5 Things I want to see in the Predator sequel
As I’m sure many of you are aware, Shane Black, the mastermind behind the very first Predator film is currently in the writing stages of bringing us a sequel titled, “The Predator”. Based on what he’s said so far, this just might be the movie that all of us die-hard fans have been waiting for! The last Predator film that truly encapsulated everything that we’ve grown to love about the character, was Predator 2. Since then, we’ve gotten some predictable and ham-fisted attempts at upping the stakes by pitting him against the Xenomorph in Alien vs Predator, or when they made a watered down version of the first film with Predators.
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1. A Strong Ensemble Cast.
Even though the first two films ultimately focused on one main hero, whether it was Arnold Schwarzenegger or Danny Glover, the films still took time to develop the relationships between the supporting characters. (Spoilers ahead for the first Predator movie) When Blain (Jesse Ventura) dies in the first movie it wouldn’t have had a fraction of the emotional impact that it had without the scenes where he and Mac (Bill Duke) reminisce about their times on the battle field. If you saw these two people walking down the street there’s no way in hell you’d think that they would have a brotherly friendship. What with Blain being a white, good ol’boy from the south and Mac being a black dude from what could be New York or Detroit. But through their performances and chemistry we grow to understand that what truly bonds them together are the unrelenting horrors of war.
2. Better female characters.
We’ve had some female lead characters throughout this franchise, but most of them were pretty bland and uninteresting. So far, the only one of note has been Anna (Elpidia Carillo) from the first film. At first her role seemed rather superfluous, but as it turned out she had some truly outstanding monologues that detailed her own experiences with the Predator itself. She goes on to explain that it’s arrival has had such an significant impact on her people’s lives that it becomes a part of their local folklore. They’ve given it a name; “El caza trofeos de los hombres” which means, “The Demon who makes trophies of men”.
So aside from Anna, we’ve yet to get a female character that has had the presence and importance of say a Ripley (Aliens) or Sarah Connor (Terminator 2). But that’s not to say that she needs to be in the lead role, we just need her to be able to shoulder the plot just as much as her male counterparts. They made an attempt at this in Alien vs Predator with Sanaa Lathan as Alexa Woods, but everything falls apart and becomes a “buddy cop” movie when we reach the scene where Alexa joins forces with the Predator in order to defeat the Xenomorph. They even go so far as to have the Predator MARK her forehead with one of their symbols to show that she’s now on “their team”! Come on!!
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3. Female Predators!
These things gotta come from SOMEWHERE! If we don’t get better human female leads, then let’s see the better
halves of these creatures. There’s definitely a way to present them without it coming off as pandering. It would just add so much more scope to the world and culture of these mysterious monsters. Think about the scene from Aliens where (SPOILERS) Ripley encounters the Alien Queen. Up until that point we knew ZERO about how these creatures lived or reproduced, which made that a pivotal moment in the development of that franchise. It would have JUST as much of an impact if “The Predator” film were to do something similar.
We’ve gotten a few tid-bits of info from the Predator comics. But as far as the movies are concerned, we still don’t really know ANYTHING about the Predator culture. Everything we’ve been shown is pretty much just rumors and hear-say. However, they did touch on the fact that in the past the Predators used Earth as a sort of battle ground while fighting the Xenomorphs. But that still doesn’t tell us anything about how their social structure works. We’ve also never heard them speak in their native language. It’s always been them speaking English while imitating our voices.
4. New Musical Score!
The last Predator film we got entitled Predators used the exact same music from the first film. Now, what Alan Silvestri did for the first movie was pretty dang great, and it’s always nice when a sequel incorporates some of the themes from the previous films. But come on, the ENTIRE friggin thing?! It made the whole movie feel like a remake when it was supposed to be a sequel. I’m not even gonna get into how the whole story was basically a rip off of the first film. Let’s just say that Predators is a thing that never should’ve existed and try to move on to better things!
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5. A REAL Predator fight.
The Predator is probably one of the most formidable opponents one could face in a hand to hand combat situation. But we have yet to see a fast paced battle between two of their own kind. We’ve only seen them go toe to toe with Humans and the occasional Xenomorph. And don’t even get me started on the Alien vs Predator battle royal! It literally looked like a couple of wrestlers from the WWE dressed as Alien monsters! Just slow, lethargic and INCREDIBLY awkward. Not to mention the costume effects made it look worse than a low budget fan film! How amazing would it be if we got a scene where two Predators get in a argument as to who gets to hunt the humans and they engage in a rapid fire fight similar to what we saw in Captain America: The Winter Soldier. I’m talking violent, visceral, and jaw-droppingly intense!
