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Predators Co-Screenwriter Michael Finch Talks Trilogy Plans

One of the co-screenwriters of 2010’s Predators, Michael Finch, recently expressed ideas for Predator sequels which were at one point in the works, but never came to be.

Sitting down for an interview with SyFy, Finch talked with them about plans for a cinematic trilogy, which would’ve continued the story from 2010’s Predators.

He starts by describing earlier ideas for Predators, including a larger-scale space battle, and an alternate ending which had Arnold Schwarzenegger reprising his role as Dutch.

“A ship lands, smoke comes out, Predators start walking out, you’re entirely f***ed. You don’t have a chance, you’re out of ammunition, you’re bleeding, you’ve got a stick in your hand. These guys are coming out, the smoke clears, [one of them] pulls off his helmet and it’s Schwarzenegger. He’s part of that clan now … By virtue of the fact that he had beaten this Predator [in the first movie], he’d become very interesting to the Predators and he had been taken and become one of them, essentially.”

Finch also went into plans for the sequel to Predators, the plot of which we exclusively revealed while chatting with Predators’ other co-screenwriter Alex Litvak during Episode #114 of our podcast. In this film, survivors Royce and Isabelle would band with a new resistance and eventually find themselves onboard a large Predator vessel in an attempt to get back to Earth.

“The only way to [escape] is to fight their way out, so they have to take control of the ship. It was gonna be in space and keep expanding the lore of the Predators in general and start establishing a clan structure … From the outside, they appear to be the same, but their attitudes and cultures are very different from the inside.”

 Predators Co-Screenwriter Michael Finch Talks Trilogy Plans

In entirely new information, Finch revealed that they were also working on a third film for this trilogy, one in which apparently our heroes took the fight to the Predator Homeworld:

“We never really got there, but we were thinking of modeling it on [ancient] Rome [with] gladiatorial combat, internecine warfare, native clans on the outside, and more established ones on the inside. Mostly, we wanted to show a civilization that was crumbling under its own weight a little bit. They had evolved so far… they’d conquered everything in a weird way and were sort of collapsing under their own weight.”

Returning to more ideas from earlier drafts of Predators, the Super Predator sub-species would be genetically augmenting themselves with the DNA of their prey. This concept would also eventually end up being central to the following film that did make it to the screen, The Predator.

“They pick and choose the baddest opponents that they can kind and if they’re worthy, they take their DNA, separate those things that make them dangerous, and implant them in their own DNA to improve themselves. The idea was that there had been a dramatic escalation in Predator evolution through science and that there were gonna be side effects of that. It’s be careful what you wish for in a sense.”

We reached out to co-screenwriter Alex Litvak who provided us with some additional insights on this third Predators film:

My recollection was unlike the sequel for which we had a definite plan and a strong vision. The third movie – if there ever was one – was much more fast and loose. Mike is right, we talked about maybe going to a Predator world, but that was it, as far as I recall.

A lot also hinged on what kind of sequel we did – Die Hard on the Predator ship with Adrien Brody and an Alien crossover at the end? The one set on Earth with a downed Predator ship and a new cast? So the third movie would have presumably followed whatever path we chose.

Finch also reflected on Predators not achieving the success they had hoped for with audiences, and praised the current direction of the franchise following Prey. Head over to SyFy to read their full interview.

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Comments: 22
  1. CANNON
    Agreed with you all, and lets stay away from predator home world stuff.

    Keep the mystery as that is Predator, keep us curious and keep us wanting more.

    Imo in regard to 'Predators' as a film there wasn't much they could have done to save it. Once the idea of super predators were pitched and green lit the movie was doomed and to top it off having RR directing, no thanks - again my opinion.
  2. Corporal Hicks
    Quote from: Mr.Turok on Jan 19, 2025, 09:32:20 PM
    Quote from: BigDaddyJohn on Jan 18, 2025, 12:23:23 PMMy god the Arnold idea is terrible.
    I don't understand why writers thought that Arnold's character would join up with a race who's one of those members had killed his crew and nearly killed him. It doesn't make sense character development wise at all. Predator Hunting Grounds direction in making him a dedicated Predator Hunter makes more sense above this concept.

    And through that dedication to hunting the Predators, becoming more like them by accident. I think that's a very interesting angle to take with Dutch (like they have gone that direction with Theta). I agree, him straight up joining the Predators doesn't feel as natural to me.

    QuoteI also don't stepping into the Predator Homeworld either. It's best to keep that secret and not reveal that deep dive of Predator society. There is a strength to keeping Predator society a mystery, or else it can be something that no one will be happy with.

    I'm not so sure how I feel about this one. Yeah, it does feel a little like the Space Jockey/Engineers in that regardless, there will always be people that are not going to like whatever direction is picked. It's just a straight-up fact.

    But small glimpses, like in AvPR, are tantalizing.

    QuoteThe "Die Hard in a Predator ship" concept is a lot more better. A unique setting, conflict, and even more into Super Predator lore that perhaps can even explain the whole "Dogs vs Wolves" concept that Nolan introduced in the earlier film.

    Yeah, this really does feel like something we missed out on. Would have been a wholly new situation for a Predator film, with some much open opportunities for deeper world-building.
  3. Mr.Turok
    Quote from: BigDaddyJohn on Jan 18, 2025, 12:23:23 PMMy god the Arnold idea is terrible.
    I don't understand why writers thought that Arnold's character would join up with a race who's one of those members had killed his crew and nearly killed him. It doesn't make sense character development wise at all. Predator Hunting Grounds direction in making him a dedicated Predator Hunter makes more sense above this concept.

    I also don't stepping into the Predator Homeworld either. It's best to keep that secret and not reveal that deep dive of Predator society. There is a strength to keeping Predator society a mystery, or else it can be something that no one will be happy with.

    The "Die Hard in a Predator ship" concept is a lot more better. A unique setting, conflict, and even more into Super Predator lore that perhaps can even explain the whole "Dogs vs Wolves" concept that Nolan introduced in the earlier film.
  4. Enjoy
    Predators would have Been more successful if FOX had given Nimrod the extra shooting time he wanted  and seeing the characters being kidnapped on earth would have been fun .
  5. Acid for Blood
    It's great that we're still getting some insight on Predators. I would have loved it at the time if the series had gone down these routes, if only for us to just finally get an actual sequel to a Predator film. But to be honest, despite The Predator 2018 running it all into the ground, I think the series is in a much stronger place now. So I'm looking forward to what 2025 has to offer.
  6. Corporal Hicks
    Yeah, there was an earlier version of Predators (the one that leaked) that had Arnold stepping out after the end of it.

    I think a Die Hard in a Predator ship could have been pretty interesting. It would have definitely been different! And I'd have loved to have seen that Lost Tribe aesthetic return.
  7. Valaquen
    I distinctly remember reading the script with Arnold at the end, stepping off a Predator ship with a cigar in his mouth. I passed it along to TheArnoldFans way back when.
  8. DarthJoker45
    On one hand, I would be very interested to see what these sequels have to offer especially if other alien species were being thrown in the mix. However, I just don't know how appealing an entire film would be if it was set on a Predator spaceship. There would need to be a hook in the third act to start a transition. Otherwise, it would become redundant.
  9. Highland
    Tbh - Kinda glad we got what we got with Prey and that line of thinking. The DNA stuff may have worked better in those types of movies since it was already introduced with the bad bloods.

    Cool to hear alternative versions though.
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