Predator

About

Predator is a science fiction/horror franchise, which began in 1987 with the film Predator starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. ^[1] The franchise has since been adapted into several feature-length films, comics,^[2] and games,^[3] often appearing alongside fellow science fiction/horror franchise, Alien, in various crossovers.

History

The original Predator was released on June 12th, 1987. Grossing more than $59 million in the domestic box office, the film spurred a sequel shortly thereafter.^[24] Predator 2, which starred Danny Glover and changed the jungle setting for a futuristic Los Angeles, California, made decidedly less at the box office, halting future sequels for 15 years.^[25]

Following Predator 2, the character would frequently be used in a successful line of action figures, comic books and video games, with one of the most popular adaptations being the Alien vs. Predator franchise.

In 2004, a film adaptation of Alien vs. Predator was released in the United States. The film made more than $170 million at the worldwide box office, allowing for a sequel, Alien vs. Predator: Requiem, three years later.

On July 7th, 2010, a third Predator film, entitled _Predators, was released in the United States.

The Predator

In 2014, 20th Century Fox announced that they would be producing a new Predator film directed by Iron Man 3-director and Predator-star Shane Black. The film would aim to reinvigorate the franchise, while connecting the various sequels on a linear timeline, acting as a sequel to the first two films and a prequel to Predators.

Sex Offender Casting Controversy

On August 15th, 2018, star Olivia Munn demanded a scene from the film, in which she plays opposite Steven Wilder Striegel, a registered sex offender. Munn told reporters that Black had not informed her of Striegel's history, specifically that in 2010 he pleaded guilty to attempting to lure a 14-year-old girl into a sexual relationship via the internet.^[26]

The studio released a statement on the controversy, stating, "Our studio was not aware of Mr. Striegel’s background when he was hired. We were not aware of his background during the casting process due to legal limitations that impede studios from running background checks on actors."

Shane Black said, "I personally chose to help a friend. I can understand others might disapprove, as his conviction was on a sensitive charge and not to be taken lightly."

Munn, however, was disappointed for being put in the situation. She said that she found it "both surprising and unsettling that Shane Black, our director, did not share this information to the cast, crew, or Fox Studios prior to, during, or after production.”

“I am relieved that when Fox finally did receive the information, the studio took appropriate action by deleting the scene featuring Wilder prior to release of the film.”

The scene was removed, and Munn stated that she would continue to do press for the film because she was contractually obligated to. She tweeted,^[27] "I’m contractually obligated. And from what I’m experiencing, I think they’d prefer I not show up. It would make everyone breathe easier. Also, I worked really hard on this film, as did the rest of the cast and crew. Now that the scene is deleted I think audiences will love it."

Prey 2022

Prey (2022) is a science-fiction horror film directed by Dan Trachtenberg and starring Amber Midthunder. The story is the fifth installation of the Predator franchise and acts a prequel to the first four films. The film depicts a pre-colonial setting in the Comanche nation roughly 300 years ago, and follows the tale of a female warrior who has to protect her tribe from fur-traders an a highly advanced Alien Predator. The straight-to-streaming film was accused of using the trope of a Mary Sue protagonist by several reviewers in the weeks leading up to its release, only to ultimately receive overwhelmingly favorable audience and critical reviews.

The trailer for Prey was released subsequently on the 20th Century Studio's YouTube^[2] channel on June 7th, 2022, and gathered over 8 million plays in two months (see below)

Fandom

Fan Art

Predator has a sizable following online on several sites. On Tumblr there are various posts tagged to the franchise,^[8] as well as several blogs dedicated to Predator.^{[9][10][11][12]} On Reddit this is a dedicated subreddit to Predator^[13] as well as to Alien vs. Predator^[14]. On DeviantArt there are nearly 700,000 pieces of fanart for Predator,^[15] as well as several groups and accounts dedicated to the franchise.^[16][17][18]

Fan Films

For many years there have been fan-made films that are centered around the Predator mythos. An early example of this was a fan-made film entitled Batman: Dead End in which The Dark Knight faces off against both an Alien and a Predator. The film was initially shown on July 19, 2003, at the San Diego Comic-Con^[19], and was released onto the creator's personal website not long after. However, the site has since been apparently abandoned and the film is no longer available there. The film has been uploaded many times to YouTube (for example: the one shown below).

One of the earliest instances of these films on YouTube is called "PREDATOR 3 fan film Corto gore caspa friki" uploaded by YouTuber paco culebra on May 6, 2006 (shown below left). On June 1, 2007, YouTuber murphy38 uploaded a video called "ROBOCOP VS PREDATOR. Work in progress" (shown below right).

Several of these fan films pit the Predator monster against characters from other well-known franchises. On July 14, 2012, YouTuber freakinrad uploaded a video titled "Halo vs. Predator" which has over 4 million views as of June 2015 (shown below left). On August 14, 2013, YouTuber batinthesun uploaded a video entitled "WOLVERINE vs PREDATOR" as part of their Super Power Beat Down series (shown below right). As of June 2015, the video has nearly 13 million views, making it the most viewed Predator fan film to date.

Om June 29, 2014, a Kickstarter page for a film entitled Predator: Dark Ages was launched.^[20] The Kickstarter reached its goal on August 8, 2014. The film was released on YouTube on May 25, 2015 (shown below). The film was reported upon by sites such as blastr,^[21] TheWrap,^[22] and ComicBook.com.^[23]

Related Memes

Get To The Choppa!

"Get To The Choppa!" is a memorable quote said by Major Alan "Dutch" Schaefer (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) in the 1987 sci-fi action film Predator. Due to Schwarzenegger's thick European accent, the line came off as a comical relief rather than an exclamation of urgency and it eventually became one of the most celebrated quotes attributed to the actor. On forums and message boards, the quote is used in a playful manner to indicate there is an imminent danger and that everyone must evacuate immediately.

Search Interest

External References