With Predators 2 seemingly dead in the water, here’s everything we know about the canceled sequel. Following the original Predator (starring Arnold Schwarzenegger) and Predator 2, fans have had to make do with two poorly-received crossover films, Alien vs. Predator and Alien vs. Predator: Requiem — then Predators came along. Based on a concept from the early '90s by Robert Rodriguez, Predators (2010) followed a group of Earth’s most dangerous killers, abducted and parachuted onto an alien planet as game for the titular hunters. Royce (Adrien Brody) and Isabelle (Alice Braga) lead the charge, fighting for their lives, and are the only humans left standing when the credits roll. It’s harmless fun, and even if it didn’t take full advantage of Rodriguez’s high-concept premise, it is notable for introducing the idea of warring Predator tribes and gangs to the franchise.
While many of Predators’ key players expressed interest in making a sequel, namely Brody, Rodriguez, and director Nimród Antal, Fox opted instead to produce a second soft reboot. The Predator was released in 2018 (helmed by industry legend Shane Black), which sadly dashed any real hopes for Predators 2. That said, the resounding success of 2022's Prey - the direct-to-streaming American Civil War drama that violently pulled the franchise back to its roots - reinvigorated interest in further related projects. While there's currently no discernible movement in terms of the sequel coming to fruition, Predators (2010) screenwriter Alex Litvak recently revealed some potential ideas for the sequel, had it gone forward.
Predators 2 Was Predator Meets Die Hard
Speaking with AvPGalaxy, Litvak discussed an idea that had been considered for a Predators (2010) sequel before Fox decided to go in a different direction with the franchise, stating:
“In the sequel – now this is with Royce and Isabelle – they’re still on the planet, they’re still stuck there. And they [the Predators] keep dropping more people. And the opening of the movie was that somebody new gets dropped and a Predator shows up about to kill this person. Boom! The Predator gets killed and it’s Royce and Isabelle showing up saying 'welcome to the resistance'. So now they have their own little tribe on the planet where they’re surviving; they’re being hunted but they’re also striking back so we establish the way they are. We also establish that Royce and Isabelle are incredibly valuable targets because these guys [the Berserker/Super Predators] are all about the genetic upgrades. They want their DNA. But they’re still stuck here. They’ve got their foothold on survival, but how do we get back to Earth? There’s only one way. We’ve got to get on the Predator ship. At the end of Act One Royce, Isabelle and their guys are captured by Super Predators – on purpose because they allow themselves to be captured – and are brought to their ship that they use to funnel people to this planet. There’s got to be some sort of big transport. So now you get to see this transport. So our guys breakout…and what the movie is is Die Hard on a Predator ship.”
Mixing Predator with elements from other hit movies seems to be the norm for this franchise, with Predator 2 easily summed up as Lethal Weapon meets Predator—even utilizing the former film’s lead, Danny Glover—and Predators reminiscent of The Most Dangerous Game. As such, "Predator meets Die Hard" would have continued this sequel trend, which is actually a more fitting pairing than one might initially think, with the first entry in each franchise being directed by John McTiernan. Litvak also made reference to an “alien zoo” aboard the ship - an idea potentially borrowed from Rodriguez’s original Predators (2010) pitch, before that film’s relatively low budget required many of its more outlandish moments to be stripped back.
Predators 2 Also Linked To The Alien Franchise
If it gets off the ground, Predators 2 would be set sometime after the first movie, and before 2018's The Predator in the franchise timeline for the first half of the movie. While Predators (2010) was an attempt to distance the franchise from the critically-panned Alien vs. Predator films (despite its title being an allusion to Aliens, the second film in the Alien franchise), Predators 2 would have acted as a minor crossover, with Litvak stating:
“At the end of the day we win, we get back to Earth, we land and we realize it’s the future! All along we thought this was happening now, but what if these guys have been on ice for 300 years? The hatch opens, and the Space [Colonial] Marines come in! That was how we merge the two worlds – the Alien and Predator world finally merge and bring the Space Marines into the story.”
The Colonial Marines played a big role in Aliens—a more action-oriented film than its slow-burn predecessor—and seem like a natural way to bridge the Alien and Predator franchises, but were strangely side-stepped in both crossover movies. Predators 2 would have rectified this, and would likely have led to a third Alien vs. Predator movie. In any case, with the recent success of Prey and the franchise being in Disney's hands, it's only a matter of time before Alien vs. Predator 3 gets the green light.
Why Predators 2 Didn’t Happen
While Predators (2010) was relatively successful, making back its budget and then some, Fox decided to go in a different direction with the next entry in the franchise, enlisting Shane Black and Fred Dekker (of Monster Squad fame) to write the script, with Black directing. Black actually had a role in the original Predator movie, playing Hawkins — a foul-mouthed mercenary — and made uncredited script rewrites, tasked with bringing his trademarked humor to the piece. Fresh off the success of Iron Man 3, Black was a natural fit to lead the Predator franchise to pastures new — but, unfortunately, ended up treading old ground.
The Predator was released in 2018, and - while more characterful than Predators - felt largely crass and out of touch, trying to appeal to a bygone audience and binning Rodriguez’s alien planet concept in favor of a more familiar, suburban setting. To be fair, Shane Black's cut of The Predator was never released, and the theatrical version eschews many elements from the director's original vision. Despite its faults, The Predator utilized the idea of warring Predator tribes established in Predators. Unsurprisingly, The Predator was panned by critics and fans alike, and it’s unlikely that audiences will see a direct sequel to Black’s film anytime soon. Like Predators before it, Fox intended The Predator to restart the franchise, but they should have focused on making one great movie rather than prematurely considering sequels. The commercial and critical success of Prey proves this is the right direction for the franchise.
Prey Was Better Than Predators 2 Could Have Ever Been
Predators 2 could still be great, but Prey was an amazing, franchise-saving, breakout success for Disney. With Prey, the House of Mouse silenced doubters and proved that it can handle more adult-oriented franchises like Predator. As interesting as Predators 2 sounds, there was no way it would have been better than Prey. How Prey connects to the old Predator movies but still manages to be a standalone film is an unprecedented feat for Disney, which made the right call by opting to go down the prequel/soft reboot avenue. There was a lot of lore-building promised in Predators 2, but as Prey proved, that's not what the franchise needed at the time. In fact, it's the total opposite. It was partly the lack of heavy lore that made Prey feel so fresh, despite technically being a rehash of the crucial elements that made the original Predator so great.
That said, there's no reason why Predators 2 and Prey 2 can't exist at the same time, especially with Disney's insurmountable financial backing in the picture. The overwhelming reception for Prey will undoubtedly lead to more movie projects in the Aliens sister-franchise. While the more traditional plot of Prey 2 can keep the franchise true to its hunter/hunted roots, the lore-building of Predators 2 could continue the franchise's evolution, potentially carving a place for Predator in the space opera genre. The two could compliment each-other, offering both camps of the SciFi-Horror fanbase something to sink their teeth into. Should it get green-lit by Disney, Predators 2 would be received with the highest expectations because of Prey, which gave new life to the dying franchise.