Predators co-writer Alex Litvak shares his idea for a potential Predators 2, revealing what the unmade sequel would have been about. Predators re-imagines the classic sci-fi-action horror flick starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as a high concept thriller with a bigger budget and a larger scale. The movie serves as a quasi-sequel to the original 1987 film, depicting a group of mercenaries who face off against an alien race in an unfamiliar jungle. One of the key differences with this installment in the highly popular franchise is that it features a whole horde of Predators, rather than the singular alien creature seen in other films in the series.
Predators ended up becoming a modest box office success, grossing $127 million worldwide against a $40 million budget. Director Nimrod Antel and producer Robert Rodriguez had expressed interest in developing a sequel, and even actor Adrien Brody seemed eager to be involved. In 2014, Fox green-lit a sequel to Predators without the involvement of Antel or Rodriquez. This led to Shane Black's The Predator in 2018, a movie that wasn't a direct sequel and ignored all of the events from Predators. However, an idea for a true Predators 2 does exist as the movie's writer recently revealed.
Predators co-writer Alex Litvak spoke to AvP Galaxy about his concept for a sequel movie. The theoretical Predators 2 would have depicted Royce and Isabelle, the surviving characters from the 2010 film, trying to fight their way through alien enemies on a Predator ship. Litvak explained, "At the end of Act One, Royce, Isabelle and their guys are captured by Super Predators... So our guys breakout… and what the movie is, is Die Hard on a Predator ship.” Litvak goes on to describe how the heroes turn the tables on the Predators, attempting to take over the alien space vehicle.
Litvak's words sound like promises that the unmade sequel would have been the ultimate sci-fi action epic. The unrealized Predators 2 would have seen many exciting fight scenes between the Predators and the mercenaries, and offer new twists as well. According to Litvak, the film would have ended with the humans winning and flying back to Earth, but with a surprise waiting for them. It would turn out that the team was away from Earth for 300 years, and they would find themselves now in the future with the Space Colonial Marines from the Alien franchise - clearly an idea meant to set up even more sequels and crossovers.
Predators ends on a cliffhanger, so it only seems natural that a direct sequel would have succeeded the film. Fox's choice to reboot the franchise once again rather than follow the storyline already established in the 2010 film proved to not be the wisest move. The Predator received more negative reviews than its predecessor, although proving to be a financial success. Nowadays, Predators is considered among best sequels in the franchise, and is the only installment to receive a fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes.
A proper sequel to Predators may never happen, which is even more of a shame since the ideas for the hypothetical film's plot tease an exciting premise unlike other movies in the series. Although overlooked, Predators still has it's fans who would have loved to witness a climax to a story that was left unfinished. For now, the explosive details Litvak disclosed are all that movie buffs have when it comes to the unmade Predators 2.
Source: AvP Galaxy