Predator
Official franchise logo
Created by	Jim Thomas John Thomas
Original work	Predator (1987)
Owner	20th Century Studios
Years	1987–present
Print publications
Novel(s)	List of novels
Comics	List of comics
Films and television
Film(s)	Predator (1987) Predator 2 (1990) Predators (2010) The Predator (2018) Prey (2022) Predator: Killer of Killers (2025) Predator: Badlands (2025) Crossover series Alien vs. Predator (2004) Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)
Short film(s)	The Chosen (2010) Moments of Extraction (2010) Crucified (2010) Predator vs. Colonial Marines (2016) The Predator Holiday Special (2018)
Games
Video game(s)	List of video games
Audio
Soundtrack(s)	Predator (1987) Predator 2 (1990) Alien vs. Predator (2004) Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007) Predators (2010) The Predator (2018) Prey (2022) Predator: Killer of Killers (2025) Predator: Badlands (2025)
Miscellaneous
Character(s)	List of characters

Predator is an Americanscience fictionactionhorroranthologymedia franchise primarily centered on encounters between humans and a fictional species ofextraterrestrialtrophy hunters known as thePredators. Produced and distributed by20th Century Studios, the series was initially conceived by screenwritersJim and John Thomas. The series began with the filmPredator (1987), directed byJohn McTiernan, and was followed by several sequels—Predator 2 (1990),Predators (2010),The Predator (2018),Prey (2022),Predator: Killer of Killers (2025), andPredator: Badlands (2025)—as well as a range ofexpanded universe media, includingcomic books,novels, andvideo games, includingPredator: Concrete Jungle (2005) andPredator: Hunting Grounds (2020).

Beginning withcrossover comic books published in the 1990s under theAlien vs. Predator (AVP) imprint, the Predators later intersected with theAlien franchise, pitting the Predators against thetitular Alien characters. This narrative convergence led to two theatrical crossover films—Alien vs. Predator (2004) andAliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007)—and theAVP series having its own associated expanded universe of tie-in novels, comics and video games.

ThePredator franchise centers on recurring storylines in which human characters encounter a technologically advanced extraterrestrial species that hunts other lifeforms for sport. These extraterrestrials—credited as Predators in the films and alternatively namedYautja,^[1][2]Hish-Qu-Ten, andSkin Thieves in expanded universe media—serve as antagonists in largely self-contained narratives that blendmilitary science fiction,action, andhorror elements.

Although the films vary in setting, they typically follow a familiar structure: a group of humans, often military personnel or other combatants, find themselves targeted by a Predator during a mission or survival scenario. The creatures are portrayed as adhering to a ritualized code of conduct, selectively targeting dangerous opponents they deem worthy prey. Over time, expanded media introduced additional layers to the fictional mythology, including the species' social hierarchy, interstellar hunting culture, and internal rivalries.

Predator wasJohn McTiernan's first studio film as director. The studio hired screenplay writerShane Black not only to play a supporting role in the film, but to keep an eye on McTiernan due to the director's inexperience.^[3]Jean-Claude Van Damme was originally cast as the film's creature,^[4] the idea being that the physical action star would use his martial arts skills to make the creature an agile,ninja-esque hunter. When compared toArnold Schwarzenegger,Carl Weathers, andJesse Ventura, actors known for their bodybuilding regimes, it became apparent a more physically imposing man was needed to make the creature appear threatening. Eventually, Van Damme was removed from the film and replaced by the actor and mime artistKevin Peter Hall.^[5][6][7][8] A Van Dammeeaster egg was eventually featured inThe Predator.^[9]

The Yautja's design is credited to special effects artistStan Winston. While flying to Japan withAliens directorJames Cameron, Winston, who had been hired to design the Predator, was doing concept art on the flight. Cameron saw what he was drawing and said, "I always wanted to see something withmandibles", and Winston subsequently included them in his designs.^[5] Schwarzenegger recommended Winston after his experience working onThe Terminator.^[10][11]

The film's creature was originally designed with a long neck, adog-like head and a single eye. This design was abandoned when it became apparent that the jungle locations would make shooting the complex design too difficult. Originally, the studio contracted the makeup effects for the creature fromRichard Edlund's Boss Film Creature Shop. However, with problems filming the creature in Mexico and attempts to create a convincing monster of Van Damme, wearing a very different body suit, failing, makeup effects responsibilities were given to Winston and his studio,R/Greenberg Associates. According to former Boss Film Creature Shop makeup supervisor Steve Johnson, the makeup failed because of an impractical design by McTiernan that included 12-inch-length (300 mm) extensions that gave the creature a backward bentsatyr leg. The design did not work in the jungle locations. After six weeks of shooting in the jungles ofPalenque,Mexico, the production had to shut down so that Winston could make the new creature. This took eight months and then filming resumed for five weeks.^[8]

The clicking sound of the creature was provided byPeter Cullen. Despite his resolution not to voice any more monsters following injuries to his throat sustained during theADR ofKing Kong, his agent convinced him to audition. The clicking sound was inspired by a mixture of the visual of the creature and his recollection of a dying horseshoe crab.^[12]

R/Greenberg Associates created the film's optical effects, including the creature's ability to becomeinvisible, itsthermal vision point of view, its glowing blood, and theelectric spark effects. The invisibility effect was achieved by having someone in a brightred suit (because it was the furthest opposite of the green of the jungle and the blue of the sky) the size of the creature. The take was then repeated without the actors using a 30% wider lens on the camera. When the two takes were combined optically, an outline of the alien could be seen with the background scenery bending around its shape. For the thermal vision,infrared film could not be used because it did not register in the range ofbody temperaturewavelengths. The glowing blood was achieved by green liquid fromchem-lite sticks used by campers. The electrical sparks wererotoscoped animation using white paper pin registered on portable light tables to black-and-white prints of the film frames. The drawings werecomposited by the optical crew for the finished effects.^[13][14]

In an interview onPredator Special Edition, actor Carl Weathers said many of the actors would secretly wake up as early as 3 a.m. to work out before the day's shooting, in order to look "pumped" during the scene. Weathers also stated that he would act as if his physique was naturally given to him, and would work out only after all the other actors were nowhere to be seen. It was reported that actorSonny Landham was so unstable on the set that a bodyguard was hired to protect other people from him.^[15]

According to Schwarzenegger, filming was physically demanding as he had to swim in very cold water and spent three weeks covered in mud for the climactic battle with the creature. In addition, cast and crew endured freezing temperatures in the Mexican jungle that requiredheat lamps to be on all of the time. Schwarzenegger also faced the challenge of working with Kevin Peter Hall who could not see out of the mask, and had to rehearse his scenes with it off and then memorize where everything was.

The film was particularly successful and subsequently inspired a number ofcomic books,video games and popularanecdotes within the media. Schwarzenegger was asked to reprise his role in aPredator sequel, but was attached toTerminator 2: Judgment Day and could not accept the role. The character was rewritten from the developing sequel's script, and the sequel toPredator, directed byStephen Hopkins, was scheduled for 1990.^[16]

Due to excessive violence and nudity scenes,Predator 2 was the first film to be given the newly institutedNC-17 rating in the United States. It was eventually rated R by theMotion Picture Association of America after being re-cut to its final theatrical length.^[17] The film castDanny Glover in the lead role, and Kevin Peter Hall reprised his role as the Predator. Also, returning to the role ofAnna in the sequel,Elpidia Carrillo was slated to be in two scenes but was cut back to a brief appearance on a video screen in the government agents' surveillance trailer. Her character is showing damage to theCentral American jungle caused by the explosion at the conclusion of the first film.^{[citation needed]}

An elite paramilitary rescue team, led byMajor Dutch is on a covert operation in a Central American jungle where they are tasked with rescuing an official and his aide from guerrillas when they encounter a highly dangerous extraterrestrial with futuristic technology who hunts them for sport and are forced to find a way to defeat it before it kills off the entire team while awaiting a helicopter rescue.

In the record-hot summer of 1997, a different Predator arrives in Los Angeles and hunts violent gang members, drawing the attention of the local police force, specifically Lieutenant Harrigan, who pursues the creature as it rampages throughout the city. The creature itself is in turn being hunted by the secretive government task-force OWLF, led by CIA agent Peter Keyes, which wishes to capture it for study.

A group of notorious mercenaries and murderers find themselves kidnapped and transported to an extraterrestrial game preserve jungle planet, where they have to learn to work together in order to fight off a band of Super Predators and other creatures stalking them and find a way off this world.

After witnessing the crash of a Predator spaceship on Earth and hiding some of the remains, US Army Ranger Quinn McKenna and a team of PTSD-afflicted soldiers must take down a pair of Predators, including a new enhanced Predator which was genetically enhanced by its species. The Predator canon is expanded by distinguishing multiple types and purposes of the Predator species.

With thesale of 21st Century Fox's assets tothe Walt Disney Company, the future of the series was called into question, thoughBob Iger confirmed that certain properties would remain R-rated.^[18] In December 2019,Dan Trachtenberg was announced to be developing a film under the working title ofSkulls, with a script from Patrick Aison, set during theAmerican Civil War.^[19][20][21] In November 2020, it was revealed that the project was actually a fifth film in thePredator franchise. Trachtenberg indicated that he had been working on the film since 2016, with the intention to market the project without any references toPredator.^[22] The Walt Disney Company produced the project through their20th Century Studios banner.^[23] In May 2021,Amber Midthunder was announced to star.^[24] In late July, the title was shortened toSkull^[25] before officially becomingPrey in November; it was released onHulu on August 5, 2022.^[26][27]

Naru, a skilledComanche warrior, is striving to prove herself as a hunter, and finds herself having to protect her people from a Predator as well as from French fur traders who aredestroying the Buffalo her people rely on for survival. Through multiple close encounters,Naru gains enough knowledge about the Predator and kills it alone, finally proving herself to her tribe. On March 16, 2025, Collider released an interview with Amber Midthunder where she also expressed her interest in returning to the role and her hopes thatPrey 2 will be released eventually following Trachtenberg's other entriesPredator: Killer of Killers andPredator: Badlands.^[28]

In October 2024, it was reported that a secretPredator film had been directed byDan Trachtenberg and is one of twoPredator films releasing in 2025, was released on streaming before the release ofPredator: Badlands.^[29] In April 2025, the official title was revealed during CinemaCon.^[30][31] It was released on Hulu on June 6, 2025.^[32]

In June 2022,Dan Trachtenberg stated that there are discussions for additional installments being developed after the release ofPrey. The filmmaker stated that moving forward, the intent is to do things that have not been done before in the franchise.^[33] In August, Bennett Taylor expressed interest in reprising his role as Raphael Adolini as "thepirate he is" in a potentialprequel toPrey, serving as a loose adaptation of the 1996 comic bookPredator: 1718 in which Adolini was introduced, reading it as research before shootingPrey, having aimed to "bring as much of [Raphael] intoPrey that made sense".^[34]

In February 2024, it was reported that a number ofPredator projects are in development, with Dan Trachtenberg involved with each installment. While a sequel toPrey is one of them, a new film with the working title ofBadlands is scheduled for principal photography in July of the same year. Trachtenberg will once again serve as director, with a script written by Patrick Aison andBrian Duffield, from an original story Aison and Trachtenberg co-authored.^[35] The plot will center around a new female lead, and be set chronologically in the future.^[36][37] ActressElle Fanning has been in talks to star in the leading role.^[38]

Predator: Badlands was theatrically released in the United States on November 7, 2025.^[39] The film would earn $40 million at the domestic box office in its opening weekend, setting a record for thePredator franchise.^[40][41]

Inspired by theDark Horse Comics series, the filmmakers ofPredator 2 (1990) incorporated aneaster egg in which an Alien skull was seen in a Predator trophy case. Expansions upon thisshared universe between theAlien andPredator franchises followed through comics and video games, leading up to the launch of a film franchise with the release ofAlien vs. Predator in 2004, followed byAliens vs. Predator: Requiem in 2007. The franchise has spawned various comics, novels, video games, and other merchandise based upon or inspired by the films. A third film has been variously rumored since the production ofRequiem.^[42][43][44] In mid-2018,Shane Black, the director ofThe Predator, expressed his belief that a thirdAlien vs. Predator could still happen, indicating the studio's interest in both franchises.^[45]

By August 2024,Alien: Romulus directorFede Álvarez expressed interest in co-directing anAlien vs. Predator movie in collaboration withPrey directorDan Trachtenberg.^[46] In October of the same year, Steve Abell (President of Fox Studios) stated that the studio has plans to eventually develop anAlien andPredator crossover film.^[29]

In 2004, a Predator mothership arrives inEarth orbit to draw humans to an ancient Predator training ground onBouvetøya, an island about one thousand miles north ofAntarctica. A buriedpyramid giving off a "heat bloom" attracts a group of explorers led by billionaire and self-taught engineer Charles Bishop Weyland (Lance Henriksen), the original founder and CEO of Weyland Industries, who unknowingly activates an Alien egg production line as a hibernating Alien Queen is awakened within the pyramid. Three Predators descend to the planet and enter the structure, killing all humans in their way with the intention of hunting the newly formed Aliens, while the scattered explorers are captured alive by Aliens and implanted with embryos. Two Predators die in the ensuing battle with an Alien, while the third allies itself with the lone surviving human, Alexa "Lex" Woods (Sanaa Lathan), while making their way out of the pyramid as it is destroyed by the Predator's wrist bomb and eventually does battle with the escaped Alien Queen on the surface. The Queen is defeated by being dragged down by a water tower into the dark depths of the frozen sea, but not before she fatally wounds the last Predator. The orbiting Predator mothership uncloaks and the crew retrieves the fallen Predator. A Predator elder gives Lex a spear as a sign of respect, and then departs. Once in orbit it is revealed that an AlienChestburster was present within the corpse, thus a predator/alien hybrid is born.

Set immediately after the events of the previous film, thePredalien hybrid aboard the Predator scout ship, having just separated from the mothership shown in the previous film, has grown to full adult size and sets about killing the Predators aboard the ship, causing it to crash in the small town ofGunnison, Colorado. The last surviving Predator activates a distress beacon containing a video recording of the Predalien, which is received by aveteran Predator on the Predator homeworld, who sets off towards Earth to "clean up" the infestation. When it arrives, the Predator tracks the Aliens into a section of the sewer below the town. He removes evidence of their presence as he moves along using a corrosive blue liquid and uses a laser net to try to contain the creatures, but the Aliens still manage to escape into the town above. The Predator fashions a plasma pistol from its remaining plasma caster and hunts Aliens all across town, accidentally cutting the power to the town in the process. During a confrontation with human survivors, the Predator loses its plasma pistol. The Predator then fights the Predalien singlehandedly, and the two mortally wound one another just as the US Air Force drops a tactical nuclear bomb on the town, incinerating both combatants along with the Predalien's warriors and hive, as well as the few remaining humans in the town. The salvaged plasma pistol is then taken to a Ms. Yutani of the Yutani Corporation, foreshadowing an advancement in technology leading to the future events of theAlien films.

In 2025, Trachtenberg has stated he had three initialPredator films in mind to make:Predator: Killer of Killers,Predator: Badlands, and a third that he intends to direct ifBadlands is successful.[1] Discussions are ongoing with original franchise starArnold Schwarzenegger about reprising his role as Dutch in a future installment.[2]

On October 19, 2010,Predators was released on home video and included the two prequel short filmsMoments of Extraction andCrucified, along with the prequel short filmThe Chosen, which had aired as a television and cinema advertisement prior to the release ofPredators.^[47] Loot Crate (commonly known for producing and distributing various officially licensed merchandise based on theAlien,Predator,Alien vs. Predator, andPrometheus brands) released a VR 360° short film titledPredator vs. Colonial Marines in February 2016, directed by Julian Higgins and written by Peter Weidman in which a troop of Colonial Marines storm a Weyland-Yutani warehouse and encounter the deadly alien hunter.^[48][49]The Predator was released onDVD,Blu-ray and 4K Ultra HD formats on December 18, 2018, in America, alongside the short stop-motion filmThe Predator Holiday Special, in whichSanta Claus and his elves and reindeer encounter the Predators at the North Pole.^[50]

Several novelizations based upon the movies have been released.

• Predator byPaul Monette, Jove Books, June 1, 1987,ISBN 0-515-09002-6
• Predator 2 bySimon Hawke, Jove Books, December 1990,ISBN 0-515-10578-3
• The Predator: Hunters and Hunted by James A. Moore, Titan Books, July 31, 2018ISBN 978-1785658051
• The Predator byChristopher Golden & Mark Morris, Titan Books, September 2018,ISBN 978-1785658051

• Predator: Concrete Jungle byNathan Archer
• Predator: Cold War by Nathan Archer
• Predator: Big Game by Sandy Schofield
• Predator: Forever Midnight byJohn Shirley
• Predator: Flesh and Blood byMichael Jan Friedman
• Predator: Turnabout bySteve Perry
• Predator: South China Sea byJeff VanderMeer
• Predator: Prey to the Heavens byJohn Arcudi and Javier Saltares
• The Predator: Hunters and Hunted byJames A. Moore
• Predator: Stalking Shadows by James A. Moore

Dark Horse Comics published various lines based on the franchise. TheFire and Stone (2014–2015) andLife and Death (2016–2017) series further explored what happened in theAlien,Predator,Alien vs. Predator, andPrometheus universe following the events of the 2012 filmPrometheus. In July 2020,Marvel Comics announced that it had acquired the comic book rights to thePredator franchise, in addition to the rights to theAlien andAlien vs. Predator franchises,^[82] publishingPredator (2022–present),Predator vs. Wolverine (2023),Predator vs. Black Panther (2024),Predator vs. Spider-Man,Predator: Black, White & Blood, andPredator Kills the Marvel Universe (all 2025).

Other books expanding this fictional universe have been released through the years, and also such that depict the background to the films, including works by special effects companyAmalgamated Dynamics Incorporated (ADI) which has worked with theAlien,Predator andAlien vs. Predator films.

• Predator The Official Movie Special (2018)
• The Predator: The Art and Making of the Film (2018)

• Predator (1987)
• Predator 2 (1990)
• Predator 2 (1992)
• Predator: Concrete Jungle (2005)
• Predator: Hunting Grounds (2020)

The Predators have appeared in two virtual pinball tables. The first one is a pinball adaptation of the first twoPredator films, one of four pinball tables in the 1999 computer gameSci-Fi Pinball, with the other three tables being based onAliens,Buffy the Vampire Slayer andThe Fly, three other Fox horror films.^[83] The second one is a loose pinball adaptation ofAlien vs. Predator, developed byZen Studios and available as an add-on pack forZen Pinball 2,Pinball FX 2 andPinball FX 3 on April 26, 2016.^[84] Based on the premise and setting (though not the plot) of that film, this table is played entirely from the perspective of a Predator ascending the ranks to become a seasoned warrior and Alien hunter,^[85] with two of the film's human leads being the table's announcers.

In the early 2010s,pinball manufacturer SKIT-B attempted to create an unauthorized physical pinball adaptation of thePredator franchise, without securing licensing rights from franchise owner 20th Century Fox. After suffering from legal problems, the pinball table was cancelled on March 24, 2015,^[86] and thus, only a few prototypes of the pinball table exists to this day.

A card game, titledLegendary Encounters: A Predator Deck Building Game, was released in July 2015 byUpper Deck Company.^[87] It is based on the first two films.^[88]

• The Predator is a downloadable character inMortal Kombat X (2015).^[89]
• The Predator is a free challenging boss featured inTom Clancy's Ghost Recon Wildlands.
• The Predator is an unlockable outfit and hostile NPC inFortnite Battle Royale Chapter 2 Season 5.^[90]
• The Predator was licensed byAdult Swim to officially appear^{[citation needed]} in the 2023seventh-seasonpremiere of theanimated seriesRick and Morty, "How Poopy Got His Poop Back".

• Outline of science fiction
• List of films featuring extraterrestrials
• List of monster movies
• Predatoroonops, a genus of spider named in honor of the Predator

• Beautiful Monsters: The Unofficial and Unauthorised Guide to the Alien and Predator Films (byDavid A. McIntee, Telos, 272 pages, 2005,ISBN 1903889944).

• Predator Community^{[permanent dead link]}
• Alien vs. Predator Central
• Predator vs. Colonial Marines onYouTube
• The Predator Holiday Special onYouTube
• "Behind the scenes of the Predator stop-motion holiday special".Entertainment Weekly

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