Trivia / The Predator

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• Box Office Bomb: With an opening weekend of $24.6 million, the film set a new record for the worst opening weekend for a film shown on more than 4,000 screens, $7 million lower than previous record holder The Mummy (2017). Though it was such a slow movie weekend that it was still #1. Budget: $88 million. Gross: $51,024,708 (domestic), $160,542,134 (worldwide).
• Celebrity Voice Actor: In the Japanese dub, Quinn is voiced by Teruaki Ogawa, better known by toku fans as Sasuke/Ninja Red in Ninja Sentai Kakuranger.
• Deleted Role:
  • Edward James Olmos played a military general that helped the protagonists during the third act, but all of his scenes ended up on the cutting room floor.
  • There were originally going to be two "emissary" Predators who would side with the humans against the Upgrade Predator, even battling him near the end of the film. One can even be seen in the background riding on top of an IFV during a very brief shot at the beginning of the teaser trailer. Due to being tied to Edward James Olmos's character, when his character was cut from the film, so were they.
  • Steve Wilder Striegel was originally cast as a minor character in this movie, but 20th Century Fox removed his scenes a few days before picture lock, when Olivia Munn informed the studio that he was registered as a sex offender after a 2010 arrest following an attempt to lure a 14-year-old girl into a sexual relationship via the internet.
  • For unknown reasons, the air traffic supervisor went from Françoise Yip to a male actor in the final cut.
• Deleted Scene: More details here.
• Directed by Cast Member: Or at least, directed by a cast member of a previous entry.
• Executive Meddling: Given the amount of reshoots, a Release Date Change, and promotional pictures that show things that didn't end up in the movie, speculation on what the studio added was in full force. Fred Dekker later confirmed this. The studio changed the ending after deciding that it needed to be at night to be scarier.
• Flip-Flop of God: In an early interview, Shane Black said the film was an interquel set in between Predator 2 and Predators, but this was changed to it being set after both films.
• Missing Trailer Scene: The trailers had numerous shots missing from the movie, including shots of Quinn running across streets while holding a gun, Quinn looking up and saying, "Come and get us, motherfucker," as Casey and Rory stand beside him in the jungle (reportedly the original ending in an early cut, and would have referenced the original concept of more Predators landing on Earth), and Quinn and Nebraska standing on top of a military vehicle and firing its weapons (part of the unused chase sequence with the friendly Predators).
• Real-Life Relative: Gary Busey, who played Keyes in Predator 2, is the father of Jake, who plays Keyes' son in this movie.
• Release Date Change: The Predator was originally scheduled by 20th Century Fox for a March 2, 2018 release date, until the date was moved to February 9, 2018. It was then delayed to August 3, 2018. In February 2018, the released date was delayed to September 14, 2018.
• Role-Ending Misdemeanor: Steve Wilder, a bit actor and friend of Shane Black, had his scenes of him playing a minor character removed when star Olivia Munn discovered he was a convicted sex offender.
• Troubled Production: The film became infamous for this even before its release, as first the planned sequel to Predators got discarded, and then the movie's release was repeatedly shuffled around (a total of four delays). The script went through many iterations — including one that leaked on Reddit to fan scorn, that apparently was the same that made Arnold Schwarzenegger refuse an offer to return as Dutch Schaeffer. The third act changed the most (in a manner similar to Rogue One), even as filming progressed into reshoots: promotional images show the Loonies alongside a pair of Predators that would help them fight the Ultimate Predator, something that wound up cut alongside the character of a human general (played by Edward James Olmos), Fox forced the whole climax to be set at night, and many things were considered for what would be revealed in the final scene. There was also the fact that days away from the film's release, an urgent note was delivered ordering the production team to delete a scene featuring an actor named Steven Wilder Striegel, as Olivia Munn had discovered that he was a registered sex offender — and that while Fox didn't know about this, Black did, and cast him as a jogger who repeatedly tries to hit on Munn's character.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Arnold Schwarzenegger turned down the opportunity to return as Dutch because he wanted a bigger role than the cameo he was being offered. Apparently, he would just come out of a chopper at the film's end to greet the main characters and tell them the war had already started.
  • In an even crazier alternative, they also proposed two scrapped alternate endings tying into the Alien franchise: one where the sarcophagus was revealed to be a cryostasis pod somehow containing Ellen Ripley, and another where it contained Rebecca "Newt" Jordan from Aliens — seemingly a nod to Neill Blomkamp's cancelled Alien movie. These were apparently even shot, with Breanna Watkins playing both roles and replacing Sigourney Weaver as Ripley, but they were both scrapped.
  • Adrien Brody expressed interest in returning as Royce, but the producers had nothing for him.
  • Benicio del Toro was originally supposed to star in the lead role, but he was replaced by Boyd Holbrook due to scheduling conflicts.
  • 50 Cent spoke of the possibility of being involved in the film, but ended up dropping out.
  • While little is known about the original cut before the reshoots, a leaked photo in Instagram showed two regular Predators allied with humans and riding an APC.
  • Keegan-Michael Key claims that he tried to do a Shout-Out to Dolemite at some point in the movie, but the producers wouldn't have it.
• You Look Familiar: Françoise Yip, who was the original tracking supervisor, previously appeared as Yutani in Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem.

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