2018’s The Predator was another letdown for the troubled Predator franchise, but the Shane Black movie could have succeeded if the reboot kept its original Aliens-crossover ending. Beginning in 1987 with The Hunt For Red October director John McTiernan’s Predator, the Predator series is a rare hybrid of action, sci-fi, and horror that can stand toe-to-toe with the Alien franchise in terms of long-term cultural impact.
Unfortunately, like the Alien franchise, the Predator movies have also struggled to recapture the success of their first two outings in recent decades. Where Alien and Aliens were followed by the lesser Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection, the critically-acclaimed Predator and Predator 2 were proceeded by the less-loved Predators and 2018’s reboot The Predator.
Both Predators and The Predator had ambitious plans that were thwarted during production, and the disappointing critical reception of both Alien Vs Predator and its inferior sequel Alien Vs Predator: Requiem meant the movies arrived at a time when confidence in the franchise was minimal. The Predator‘s post-production was infamously messy, with the movie’s entire original third act being jettisoned via reshoots that added a new finale, while the finished film itself suffered from abrupt cuts and unclear story points as a result of its chaotic editing. However, the changes were not universally negative, with production also shooting new three endings shortly before its release. Each ending featured a sequel baiting tease, but only one would have helped redeem the disappointing The Predator by bringing back Aliens’ Newt.
The ending that the creators selected saw the Predators gifting humanity with an Iron Man-style “Predator Killer” suit. It was widely derided as questionable and ill-conceived, replaying Alien Vs Predator: Requiem’s backstory for humans obtaining Predator tech and somehow doing it even worse than that much-maligned face-off film. The second ending that the creators opted not to use saw the mystery pod open to reveal that Alien heroine Ripley was inside, a potentially very cool surprise that was unfortunately undone by the fact that the legendary character was played by a stunt performer called Breanna Watkins in a face-obscuring mask. This one was doomed from the beginning, as it was highly unlikely that Sigourney Weaver would have returned for a subsequent sequel had the creators used it, making the tease an inevitable disappointment
However, the third and final ending brought back Rebecca “Newt” Jorden (also played by Watkins), the young survivor of Aliens who was unceremoniously killed off in the opening of Alien 3. Watkins has since teased that this ending featured dialogue from Newt warning of a future attack and that her role involved some time travel and cloning to explain how Newt is suddenly alive and an adult, and now being sent back to the past. Of the three endings shot, it had the most potential to lead to an interesting sequel and is the one they should have used. Unlike the ending that teases Weaver, viewers had no pre-existing image of an adult Newt meaning the character could link the Alien and Predator franchises without letting down longtime fans. Meanwhile, reviving Newt could have undone one of Alien 3’s most-hated decisions, thus improving the prospects of both the Alien and Predator franchises in one fell swoop. The Predator had many issues, but the Newt-centric alternate ending could at least have salvaged the movie’s franchise potential via an Aliens crossover, if not its earlier missteps.
