We’ve known for a while now that The Predator underwent major changes in the build up to its release, with much of the third act reworked during reshoots as a response to negative test screening feedback.
Now we have some details on what could have been, with visual effects artist Yuri Everson revealing on Instagram that three different endings were shot – one of which apparently featured a guest appearance by Alien heroine Ellen Ripley!
“We shot 3 different endings for The Predator, all variations of a “Predator Killer,”” writes Everson. “This unused ending was Predator Killer Ripley wearing the breather mask we created for the film. You can see her name tag there on her costume. [Stuntwoman] Breanna Watkins played Ripley under the mask instead of Sigourney Weaver.”
SEE ALSO: The Predator Holiday Special stop-motion short released online
https://www.instagram.com/p/Br8g_c3lF8g/?utm_source=ig_embed
Quite how Ripley – who isn’t born until January 8th, 2092 – could appear in the present day is anyone’s guess, and so it’s probably for the best that this ended up on the cutting room floor. Still, let us know in the comments below if you’re disappointed that this didn’t make it into the final film.
UPDATE: Everson has now shared another post, revealing that one of the alternate endings featured another character from the Alien universe in Aliens’ Newt. Bizarrely, Newt would have appeared as an adult, despite the fact she wouldn’t be born for another 150 years, and died as a child at the start of Alien 3…
https://www.instagram.com/p/BsEMUUpFXWN/?utm_source=ig_embed
From the outer reaches of space to the small-town streets of suburbia, the hunt comes home in Shane Black’s explosive reinvention of the Predator series. Now, the universe’s most lethal hunters are stronger, smarter and deadlier than ever before, having genetically upgraded themselves with DNA from other species. When a young boy accidentally triggers their return to Earth, only a ragtag crew of ex-soldiers and a disgruntled science teacher can prevent the end of the human race.
The Predator features a cast that includes Boyd Holbrook (Logan), Trevante Rhodes (Moonlight), Thomas Jane (The Punisher), Augusto Aguilera (The Fifth Man), Jacob Tremblay (Room) Sterling K. Brown (This is Us, The People v. O.J. Simpson), Keegan-Michael Key (Key & Peele), Olivia Munn (X-Men: Apocalypse), Alfie Allen (Game of Thrones), Yvonne Strahovski (Chuck) and Jake Busey (From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series).
