We recently had the pleasure of speaking to Alex Litvak, one of the writers of Predators, for the next episode of the Alien vs. Predator Galaxy Podcast! We covered a lot of topics during the episode, including many of the “could-have-been” scenarios that the Predator series could have gone had some other pitches been developed.
Alex shared a lot of details about his time working at Fox where he pitched concepts to revive Predator before he worked on Predators, how wildly different Predators would have ended if it followed his and Mike Finch’s very first draft. Alex also told us about the direction that Robert Rodriguez, Nimrod Antal, Mike Finch and himself had discussed with 20th Century Fox following the release of Predators!
In the sequel – now this is with Royce and Isabelle – they’re still on the planet, they’re still stuck there. And they [the Predators] keep dropping more people. And the opening of the movie was that somebody new gets dropped and a Predator shows up about to kill this person. Boom! The Predator gets killed and it’s Royce and Isabelle showing up saying “welcome to the resistance.”
So now they have their own little tribe on the planet where they’re surviving, they’re being hunted but they’re also striking back so we establish the way they are. We also establish that Royce and Isabelle are incredibly valuable targets because these guys [the Berserker/Super Predators] are all about the genetic upgrades. They want their DNA. But they’re still stuck here. They’ve got their foothold on survival, but how do we get back to Earth? There’s only one way. We’ve got to get on the Predator ship.
At the end of Act One Royce, Isabelle and their guys are captured by Super Predators – on purpose because they allow themselves to be captured – and are brought to their ship that they use to funnel people to this planet. There’s got to be some sort of big transport. So now you get to see this transport. So our guys breakout…and what the movie is is Die Hard on a Predator ship.
The idea was now you break free and now you’re trying to take control of the ship with all of the Super Predators you have to fight there. And of course all the other shit that’s there…like the alien zoo on that ship… And get this…the last thing is why Drew [20th Century Fox] was like “wow, I love that idea!” At the end of the day we win, we get back to Earth, we land and we realise it’s the future! All along we thought this was happening now, but what if these guys have been on ice for 300 years? The hatch opens, and the Space [Colonial] Marines come in!
That was how we merge the two worlds – the Alien and Predator world finally merge and bring the Space Marines into the story. He [Drew at Fox] goes “I fucking love it!” We just kept waiting for him to say “go write this”…I can’t speak to that, but I guess some stars never lined up so that version never got off the ground.
As well as the possible Predators 2 ideas, Alex also told us about a pitch he made for a separate fourth Predator film prior to Shane Black’s The Predator starting up. Be sure to check back in with Alien vs. Predator Galaxy on 31st of August at 4pm GMT for our full interview with Predators writer Alex Litvak!
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I expect this too will be garbage.
Overall, me too! And the Predator Hunters comic series reaffirmed my faith in these type of Predator stories.
A little more than a casual fan/general public, just not a gamer
Which reminds me, what is the extent of his new abilities anyway? I know that his youth in terms of ability but not in appearance has returned and no longer ages. I recall that Dutch even says that he has that and more, so does that mean he is like a Captain America but Predator Hunter?
Having the mutations come from the same clan is a better outlook. I did enjoy Predators as a fun slasher film and look forward to seeing what's in store for us with a sequel. I am even hoping for a Dutch cameo
Hybridization confirmed!
Evades a rock thrown by Hicks
I never had a problem with Predators enhancing their own bodies to get an edge, as long as not all Predators do it (which Shane Black confirmed). We see human competitors do it all the time with steroids and hgh, horse placenta, deer antler spray, urine, etc. And this edge upgrading can be socially lambasted as it is on Earth.
And all these nuggets help support my ol' speculation that Super Predators and the Upgrade is from the same blasphemous clan. Both use single blade guantlets, both use dogs to hunt, both use genetic manipulation, etc etc.
Interesting to hear Predators taking place in the future from a source other than Shane Black!
Great stuff Hicks & RT!
Edit: I know that wormholes are not the same as black holes 😶
That's a pretty awesome idea, Stefano. With the exception of Tim Lebbon's Rage War trilogy, most of the franchises stay away from the real world interconnection between Space and Time and the bizarre quantum and time dialative effects of pushing and theoretically traversing the speed of light. Interstellar was a beautiful marriage of drama and science that has put these ideas right back into the public eye. Given the Lovecraftian roots of Alien in particular I would be eager and excited for more exploration of this real science weirdness and how that could play into future stories.
here is something, that would make the long timspan possible (taken from interstellar).
"The first planet they land on is close to a supermassive black hole, dubbed Gargantuan, whose gravitational pull causes massive waves on the planet that toss their spacecraft about. Its proximity to the black hole also causes an extreme time dilation, where one hour on the distant planet equals 7 years on Earth"
That would give away the ending twist wouldn't it?
Never seen the original Star Trek, need to though. I think what I was thinking of was some kind of board game. I have this vague memory of a commercial of a cartoon showing a World War II soldier being teleported before a grenade drops on him and explodes, and a ninja being teleported from his era as well.
I think you're referring to Star Trek: The Original Series: Season 3, Episode 22 "The Savage Curtain"
Air date: March 7, 1969
"Aliens force Captain Kirk and First Officer Spock to join forces with beings who appear to be Abraham Lincoln and Surak to battle villains in a contest between good and evil."
A nazi with a cowboy and a ninja and so forth
I guess it would be more like a big trip to Costco or whatever one's local equivalent might be. Saving cash by buying in bulk sort of thing.
What?
So you took some humans, held them for 300 years and then decide to hunt and kill them?
I mean I get that Predators are biologically immortal and can afford that luxury but thats still kind of....idk just doesn't seem right with me somehow. Like as if someone ordered fast food and decided to eat it three days later when you could have eaten it there and now when its fresh. EEeehhhh I feel like thats a bad comparison but its just the closest thing to how I feel about this idea.
Plus, in a selfish sort of way, it kills my idea of including them into Hunting Grounds. I feel like Royce and Isabelle can greatly fill in the info of the hybridizing Super Predator clan, mainly the Assassin Predator, that the OWLF and Stargazer encountered in 2018.
Yeah, I think that's why any clan doing that would be shunned by the more prideful traditional clans. Personal genetic augmentation is perhaps a step too far for other clans to accept culturally, kinda like rich assholes going on "safari" with fully automatic assault rifles and shooting prey from helicopters or something. Some real "Two-Stripes" dishonorable kinda shiz. It certainly happens here and now on Earth, but what indeed is truly the point?
From what was stated, it seems like the Predators abducted Royce and company, kept them frozen for ~300 years, and then thawed them out and the events of Predators happened. Royse would have found out that he spent that long asleep before falling down onto the game preserve until the end of the sequel.
If anything I rather like the idea of them making it back to earth in 2025 or 2029 and surprise the OWLF Organization with an impressed Dutch approaching them with cigar in mouth, recruiting them both to the organization. Wanna see how Dutch and OWLF react to the existence of a stronger breed of Predator that has no honor code and highly more advanced than their honorable counterparts.
One thing though about the introduction of Colonial Marines and Aliens tie in, it makes me wonder about the OWLF place in the future? I'm very glad that the OWLF makes a stronger and interesting presence in new Predator lore that makes things much more exciting in story telling and it does add that question about their future. Are they still around in 100 or 300 years from now? Disbanded? Do their plans interfere with Weyland Yutani? Will they be the benevolent counterpart to Weyland? Is The Company aware bout OWLF? I'm curious to see a long lived Dutch observing Weyland activities from behind the scenes, and horrified about the existence of Aliens and Engineers. This man enhanced with long lived Predator DNA is really going to have in interesting future.
Thank you! As with any sapient being with opinions, no one will have the same idea and that can be said for Preds and their views on how the Hunt should be.
True, I always assumed that the Aliens used in the first AvP comics were genetically modified by the Yautja to always produce crafty intelligent human-style bugs, regardless of the actual host. This way you always get a challenging hunt instead of dealing with a bunch of random Sheep Aliens or some such .Although I would really like to see a true double horned Rynth Alien sometime; I just love those freaking pokesnoots.
The genetics was already fine given we've seen them screwing around with Xenomorphs so they have to have some idea on how to mess with it.
The Predators have long been shown to adorn themselves with the trappings, technology and body parts of their prey. Are trophied genetics all that different to an advanced race? Humans have subcultures who practice transhumanism, wouldn't the Yautja have similar subsects of their own cultures?
Is the detraction some feel more of a visceral reaction? Like a more subtle uncanny valley type revulsion, or something else entirely?
Looking forward to the full interview!
Predators was the best Predator film since the first! That last Predator movie we got was just turrible!!!
So, DNA angle and Super/Upgrade Predators would be present in Predators 2 anyway ? Take that, The Predator haters !
And they tried to merge franchises, too ? Take that again, The Predator haters !
Also, mentioning of "zoo" sounds like one of these scrapped ideas for The Predator.
Anyway, thanks for sharing, Hicks