The Predator series is no doubt one of the biggest contributions to the horror and action genres, with a franchise taking in multiple sequels and one of the biggest - if not most successful - movie crossovers of all time. But the original movie's impact could well have been much less impressive if the film had stuck with its original design for the alien Yautja suit.

1987’s Predator wasn’t just a major turning point in the careers of Arnold Schwarzenegger and the film’s director, John McTiernan, but it also introduced audiences to a formidable new extraterrestrial threat that’s gone on to persevere for decades. Not only inspiring three sequels, but also two crossovers with the Alien movie series, and comic books and video games on top of that. What makes the Predator’s Yautja species so terrifying is that they’re not just lumbering, mindless monsters, despite their terrifying looks. The Yautja are highly skilled hunters who can systematically make a strong team of humans look like helpless animals.

Related: Why The Predator’s Species Is Called “Yautja”

The Predator films feel very emblematic of cinema’s strong embrace of the action genre during the ‘80s and ‘90s. Horror films and monster movies can often fixate on the helplessness of the victims, but Predator introduces a novel idea where even a team full of major action stars are defenseless against this alien beast. The Predator movies have kept the Yautja race fairly mysterious, but they’re shown to be some of the most ruthless hunters in the universe. They’re aliens that revel in the hunt and turn the extermination of their prey into a game of sport, which is truly frightening. The Yautja’s motivations are just as haunting as their iconic look, which is why it’s so surprising to learn that the design of these iconic horror creatures was originally very different.

Original Predator Design Infrared Stealth

Part of the aim with Predator was to make do with a tight budget to capitalize on the intensity and mystery of this stealth alien menace and so the film's budget was only between $15-18 million. This likely played a factor in the preliminary designs for the Yautja's suit. The original design was created by Boss Film Studios and it's considerably different than what audiences have grown to love from the series. The creature's look resembles more of some kind of space bug and Arnold Schwarzenegger himself compared the thing to some ungodly hybrid between a lizard and a duck. This design was also very red for the stealth sequences, which is pretty counter-intuitive for a film that's set in the jungle. This original design wasn't just aesthetically unappealing, but it was also impractical in a production sense. The Yautja isn't just supposed to look frightening, but it's adept at combat and this original design was very stiff and wouldn't allow for agile movement.

McTiernan was able to show test footage with this suit to illustrate its problems, which allowed production to drastically upgrade their design. Legendary effects master, Stan Winston, developed the new and final look for the Yautja (with James Cameron also contributing in regards to the creature's mandibles), but Rick Baker was also considered for the project. It's clear that McTiernan wanted to create something truly memorable here and the monster's finished look achieves this desired effect. Additionally, Kevin Peter Hall, who's 7'3", is the actor in the updated suit, which allows the Yautja to tower over his prey and instill fear. Jean-Claude Van Damme was in the original Yautja design and at 5'9" the same effect simply was not achieved.

A lot of the time, films don’t have the luxury to change the design of their main creature, especially when they’re already in production, but in this case, it likely saved the film. Predator was a box office success, but it wasn’t a critical darling and so a lackluster monster that was less agile and fundamentally more silly could have easily sunk the project and made sure no Predator sequels ever happened. The Yautja are fearsome because of both their skills and their look, so to remove both of these factors from the equation would have robbed Predator of what makes it work so well.

Next: Why The Unmade Predators Sequel Would Have Been Better For The Franchise