The Predator franchise has become a staple in the action horror genre, spawning animated spinoffs, short films, and crossovers. The franchise centers around themes of violence and warfare, touching on how they are viewed differently across various cultures.
Predator (1987)
Predator, directed by John McTiernan, is a sci-fi action horror film set in a Central American jungle. It was written by brothers Jim and John Thomas. The film stars actors Arnold Schwarzenegger as Dutch, the leader of a mercenary group, Elpidia Carrillo as Anna, a hostage of the mercenaries, Carl Weathers as Al Dillon, a CIA agent traveling with the mercenaries, Bill Duke as Mac Eliot, one of the mercenaries, Jesse Ventura as Blain Cooper, the heavy weapons man of the group, and Sonny Landham as Billy Sole, the tracker of the group. Kevin Peter Hall plays the Predator, with a voice provided by Peter Cullen.
After the mercenaries are deployed to the jungle to take down a group of guerrilla soldiers, they encounter the Predator, a humanoid alien with advanced technology and a cloaking device. The Predator slowly picks the men off one by one, only attacking if they have a weapon and detecting them through their body heat. The film serves as a slight deconstruction of typical 80s action films, as the typical action stars cast of the film encounter a creature they can’t solely kill with just guns and muscles.
Predator 2 (1990)
Predator 2, directed by Stephen Hopkins this time, is a sci-fi horror film set in a fictionalized 1997 Los Angeles, overridden with crime and a gang war fueled by drug-rampant criminals. It was again written by brothers Jim and John Thomas. The film stars Danny Glover as Lieutenant Mike Harrigan, an LAPD officer investigating the drug cartels, Gary Busy as Peter Keyes, a special agent attempting to capture the Predator, Maria Conchita Alonso as Detective Leona Cantrell, Bill Paxton as Detective Jerry Lambert, who recently transferred to Los Angeles, and Kevin Peter Hall reprising his role as the Predator, with voice acting provided by Hal Rayle for this film.
As the LAPD investigates a drug war between the Jamaican and Colombian cartels, Special Agent Peter Keyes enters the investigation, using it as a cover up to capture the Predator, who just attacked one of the Jamaican’s stash houses. The film adds a sense of spiritualism and culture to the Predators, as the ending gives the audience a glimpse at the Predator’s spaceship, showcasing the many trophies they took from humans and aliens alike. Among these trophies are a gun from 1719 and a Xenomorph skull from the Alien franchise. The spiritualism is explored through the character of King Willie, a spiritualist man who leads the Jamaican drug cartel, played by actor Calvin Lockhart.
Predators (2010)
Predators, directed by Nimrod Antal, is a sci-fi action film set on an alien planet controlled by the Predators. It was written by Alex Litvak and Michael Finch. The film stars Adrien Brody as Royce, a former veteran turned mercenary, Topher Grace as Edwin, a doctor, Alice Braga as Isabelle, a sniper from the IDF, Walton Goggins as Stans, a death row inmate, Oleg Taktarov as Nikolai, a Russian commando, Laurence Fishburne as Noland, a U.S. Army Air Cavalry soldier, Danny Trejo as Cuchillo, an enforcer for a Mexican drug cartel, Louis Ozawa Changchien as Hanzo, a Yakuza enforcer, and Mahershala Ali as Mombasa, a Revolutionary United Front death squad soldier.
Royce and the others wake up mid-air falling from the sky with parachutes on their backs. After reaching the ground and grouping together, they all discover that they are each somehow involved with violent activity, whether it be military or crime, except for Edwin, who is seemingly just a doctor. After walking through the jungle they landed in, they discover other creatures have been dropped in alongside them, which helps them discover that they are no longer on Earth. Encountering several Predators alongside the alien creatures, the group must fight for their lives whilst looking for a means to escape the planet.
The Predator (2018)
The Predator, directed and co-written by Shane Black, is a sci-fi action film set in the United States. It was also written by Shane Black and Fred Dekker. The film stars Boyd Holbrook as Quentin McKenna, an Army Ranger Captain who locates several Predators, Trevante Rhodes as Nebraska Williams, a former Marine officer who joins Quentin’s Predator hunt, Olivia Munn as Casey Brackett, an evolutionary biologist, Keegan-Michael Key as Coyle, a Marine veteran who helps Quentin, Sterling K. Brown as Will Traegar, a government agent tracking the Predators, and Jacob Tremblay as Rory McKenna, Quentin’s son with autism.
While on a rescue hostage mission, U.S. Army Ranger Quentin “Quinn” McKenna is attacked by a Predator, who crash lands on Earth in a ship. After subduing the Predator and taking its armor, he mails off segments of it to various locations in order to prove the existence of extraterrestrial life. Government agent Will Traegar kidnaps and interrogates Quinn alongside several others about the Predator, all while working with biologist Casey Brackett to study its body. The Predator manages to break out of the lab, going after its missing armor, which Quinn’s son Rory happens to be wearing as a Halloween costume. The group must stop the Predator and prevent it from reaching its ship, all while saving Rory in the process.
Prey (2022)
Prey, directed by Dan Trachtenberg, is a sci-fi horror action film set in the Great Plains in 1719. The screenplay was written by Patrick Aison, based on a story written by Aison and Trachtenberg. The film stars Amber Midthunder as Naru, a young Comanche warrior, Dakota Beavers as Taabe, Naru’s brother and a skilled hunter, Michelle Thrush as Aruka, Naru’s mother, and Dane DiLiegro as the Feral Predator. Bennett Taylor plays Captain Raphael Adolini, a character alluded to at the end of Predator 2.
Naru, a young healer woman for the Comanche people, wants to become a hunter. Alongside her dog Sarii, Naru attempts to hunt down and kill a lion. She manages to wound the lion, but ultimately fails in her efforts to fully kill it, having to be saved by her brother Taabe who goes on to become a war leader. After waking up from her injuries, Naru tries to convince the others that there was more than just a lion out there, having seen a snake skinned and ravaged. Going out to hunt again, she encounters a bear, who nearly manages to maul her until the Predator shows up. After being rescued by a group of Comanche, they are attacked by the Predator, and Naru gets stuck in a trap left by French colonizers. Working alongside her brother, who was also captured, Naru must save her dog, escape the colonizers, and take down the Predator.
Predator: Killer of Killers (2025)
Predator: Killer of Killers, directed by Dan Trachtenberg, is an animated sci-fi action film composed of an anthology of stories set within the universe. The screenplay was written by Micho Robert Rutare, based on a story written by Rutare and Trachtenberg. The film stars actors Lindsay LaVanchy as Ursa, a 9th century Scandinavian Viking hunter, Louis Ozawa Changchien as the dual roles of Kiyoshi and Kenji Kawakami, Kiyoshi a successful 17th century samurai and Kenji a disgraced shinobi, and Rick Gonzalez John J. Torres, a 20th century Latino mechanic drafted as a fighter pilot in World War Two.
The film is split up into four stories: The Shield, The Sword, The Bullet, and The Battle.
The Shield is set in 9th century Scandinavia, focusing on Viking warrior Ursa leading her son Anders alongside her clan to wipe out a Krivich tribe and their leader Zoran for killing Ursa’s father. Immediately after their ambush, a Predator shows up, attacking Ursa’s clan one by one. Anders is voiced by Damien Haas, an actor known for his voice acting roles alongside his work on the YouTube comedy channel Smosh. Ursa’s father Einar is voiced by Doug Cockle, most well known for his voice acting work as Geralt of Rivia in The Witcher video game franchise.
The Sword is set in 17th century Japan, focusing on brothers Kenji and Kiyoshi, the sons of a samurai warlord. When their father requests they duel to determine who succeeds him, Kenji refuses, being scarred by his brother and banished by his father for his disgrace. Kenji returns twenty years later to get revenge, unknowingly hunted by a Predator.
The Bullet is set in 1942, focusing on fighter pilot John J. Torres in the North African campaign of World War Two. Investigating a mysterious aircraft that destroyed another unit alongside his Captain “Vandy” Vandenburg, Torres finds a Predator ship. Torres and Vandy must work together to take down the Predator ship. Vandy is voiced by Michael Biehn, known for his work in James Cameron films like The Terminator and Aliens.
The Battle focuses on Torres, Kenji, and Ursa, who wake up from suspended animation on a desert planet alongside a Predator warlord. Together, the three must take down the warlord and attempt to escape the planet.
Predator: Badlands (2025)
Predator: Badlands, directed by Dan Trachtenberg, is a sci-fi action film set on the alien “death planet” Genna. The screenplay was written by Patrick Aison, based on a story written by Aison and Trachtenberg. The film stars actors Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi as Dek, a young Predator (known as the Yautja) who is an outcast, Reuben de Jong as Njohrr, Dek’s father and clan leader, Mike Homik as Kwei, Dek’s brother, and Elle Fanning in the dual roles of Thia and Tessa, two “sister” synthetic androids from the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, known from the Alien franchise.
Dek is sent by his brother Kwei to the death planet of Genna to hunt the Kalisk, an apex predator there. As he leaves, he watches his father Njohrr execute Kwei, unable to do anything to help him. Arriving on the planet, Dek must team up with the damaged Weyland-Yutani android Thia to hunt down the Kalisk, all while being hunted by Thia’s “sister” Tess and other Weyland-Yutani androids.
It is the first film in the franchise to truly dive deep into the Yautja culture, largely following one of their perspectives. It expands on the ideas of tribalism established in previous films like Predators and The Predator and further explores the franchise theme of violence, all while strengthening the crossover with the Alien franchise as established in Predator 2.
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