Jean-Claude Van Damme being fired from 1987's Predator was probably the best move in his career. Van Damme was supposed to be the villainous star of 1987's Predator. As great as it would have been seeing Van Damme fighting Arnold Schwarzenegger in Predator's camouflaging jungle mud, exiting the movie turned out to be the best thing that could have happened to Van Damme.
Van Damme was only 26 years old when he was cast to play the bug-like ninja alien in John McTiernan's Predator, the landmark 80s science fiction film that would spawn four direct sequels of varying quality. The Predator alien that appeared on the screen, however, (when it was visible) was in the end played by the physically imposing Kevin Peter Hall, and was neither bug-like nor a ninja. Kevin Peter Hall replaced Van Damme after only a few days of production. While Predator would go on to be one of the best Schwarzenegger action movies, leaving the film made Van Damme's career vulnerable. Van Damme had only minor film credits before this, including a small but memorable role as the bad guy in 1986's No Retreat, No Surrender, and a few bit parts such as in 1984's Breakin'. Jean-Claude Van Damme's career was at risk of ending before it really started.
Predator was filmed in the jungles of Puerto Vallarta and Palenque. Since Van Damme was fired (or quit, depending on the urban legend), he was forced to return to the United States to look for new acting work. The next movie Van Damme was involved in would be to take on the lead role of martial artist Frank Dux in 1988's Bloodsport for Cannon Films. This was the film that inarguably made Jean-Claude Van Damme famous. The story behind Bloodsport may be based on dubious claims at best, and in the years since the supposedly 'true story' Frank Dux has been called much into question, but Bloodsport remains a seminal piece of martial arts cinema. If Van Damme had not left Predator he probably would not have been able to make Bloodsport, the film that launched his career into martial arts stardom.
Bloodsport was released in February of 1988, only 8 months after the release of Predator. Van Damme was cast in Bloodsport shortly after returning to the United States. The window for Van Damme to get back to the United States, harass Cannon Films co-owner and producer Menahem Golan at dinner one evening with a stunt kick (while not spilling the soup Van Damme was supposed to be serving him), prove to Golan that Jean-Claude Van Damme's fighting style would sell tickets, and reportedly beg his way into the role of Bloodsport, was a narrow window indeed. If Van Damme's work on Predator continued for as long as shooting required or as his contract stated, he may not have been back in time to be cast in the role that would propel him to international superstardom as a martial arts actor with heart.
Bloodsport made a surprising $65 million on its $1.5 million budget for Cannon Films and made van Damme a star almost overnight. Bloodsport would propel Van Damme to similar roles playing martial arts kickboxers and make him one of the most recognizable action stars of the late 80s through the 90s. While Van Damme would choose not to reprise his role for Bloodsport 2, the original Bloodsport remains a staple of the genre, the film that brought the world Jean-Claude Van Damme in earnest, and it seems Predator survived just as well without the Muscles from Brussels.