Jean-Claude Van Damme is set to close out his action movie career with What's My Name?, and if that's the case, he should face off with his unused version of the Predator. The 1980s was a golden period for the creation of horror and sci-fi icons, with the decade producing the likes of Freddy Krueger, the Terminator and the Predator. Arriving in cinemas in 1987, Predator was a modern riff on the poem Beowulf and saw an alien hunter stalk a special forces group, killing them one by one until only Arnold Schwarzenegger's Dutch remained.
Predator is a tautly directed sci-fi/horror hybrid and has since spawned many sequels and spinoffs. One well-known piece of lore surrounding Predator is that a young Jean-Claude Van Damme was hired - and later fired - as the titular hunter, and he performed in an early version of the costume. Predator should have been a big break for JCVD, but he was lumbered with a terrible-looking costume that was also difficult to work in. Many stories have gone around about why Van Damme was fired; some have cited his constant complaints, while others state he kept passing out from the heat of working in the outfit and was dropped by the producer.
Jean-Claude Van Damme quickly bounced back from the Predator debacle, becoming a movie star thanks to projects like Double Impact and John Woo's Hard Target. While his career has had its ups and downs, he's been a consistently popular action star for over 30 years. He's set to leave the genre behind with the upcoming What's My Name? an action drama based on a story he conceived of. The movie will see Van Damme (who often plays twins) as a version of himself who is left with amnesia following a car accident, and facing off against his major screen foes once again. It's currently unconfirmed who he'll be fighting in What's My Name? - with Universal Soldier co-star Dolph Lundgren and Bolo Yeung being two possible candidates - but Jean-Claude Van Damme fighting his scrapped take on Predator could be something special.
Of course, that depends on the tone What's My Name? will be taking, and whether such a fight scene would even fit. Jean-Claude Van Damme previously played himself in 2008 action-drama JCVD and then again in Amazon's short-lived Jean-Claude Van Johnson, which ended on a cliffhanger. Both projects played the drama side of things relatively straight, though they had moments of goofy humor too. Assuming What's My Name? has a similar tone, it shouldn't be too hard to sneak in a dream scene or daydream where JCVD fights an alien, and it would bring the star back to his career roots.
Jean-Claude Van Damme fighting his scrapped take on Predator would also be a nice meta-gag. The internet has only helped amplify his firing from the movie, accompanied by stills of the awful costume he was saddled with. Having him fight and quickly defeat this demon of the past would be in keeping with the concept of What's My Name, not to mention bringing the star a little revenge for his dismissal from Predator (whose many reboots haven't worked). That said, getting the rights to use this Predator outfit - even if it was scrapped - might be too difficult, and it may not fit the tone the filmmakers are going for either.