank, going over a waterfall, and then swimming to the pool's edge. Hidden and covered in cold mud, Dutch finally sees the hunter when it emerges from the pool behind him, minutes later. The water interferes with its cloaking device and the creature doesn't appear to see him. Once it leaves, Dutch realizes it could not see him because the mud shielded him from its thermal radiation-based vision. Without firearms Dutch prepares to fight the hunter by setting more traps and creating a variety of primitive weapons, including bow and arrows, and two remaining M203 grenades, converting the shells into improvised explosive arrows
. After nightfall, he surprises the creature using the arrows, once again making it visible, this time permanently. Dutch follows a trail of the creature's blood, but retreats and falls in a river after springing the trap, promptly washing away his mud disguise. Cornering Dutch, the hunter removes its equipment in favor of more sporting hand-to-hand combat, showing its true face when it sheds the now familiar bio mask. Physically overpowered and outmatched in a bloody beating, Dutch retreats, luring the hunter into a double log trap that mortally injures and crushes the creature. The dying Predator activates a self-destruct
device attached to its wrist. Dutch immediately runs for cover from the massive explosion that ignites the jungle. By daybreak, Anna and the General arrive in the rescue helicopter on the scene to find Dutch standing alone on the scorched terrain.
Jamaican drug gang members invade a drug lord's home, capturing him and hanging him upside down from the ceiling. Unaware the creature is inside the home with them, the lead Jamaican gang member kills the drug lord. The creature begins killing the gang members one by one, then reveals himself to the gang leader before eventually killing him. Harrigan and his team of detectives enters the drug lord home after being ordered to stay out. They find all the gang members bodies, noting the manner in which they were killed and comparing it to the manner in which the drug lord was killed. They also find a woman murmuring in Spanish. Harrigan declares "we have a new player in town." Peter Keyes and his team suddenly appears and declares the drug lords home "a restricted area."
Harrigan and Archuleta plan to return to the crime scene for further investigation into the murders, but Archuleta who arrives early, finds a spear tip in the rafters of the drug lords home. He is startled by the creature and is killed by it. Harrigan is devastated, vowing to destroy the perpetrator responsible for his friend's death. A pathologist discusses the origins of a weapon found at the crime scene, noting the weapon's molecular structure does not correspond with the periodic table
of elements. Harrigan arranges a meeting with the Jamaican drug lord [King Willie], who says the perpetrator of the killings is not of this world; the creature kills the drug lord immediately after Harrigan leaves.
Cantrell and officer Jerry Lambert are traveling by subway to meet Harrigan when a group of thugs threaten a man. A tense standoff of each side drawing their firearms ensues when the creature suddenly attacks. In the pandemonium, Cantrell herds the survivors down the subway cars while Lambert stays to face the creature. She soon doubles back to find Lambert dead. She also encounters the creature who scans her body with infrared
technology and finds a fetus
within her, causing it to refrain from attacking. Harrigan soon arrives at the scene and following a blood trail down the subway tunnel, witnesses the creature mutilating Lambert's body. He pursues the creature, only to be captured by Special Agent Peter Keyes' team, revealed to be Black Ops following the creature's encounter sites in hopes of capturing and studying it.
Armed with immobilizing weaponry, they set a trap in a vacant slaughterhouse. However, this is based on the assumption that the Predator can only see in the infra-red spectrum; when the creature hears the Black Ops moving around inside the warehouse, it simply switches its helmet's scanners to ultraviolet and can see them clearly. The creature then attacks and kills everyone except Keyes. Harrigan is able to escape custody and immediately arms himself; a short battle follows, resulting in the death of Keyes.
Harrigan and the creature exchange attacks as the battle moves to the rooftop. The creature gets knocked off and hanging from a ledge, attempts to activate the self-destruct device contained in its wrist gauntlet. However, Harrigan steals the creature's weapon, a "smart disc", and uses it to cut the creature's forearm off, destroying the device in the process. The creature retreats to its spacecraft underground, followed closely by Harrigan. The two have a showdown, ending with Harrigan killing the creature with its own smart disc. Harrigan realizes that there are additional creatures onboard, and prepares for further fighting, though recognizing his obvious defeat. However, the creatures take their comrade's body away, and an elder gives Harrigan an antique pistol inscribed "Raphael Adolini 1715" as a trophy for his victory, implying that the creatures have been visiting Earth for centuries.
orbit to draw humans to an ancient Predator training ground on Bouvetøya
, an island about one thousand miles north of Antarctica. A buried pyramid
which gives off a "heat bloom" attracts humans led by Charles Bishop Weyland (Lance Henriksen
), who unknowingly activates an alien egg production line. Three Predator hunter initiates enter the structure, killing all humans in their way with the intention of hunting the newly formed alien warriors. Two Predators die in the ensuing battle, while the third allies itself with the lone surviving human, Alexa Woods (Sanaa Lathan
) in order to battle the escaped Queen Alien. The Queen is defeated, but not before she fatally wounds the last Predator. The orbiting Predator ship uncloaks and the crew retrieve the fallen Predator. A Predator elder gives Alexa a spear as a sign of respect, and then departs. Once in orbit it is revealed that a chestburster was in the corpse, though this specimen has Predator mandibles.
. The last survivor activates a distress beacon with a video of the Predalien, which is received by a veteran
Predator, who sets off towards Earth to "clean up" the infestation. When it arrives, the Predator tracks the Aliens into a section of the sewer below town. He removes evidence of their presence as he goes by using a corrosive blue liquid. It uses a laser net to try to contain the creatures, but the Aliens still manage to escape into the town above. The Predator fashions a plasma pistol from its remaining plasma caster and hunts Aliens all across town (accidentally cutting the power to the town in the process). During a confrontation with human survivors, the Predator loses its plasma pistol. The Predator then fights the Predalien singlehandedly, and the two mortally wound one another just as the US military drops a tactical nuclear bomb on the town, incinerating both combatants as well as the few remaining humans in the city. The salvaged plasma pistol is then taken to Ms. Yutani.
would relaunch the franchise. Rodriguez had written a script titled Predators before he had filmed Desperado
. In 2009, 20th Century Fox studio executive Alex Young
called Rodriguez to consider using his treatment as the basis of reviving the individual Predator franchise. Rodriguez is seeking a director and writer. Fox has announced a July 7, 2010 release date. On May 5, 2009, it was reported that unknown writer Alex Litvak has been hired to pen the film. In a recent MTV Blogs Interview, Rodriguez stated that his reboot is to be the direct sequel to the previous two films, possibly ignoring Alien vs. Predator
and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, saying “Maybe people will forget all the bad sequels and only think this one and the original exist” and mentions his attempts to snag Arnold Schwarzenegger
for the role of Dutch. However, Schwarzenegger has not yet been contacted to reprise his role from the first film
. On June 12, it was revealed that British director Neil Marshall
was in talks to direct the film. However, it was later reported that Fox and Rodriguez were eyeing Nimród Antal
as director. On July 1, 2009, Nimród Antal
was officially signed on to direct the film. The story would be set on the Predator Game Reserve
Planet, where a group of soldiers will battle for their lives against the creatures. The film stars Adrien Brody
, Alice Braga
, Danny Trejo
, Walt Goggins, Oleg Taktarov
, Topher Grace
, Mahershalalhashbaz Ali
, Louis Ozawa Changchien
and Laurence Fishburne
.
Rodriguez confirms that there will be a Predators sequel:
Adrien Brody also spoke about reprising his role in a possible sequel:
in other media including a large number of crossovers
within the Aliens fictional universe. These include:
s based on the various films there are a number of novel series:
Science fiction film
Science fiction film is a film genre that uses science fiction: speculative, science-based depictions of phenomena that are not necessarily accepted by mainstream science, such as extraterrestrial life forms, alien worlds, extrasensory perception, and time travel, often along with futuristic...
horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
film franchise
Media franchise
A media franchise is an intellectual property involving the characters, setting and trademarks of an original work of media , such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or a video game. Generally, a whole series is made in a particular medium, along with merchandising and endorsements...
. Produced by 20th Century Fox
20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
, the series started in 1987 with the film Predator
Predator (film)
Predator is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by John McTiernan, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura, and Kevin Peter Hall. It was distributed by 20th Century Fox....
, which led to two sequels and novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
, comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
and video game spin-offs.
Included in the franchise are the Alien vs. Predator
Alien vs. Predator (film)
Alien vs. Predator is a 2004 American science fiction film directed by Paul W. S. Anderson for 20th Century Fox and starring Sanaa Lathan and Lance Henriksen. The film adapts the Alien vs. Predator crossover imprint bringing together the eponymous creatures of the Alien and Predator series, a...
films, based on the related franchise
Alien vs. Predator
Aliens vs. Predator, also known as Alien vs. Predator and Aliens versus Predator , is a science fiction-horror fiction series spanning several media. The series is a crossover between two film franchises about extraterrestrial beings: the Aliens and the Predators...
which combine the titular Predator
Predator (alien)
The Predator is a fictional extraterrestrial species featured in the Predator science-fiction franchise, characterised by its trophy hunting of other dangerous species for sport, including humans and its fictional counterparts, Aliens....
with the creatures
Xenomorph (Alien)
The Alien is a fictional endoparasitoid extraterrestrial species that is the primary antagonist of the Alien film series. The species made its debut in the 1979 film Alien, and reappeared in its sequels Aliens , Alien 3 , and Alien Resurrection , two crossovers Alien vs...
from the Alien film series
Alien (franchise)
The Alien film series is a science fiction horror film franchise, focusing on Lieutenant Ellen Ripley and her battle with an extraterrestrial lifeform, commonly referred to as "the Alien"...
.
Development
Predator was John McTiernanJohn McTiernan
John Campbell McTiernan, Jr. is an American film director and producer, best known for his action films and most identifiable with the three films he directed back-to-back: Predator, Die Hard, and The Hunt for Red October, along with later movies such as Last Action Hero, Die Hard with a...
's second studio film as director. The studio hired screenplay writer Shane Black
Shane Black
Shane Black is an American actor, screenwriter and film director. He contributed to some of the biggest blockbuster action films of the late 1980s and early 1990s, including work on Lethal Weapon and The Last Boy Scout...
to not only play a supporting role in the film, but to keep an eye on McTiernan due to the director's inexperience. Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Van Damme
Jean-Claude Camille François Van Varenberg , professionally known as Jean-Claude Van Damme, is a Belgian martial artist and actor, best known for his martial arts action films, the most successful of which include Bloodsport , Kickboxer , Double Impact , Universal Soldier , Hard Target , Timecop ,...
was originally cast as the film's creature, the idea being that the physical action star would use his martial arts skills to make the creature an agile, ninja
Ninja
A or was a covert agent or mercenary of feudal Japan specializing in unorthodox arts of war. The functions of the ninja included espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and assassination, as well as open combat in certain situations...
-esque hunter. When compared to Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
, Carl Weathers
Carl Weathers
Carl Weathers is an American actor, as well as former professional football player in the United States and Canada. He is best known for playing Apollo Creed in the Rocky series of films...
and Jesse Ventura
Jesse Ventura
James George Janos , better known as Jesse Ventura, is an American politician, the 38th Governor of Minnesota from 1999 to 2003, Navy UDT veteran, former SEAL reservist, actor, and former radio and television talk show host...
, actors known for their bodybuilding regimes, it became apparent a more physically imposing man was needed to make the creature appear threatening. Eventually, Van Damme was removed from the film and replaced by the actor and mime artist Kevin Peter Hall
Kevin Peter Hall
Kevin Peter Hall was an American actor known for his roles in Misfits of Science, Prophecy, Without Warning, and Harry and the Hendersons. He was also best known as the title character in the first two films in the Predator franchise.-Early life:Hall was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania...
.
The predator creature's design is credited to special effects artist Stan Winston
Stan Winston
Stanley Winston was an American visual effects supervisor, makeup artist, and film director. He was best known for his work in the Terminator series, the Jurassic Park series, Aliens, the Predator series, Iron Man, Edward Scissorhands, and Avatar...
. While flying to Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
with Aliens
Aliens (film)
Aliens is a 1986 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron and starring Sigourney Weaver, Carrie Henn, Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen, William Hope, and Bill Paxton...
director James Cameron
James Cameron
James Francis Cameron is a Canadian-American film director, film producer, screenwriter, editor, environmentalist and inventor...
, Winston, who had been hired to design the Predator, was doing concept art on the flight. Cameron saw what he was drawing and said, "I always wanted to see something with mandibles
Mandible (arthropod)
thumb|250px|The mandibles of a [[Bull ant]]The mandible of an arthropod is either of a pair of mouthparts used for biting, cutting and holding food. Mandibles are often simply referred to as jaws. Mandibles are present in the extant subphyla Myriapoda , Crustacea and Hexapoda...
". Winston then included them in his designs. Schwarzenegger recommended Winston after his experience working on The Terminator
The Terminator
The Terminator is a 1984 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron, co-written by Cameron and William Wisher Jr., and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, and Linda Hamilton. The film was produced by Hemdale Film Corporation and distributed by Orion Pictures, and filmed in Los...
.
The film's creature was originally designed with a long neck, a dog
Dog
The domestic dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog may have been the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in...
-like head and a single eye. This design was abandoned when it became apparent that the jungle locations would make shooting the complex design too difficult. Originally, the studio contracted the makeup effects for the alien from Richard Edlund
Richard Edlund
Richard Edlund, A.S.C. is a multi-Academy Award-winning US special effects cinematographer.Edlund was born in Fargo, North Dakota. After first joining the Navy, he developed an interest in experimental film and attended the USC School of Cinematic Arts in the late 60s...
's Boss Film Creature Shop. However, with problems filming the creature in Mexico and attempts to create a convincing monster of Van Damme, wearing a much different body suit, failing, makeup effects responsibilities were given to Winston and his studio, R/Greenberg Associates. According to former Boss Film Creature Shop makeup supervisor Steve Johnson, the makeup failed because of an impractical design by McTiernan that included 12 inches (304.8 mm) length extensions that gave the creature a backward bent satyr
Satyr
In Greek mythology, satyrs are a troop of male companions of Pan and Dionysus — "satyresses" were a late invention of poets — that roamed the woods and mountains. In myths they are often associated with pipe-playing....
-leg. The design did not work in the jungle locations. After six weeks of shooting in the jungles of Palenque, Mexico, the production had to shut down so that Winston could make the new creature. This took eight months and then filming resumed for five weeks.
The sound of the creature was provided by Peter Cullen
Peter Cullen
Peter Claver Cullen is a Canadian voice actor, known as the voice of Eeyore in the Winnie-the-Pooh franchise, Optimus Prime and Ironhide in the original Transformers series, and the narrator in both of the original American Voltron series...
. Despite his resolution not to voice any more monsters following injuries to his throat sustained during the ADR of King Kong
King Kong (1976 film)
King Kong is a 1976 American monster movie produced by Dino De Laurentiis and directed by John Guillermin. It is a remake of the 1933 classic film of the same name, about a giant ape that is captured and imported to New York City for exhibition....
, his agent convinced him to audition. The bubbling sound was inspired by a mixture of the visual of the creature and his recollection of a dying horseshoe crab.
R/Greenberg Associates created the film's optical effects, including the creature's ability to become invisible, its thermal vision point-of-view, its glowing blood, and the electric spark
Electric spark
An electric spark is a type of electrostatic discharge that occurs when an electric field creates an ionized electrically conductive channel in air producing a brief emission of light and sound. A spark is formed when the electric field strength exceeds the dielectric field strength of air...
effects. The invisibility effect was achieved by having someone in a bright red suit
Chroma key
Chroma key compositing is a technique for compositing two images together. A color range in the top layer is made transparent, revealing another image behind. The chroma keying technique is commonly used in video production and post-production...
(because it was the farthest opposite of the green of the jungle and the blue of the sky) the size of the creature. The take was then repeated without the actors using a 30% wider lens on the camera. When the two takes were combined optically, a vague outline of the alien could be seen with the background scenery bending around its shape. For the thermal vision, infrared film could not be used because it did not register in the range of body temperature wavelength
Wavelength
In physics, the wavelength of a sinusoidal wave is the spatial period of the wave—the distance over which the wave's shape repeats.It is usually determined by considering the distance between consecutive corresponding points of the same phase, such as crests, troughs, or zero crossings, and is a...
s. The filmmakers used an Inframetrics thermal video scanner as it gave good heat images of objects and people. The glowing blood was achieved by green liquid from chem-lite sticks used by campers. The electrical sparks were rotoscoped animation using white paper pin registered on portable light tables to black-and-white prints of the film frames. The drawings were composited
Compositing
Compositing is the combining of visual elements from separate sources into single images, often to create the illusion that all those elements are parts of the same scene. Live-action shooting for compositing is variously called "chroma key", "blue screen", "green screen" and other names. Today,...
by the optical crew for the finished effects.
Also, in an interview on Predator Special Edition, actor Carl Weathers said many of the actors would secretly wake up as early as 3a.m. to work out before the day's shooting, in order to look "pumped" during the scene. Weathers also stated that he would act as if his physique was naturally given to him, and would work out only after all the other actors were nowhere to be seen. It was reported that actor Sonny Landham
Sonny Landham
William M. "Sonny" Landham is an American movie actor and political candidate.-Acting career:At the beginning of his acting career, Landham was an actor in pornographic films...
was so unstable on the set that a bodyguard was hired; not to protect Landham, but to protect the other cast members from him.
According to Schwarzenegger, filming was physically demanding as he had to swim in very cold water and spent three weeks covered in mud for the climactic battle with the alien. In addition, cast and crew endured very cold temperatures in the Mexican jungle that required heat lamps to be on all of the time. Schwarzenegger also faced the challenge of working with Kevin Peter Hall who could not see in the creature's suit. Hall could not see out of the mask and had to rehearse his scenes with it off and then memorize where everything was. The outfit was difficult to wear because it was heavy and off-balance.
The film was particularly successful and subsequently inspired a number of comic books, video games and popular anecdotes within the media. Schwarzenegger was asked to reprise his role in a Predator sequel, but was already attached to Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a 1991 science fiction action film directed by James Cameron and written by Cameron and William Wisher Jr.. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick, and Edward Furlong...
and could not accept the role. The character was rewritten from the developing sequel's script, and the sequel to Predator, directed by Stephen Hopkins
Stephen Hopkins (director)
Stephen Hopkins is a Jamaican-born film director and producer. He is best-known for his continuation of the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise with A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child and the Predator franchise with Predator 2...
, was scheduled for 1990.
Due to excessive violence, Predator 2
Predator 2
Predator 2 is a 1990 science fiction action film starring Danny Glover, Gary Busey, María Conchita Alonso, Rubén Blades, and Bill Paxton. Written by Jim and John Thomas and directed by Stephen Hopkins, the film is a sequel to 1987's Predator, with Kevin Peter Hall again playing the role of the...
was the first film to be given the newly instituted NC-17 rating in the United States. It was eventually rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America
Motion Picture Association of America
The Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. , originally the Motion Picture Producers and Distributors of America , was founded in 1922 and is designed to advance the business interests of its members...
after being re-cut to its final theatrical length. The film cast Danny Glover
Danny Glover
Danny Lebern Glover is an American actor, film director, and political activist. Glover is perhaps best known for his role as Detective Roger Murtaugh in the Lethal Weapon film franchise.-Early life:...
in the lead role, and reprised Kevin Peter Hall as the Predator. Also, returning to the role of Anna in the sequel, Elpidia Carrillo
Elpidia Carrillo
Elpidia Carrillo is a Mexican actress who has appeared in various acclaimed Latin-American films and television shows, in addition to some Hollywood films. She is also credited as Elpedia Carrillo on some of her films....
was slated to be in two scenes but was cut back to a brief appearance on a video screen in the government agents' surveillance trailer. Her character is showing damage to the Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
n jungle caused by the explosion at the conclusion of the first film.
Films
Following is a plot summary for the entire Predator series. For additional plot details, see the movies' specific pages.Predator (1987)
An alien spacecraft enters the Earth's atmosphere and jettisons a pod, which descends to Central America.Sometime later, at a secret operations base on the coast of Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, a Covert-Ops U.S. Special Forces Unit, led by Major Alan "Dutch" Schaefer, is ordered to rescue a cabinet minister. Dutch makes a point to remind the assigning General and CIA agent Dillon that he leads a rescue team, not assasins. On their way to find the rebel base where the minister is being held, they come across the remains of another American military unit headed by Maj. Jim Hopper, all killed in combat. They find the guerrilla post, including multiple rebels and Soviet
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
military advisers, and launch an attack, destroying the base and killing the rebels with little effort and no casualties.
Dutch puts together the intelligence items, learning that the "cabinet minister" story was false and angrily confonts Dillon, who reveals that the slain soldiers (they discovered) were the second mercenary unit ordered to attack the base before disappearing. With a female prisoner, Anna, in their custody the group proceeds to their rendezvous point by the border to be extracted. When Anna attempts to escape, Hawkins chases and secures her but is killed by a transparent creature and disappears. Blain is killed moments later while searching for Hawkins' body. When Sergeant "Mac" Eliot rushes to assist Blaine, he sees the creature's eyes flash. Frightened and enraged, he immediately opens fire, joined by the remaining members of the unit as they arrive. Afterwards, the team cannot locate any signs of the attacker and proceeds on, taking Blain's body in tow. Later that night the creature uses a boar as a distraction on the team's "night defensive position" to collect Blain's body as well.
At daybreak, the team stages a booby trap with Dutch figuring that the creature is a hunter, using the trees for cover and manages to net their attacker. Through struggling to get free, it shoots in all directions and hits a dead vined log that falls and seriously injures Poncho. Vengeful, Mac and Dillon pursue the creature, only to find it waiting for them as they are tricked, separated and killed by its advanced weaponry. With the hunter in hot pursuit, Billy makes a suicide-stand against the creature, which buys the trio of survivors time to flee. It quickly dispatches of Billy, kills Poncho and slightly wounds Dutch after a brief exchange of gunfire. Dutch realizes that the hunter won't attack an unarmed Anna as it would be "no sport" and tells her to "get to the chopper" at the rendezvous point.
Dutch flees through a closure of trees and the hunter gives chase. Although panicked, Dutch escapes after falling and sliding down a steep bank, going over a waterfall, and then swimming to the pool's edge. Hidden and covered in cold mud, Dutch finally sees the hunter when it emerges from the pool behind him, minutes later. The water interferes with its cloaking device and the creature doesn't appear to see him. Once it leaves, Dutch realizes it could not see him because the mud shielded him from its thermal radiation-based vision. Without firearms Dutch prepares to fight the hunter by setting more traps and creating a variety of primitive weapons, including bow and arrows, and two remaining M203 grenades, converting the shells into improvised explosive arrows
Trick arrows
Trick arrows are fictional arrows often found in the world of comic book superheroes. They are often used by archers such as Green Arrow of DC Comics, and Hawkeye of Marvel Comics. In some portrayals, particularly during the Silver Age, trick arrows are sometimes shown to defy the laws of physics...
. After nightfall, he surprises the creature using the arrows, once again making it visible, this time permanently. Dutch follows a trail of the creature's blood, but retreats and falls in a river after springing the trap, promptly washing away his mud disguise. Cornering Dutch, the hunter removes its equipment in favor of more sporting hand-to-hand combat, showing its true face when it sheds the now familiar bio mask. Physically overpowered and outmatched in a bloody beating, Dutch retreats, luring the hunter into a double log trap that mortally injures and crushes the creature. The dying Predator activates a self-destruct
Self-destruct
A self-destruct is a mechanism which causes a device to destroy itself under a predefined set of circumstances.Self-destruct mechanisms are also found on devices and systems where malfunction could endanger large numbers of people...
device attached to its wrist. Dutch immediately runs for cover from the massive explosion that ignites the jungle. By daybreak, Anna and the General arrive in the rescue helicopter on the scene to find Dutch standing alone on the scorched terrain.
Predator 2 (1990)
The year is 1997 and Los Angeles is suffering from a vicious heat wave and a gunfight between a Colombian drug gang and police is ongoing. Detectives Leona Cantrell and Danny Archuleta await the arrival of veteran Lieutenant Michael Harrigan. When the gunfire stops, the criminals retreat to a nearby building. A series of explosions and mysterious gunfire rock the structure. Detectives and police pursue the criminals into the building and finds all but one of the criminals dead. The lone surviving criminal escapes to the rooftop and open fire at the unknown creature. Gunfire from the lone surviving criminal is fired in the direction of Harrigan, which he interprets himself to be the target of. He shoots the criminal dead, sending him falling from the rooftop. Harrigan suddenly turns and takes aim at something. He is not sure what it is and is unsure of what he saw.Jamaican drug gang members invade a drug lord's home, capturing him and hanging him upside down from the ceiling. Unaware the creature is inside the home with them, the lead Jamaican gang member kills the drug lord. The creature begins killing the gang members one by one, then reveals himself to the gang leader before eventually killing him. Harrigan and his team of detectives enters the drug lord home after being ordered to stay out. They find all the gang members bodies, noting the manner in which they were killed and comparing it to the manner in which the drug lord was killed. They also find a woman murmuring in Spanish. Harrigan declares "we have a new player in town." Peter Keyes and his team suddenly appears and declares the drug lords home "a restricted area."
Harrigan and Archuleta plan to return to the crime scene for further investigation into the murders, but Archuleta who arrives early, finds a spear tip in the rafters of the drug lords home. He is startled by the creature and is killed by it. Harrigan is devastated, vowing to destroy the perpetrator responsible for his friend's death. A pathologist discusses the origins of a weapon found at the crime scene, noting the weapon's molecular structure does not correspond with the periodic table
Periodic table
The periodic table of the chemical elements is a tabular display of the 118 known chemical elements organized by selected properties of their atomic structures. Elements are presented by increasing atomic number, the number of protons in an atom's atomic nucleus...
of elements. Harrigan arranges a meeting with the Jamaican drug lord [King Willie], who says the perpetrator of the killings is not of this world; the creature kills the drug lord immediately after Harrigan leaves.
Cantrell and officer Jerry Lambert are traveling by subway to meet Harrigan when a group of thugs threaten a man. A tense standoff of each side drawing their firearms ensues when the creature suddenly attacks. In the pandemonium, Cantrell herds the survivors down the subway cars while Lambert stays to face the creature. She soon doubles back to find Lambert dead. She also encounters the creature who scans her body with infrared
Infrared
Infrared light is electromagnetic radiation with a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74 micrometres , and extending conventionally to 300 µm...
technology and finds a fetus
Fetus
A fetus is a developing mammal or other viviparous vertebrate after the embryonic stage and before birth.In humans, the fetal stage of prenatal development starts at the beginning of the 11th week in gestational age, which is the 9th week after fertilization.-Etymology and spelling variations:The...
within her, causing it to refrain from attacking. Harrigan soon arrives at the scene and following a blood trail down the subway tunnel, witnesses the creature mutilating Lambert's body. He pursues the creature, only to be captured by Special Agent Peter Keyes' team, revealed to be Black Ops following the creature's encounter sites in hopes of capturing and studying it.
Armed with immobilizing weaponry, they set a trap in a vacant slaughterhouse. However, this is based on the assumption that the Predator can only see in the infra-red spectrum; when the creature hears the Black Ops moving around inside the warehouse, it simply switches its helmet's scanners to ultraviolet and can see them clearly. The creature then attacks and kills everyone except Keyes. Harrigan is able to escape custody and immediately arms himself; a short battle follows, resulting in the death of Keyes.
Harrigan and the creature exchange attacks as the battle moves to the rooftop. The creature gets knocked off and hanging from a ledge, attempts to activate the self-destruct device contained in its wrist gauntlet. However, Harrigan steals the creature's weapon, a "smart disc", and uses it to cut the creature's forearm off, destroying the device in the process. The creature retreats to its spacecraft underground, followed closely by Harrigan. The two have a showdown, ending with Harrigan killing the creature with its own smart disc. Harrigan realizes that there are additional creatures onboard, and prepares for further fighting, though recognizing his obvious defeat. However, the creatures take their comrade's body away, and an elder gives Harrigan an antique pistol inscribed "Raphael Adolini 1715" as a trophy for his victory, implying that the creatures have been visiting Earth for centuries.
Alien vs. Predator (2004)
In 2004, a Predator ship arrives in EarthEarth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
orbit to draw humans to an ancient Predator training ground on Bouvetøya
Bouvet Island
Bouvet Island is an uninhabited Antarctic volcanic island in the South Atlantic Ocean, 2,525 km south-southwest of South Africa. It is a dependent territory of Norway and, lying north of 60°S latitude, is not subject to the Antarctic Treaty. The centre of the island is an ice-filled crater of an...
, an island about one thousand miles north of Antarctica. A buried pyramid
Pyramid
A pyramid is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge at a single point. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilateral, or any polygon shape, meaning that a pyramid has at least three triangular surfaces...
which gives off a "heat bloom" attracts humans led by Charles Bishop Weyland (Lance Henriksen
Lance Henriksen
Lance James Henriksen is an American actor and artist best known to film and television audiences for his roles in science fiction, action, and horror films such as the Alien film franchise, and on television shows such as Millennium....
), who unknowingly activates an alien egg production line. Three Predator hunter initiates enter the structure, killing all humans in their way with the intention of hunting the newly formed alien warriors. Two Predators die in the ensuing battle, while the third allies itself with the lone surviving human, Alexa Woods (Sanaa Lathan
Sanaa Lathan
Sanaa McCoy Lathan is an American actress and voice actress. She has starred in numerous movies, including the box-office hits Love & Basketball, Alien vs. Predator, Something New, and The Family That Preys. Lathan was nominated for a Tony Award for her performance on Broadway in A Raisin in the Sun...
) in order to battle the escaped Queen Alien. The Queen is defeated, but not before she fatally wounds the last Predator. The orbiting Predator ship uncloaks and the crew retrieve the fallen Predator. A Predator elder gives Alexa a spear as a sign of respect, and then departs. Once in orbit it is revealed that a chestburster was in the corpse, though this specimen has Predator mandibles.
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)
Set immediately after the previous film, the Predalien hybrid on board the Predator scout ship, which just separated from the mothership from the previous film, has grown to full adult size and sets about killing the Predators on-board the ship, causing it to crash in Gunnison, ColoradoGunnison, Colorado
The historic City of Gunnison, a Home Rule Municipality, is the county seat and the most populous city of Gunnison County, Colorado, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 5,854. It was named in honor of John W...
. The last survivor activates a distress beacon with a video of the Predalien, which is received by a veteran
Veteran
A veteran is a person who has had long service or experience in a particular occupation or field; " A veteran of ..."...
Predator, who sets off towards Earth to "clean up" the infestation. When it arrives, the Predator tracks the Aliens into a section of the sewer below town. He removes evidence of their presence as he goes by using a corrosive blue liquid. It uses a laser net to try to contain the creatures, but the Aliens still manage to escape into the town above. The Predator fashions a plasma pistol from its remaining plasma caster and hunts Aliens all across town (accidentally cutting the power to the town in the process). During a confrontation with human survivors, the Predator loses its plasma pistol. The Predator then fights the Predalien singlehandedly, and the two mortally wound one another just as the US military drops a tactical nuclear bomb on the town, incinerating both combatants as well as the few remaining humans in the city. The salvaged plasma pistol is then taken to Ms. Yutani.
Predators (2010)
On April 23, 2009, it was announced that Robert RodriguezRobert Rodriguez
Robert Anthony Rodríguez is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer, editor and musician. He shoots and produces many of his films in his native Texas and Mexico. He has directed such films as Desperado, From Dusk till Dawn, The Faculty, Spy Kids, Sin City, Planet...
would relaunch the franchise. Rodriguez had written a script titled Predators before he had filmed Desperado
Desperado (film)
Desperado is a 1995 action thriller film written and directed by Robert Rodriguez. The film stars Antonio Banderas as the former mariachi who seeks revenge on the drug lord who killed his lover....
. In 2009, 20th Century Fox studio executive Alex Young
Alex Young (studio executive)
Alexander Morgan "Alex" Young is an American studio executive. He is co- president of production at 20th Century Fox.- Early life :Young was born in London and grew up in Cooperstown NY and New York City...
called Rodriguez to consider using his treatment as the basis of reviving the individual Predator franchise. Rodriguez is seeking a director and writer. Fox has announced a July 7, 2010 release date. On May 5, 2009, it was reported that unknown writer Alex Litvak has been hired to pen the film. In a recent MTV Blogs Interview, Rodriguez stated that his reboot is to be the direct sequel to the previous two films, possibly ignoring Alien vs. Predator
Alien vs. Predator
Aliens vs. Predator, also known as Alien vs. Predator and Aliens versus Predator , is a science fiction-horror fiction series spanning several media. The series is a crossover between two film franchises about extraterrestrial beings: the Aliens and the Predators...
and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem, saying “Maybe people will forget all the bad sequels and only think this one and the original exist” and mentions his attempts to snag Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Arnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
for the role of Dutch. However, Schwarzenegger has not yet been contacted to reprise his role from the first film
Predator (film)
Predator is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by John McTiernan, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura, and Kevin Peter Hall. It was distributed by 20th Century Fox....
. On June 12, it was revealed that British director Neil Marshall
Neil Marshall
Neil Marshall is an English film director, editor and screenwriter. Marshall began his career in editing and in 2002 directed his first feature film Dog Soldiers, which became a cult film. He followed up with the critically acclaimed horror film The Descent in 2005...
was in talks to direct the film. However, it was later reported that Fox and Rodriguez were eyeing Nimród Antal
Nimród Antal
Nimród E. Antal is a Hungarian American film director, screenwriter and actor.-Life and career:...
as director. On July 1, 2009, Nimród Antal
Nimród Antal
Nimród E. Antal is a Hungarian American film director, screenwriter and actor.-Life and career:...
was officially signed on to direct the film. The story would be set on the Predator Game Reserve
Game reserve
A game reserve is an area of land set aside for maintenance of wildlife for tourism or hunting purposes. Many game reserves are located in Africa. Most are open to the public, and tourists commonly take sightseeing safaris or hunt wild game....
Planet, where a group of soldiers will battle for their lives against the creatures. The film stars Adrien Brody
Adrien Brody
Adrien Brody is an American actor and film producer. He received widespread recognition and acclaim after starring in Roman Polanski's The Pianist . Winning the Academy Award for Best Actor in 2003 at age 29, he is the youngest actor to do so...
, Alice Braga
Alice Braga
Alice Braga Moraes is a Brazilian actress. She has appeared in several Brazilian films, most notably as Angélica in 2002's highly acclaimed City of God and as Karina in 2005's Lower City...
, Danny Trejo
Danny Trejo
Dan "Danny" Trejo is an American actor who has appeared in numerous Hollywood films, most notably in roles as an antagonist, or anti-hero.-Early life:...
, Walt Goggins, Oleg Taktarov
Oleg Taktarov
Oleg Nikolaevich Taktarov is a retired Russian mixed martial artist and actor. He is a practitioner of Sambo and Judo and has competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and Pride Fighting Championships. Taktarov was the UFC 6 tournament champion and holds notable wins over Marco Ruas and David...
, Topher Grace
Topher Grace
Christopher John "Topher" Grace is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Eric Forman on the Fox sitcom That '70s Show, Eddie Brock/Venom in the Sam Raimi film Spider-Man 3, and Edwin in the 2010 film Predators....
, Mahershalalhashbaz Ali
Mahershalalhashbaz Ali
Mahershalalhashbaz Ali is an American actor. He is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Richard Tyler on the USA Network science fiction television series The 4400, and "Tizzy" in the 2008 motion picture The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.Ali was born Mahershalalhashbaz Gilmore in Oakland,...
, Louis Ozawa Changchien
Louis Ozawa Changchien
Louis Ozawa Changchien is an American actor. He is best known for his role in the 2010 film Predators.-Early life:...
and Laurence Fishburne
Laurence Fishburne
Laurence John Fishburne III is an American film and stage actor, playwright, director, and producer. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Morpheus in the Matrix science fiction film trilogy, as Cowboy Curtis on the 1980's television show Pee-wee's Playhouse, and as singer-musician Ike Turner...
.
Future
Nimród Antal has talked about a sequel and said he would love to do one. Rodriguez has said that he has interest in a sequel because of the large number of potential ideas the Predator planet setting provides:Rodriguez confirms that there will be a Predators sequel:
Adrien Brody also spoke about reprising his role in a possible sequel:
Spin-offs
There have been a number of spin-offsSpin-off (media)
In media, a spin-off is a radio program, television program, video game, or any narrative work, derived from one or more already existing works, that focuses, in particular, in more detail on one aspect of that original work...
in other media including a large number of crossovers
Fictional crossover
A fictional crossover is the placement of two or more otherwise discrete fictional characters, settings, or universes into the context of a single story. They can arise from legal agreements between the relevant copyright holders, or because of unauthorized efforts by fans, or even amid common...
within the Aliens fictional universe. These include:
Novels
As well as the novelizationNovelization
A novelization is a novel that is written based on some other media story form rather than as an original work.Novelizations of films usually add background material not found in the original work to flesh out the story, because novels are generally longer than screenplays...
s based on the various films there are a number of novel series:
- Predator by Paul MonettePaul MonettePaul Landry Monette was an American author, poet, and activist best remembered for his essays about gay relationships.-Biography:...
- Predator 2 by Simon HawkeSimon HawkeSimon Hawke is an American author of mainly science fiction and fantasy novels. He was born Nicholas Valentin Yermakov, but began writing as Simon Hawke in 1984 and later changed his legal name to Hawke. He has also written near future adventure novels under the penname "J. D...
- Predator: Concrete Jungle by Nathan Archer
- Predator: Cold War by Nathan Archer
- Predator: Big Game by Sandy Schofield
- Predator: Forever Midnight by John ShirleyJohn ShirleyJohn Shirley is an American fantasist, author of noir fiction, and science-fiction writer. Shirley is a prolific writer of novels and short stories, TV scripts and screenplays who has published over 30 books and 10 collections...
- Predator: Flesh and Blood by Michael Jan FriedmanMichael Jan FriedmanMichael Jan Friedman is an author of nearly sixty books of fiction and nonfiction, more than half of which are in the Star Trek universe. Ten of his titles have appeared on the New York Times Best Seller list...
- Predator: Turnabout by Steve PerrySteve Perry (author)Steve Perry is an American television writer and science fiction author.-Biography:Perry is a native of the Deep South. His residences have included Louisiana, California, Washington and Oregon...
- Predator: South China Sea by Jeff VanderMeerJeff VanderMeerJeffrey Scott VanderMeer is an American writer, editor and publisher.He is best known for his contributions to the New Weird and his stories about the city of Ambergris, in books like City of Saints and Madmen.-Biography:...
- Predator: Prey to the Heavens by John ArcudiJohn ArcudiJohn Arcudi is an American comic book writer, best known for his work on The Mask and B.P.R.D., and his series Major Bummer.-Career:Arcudi worked for Malibu Comics upon its founding in 1986, working on its Eternity line...
and Javier Saltares - Aliens vs. Predator
- Aliens vs. Predator: Prey by Steve Perry
- Aliens vs. Predator: Hunter's Planet by Dave Bischoff
- Aliens vs. Predator: War by S.D. Perry
- Alien vs. Predator: the Movie NovelizationAlien vs. Predator (film)Alien vs. Predator is a 2004 American science fiction film directed by Paul W. S. Anderson for 20th Century Fox and starring Sanaa Lathan and Lance Henriksen. The film adapts the Alien vs. Predator crossover imprint bringing together the eponymous creatures of the Alien and Predator series, a...
by Marc Cerasini
Comic books
- Predator
- Aliens versus PredatorAliens versus Predator (comics)Aliens vs. Predator comics are part of the crossover franchise originated and published by Dark Horse Comics...
- Aliens versus Predator versus The Terminator
- Aliens/Predator/Witchblade/The Darkness: MindhunterMindhunterMindhunter is a three issue comic book limited series published by Dark Horse Comics....
- Batman versus Predator
- JLA vs. Predator
- Predator vs. Judge DreddPredator vs. Judge DreddPredator vs. Judge Dredd is an intercompany crossover featuring the galaxy's greatest lawman and the galaxy's greatest hunter. It was originally published in serial form in Judge Dredd Megazine and three-issue mini-series by Dark Horse...
- Predator vs. Magnus, Robot Fighter
- Superman & Batman vs. Aliens & Predator
- Superman vs. PredatorSuperman vs. PredatorSuperman vs. Predator is an intercompany crossover pitting DC Comics icon Superman against the Predator creature first seen in the 1987 John McTiernan film Predator starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.-Previous encounters:...
- Tarzan vs. Predator at the Earth's Core
- Aliens/Predator: Deadliest of the SpeciesAliens/Predator: Deadliest of the SpeciesAliens/Predator: Deadliest of the Species is a 12 issue comic book limited series published by Dark Horse Comics in 1993-1995.It was written by Chris Claremont, with art in the first three issues by Jackson Guice and John Beatty , Eduardo Barreto took over art duties in issue #4.-Plot:The Story...
Further reading
- Beautiful Monsters: The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to the Alien and Predator Films (by David A. McInteeDavid A. McIntee-Biography:McIntee has written many spin-off novels based on the BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, as well as one each based on Final Destination and Space: 1999. He has also written a non-fiction book on Star Trek: Voyager and one jointly on the Alien and Predator movie franchises...
, Telos, 272 pages, 2005, ISBN 1-903889-94-4)