The Predator Franchise Abandoned Its Original Gimmick (For The Better)
The Predator franchise abandoned a major staple of muscle-bound humans as its protagonists after the original Predator, and the series is better for it. The debut of the new Predator movie Prey is continuing the Predator series by taking the franchise back in time to the 18th century. While a first for the Predator films, the series has previously undergone other re-inventions.
Predator 2 moved the franchise's setting from the jungle into Los Angeles, while Predators took the hunt to another planet. Prey adds even more new elements in this regard, including with its Comanche protagonist Naru (Amber Midthunder). However, all of the Predator movies since the first 1987 outing had one thing in common: none have had a primary protagonist with the body of an in-his-prime Arnold Schwarzenegger.
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When Predator debuted in 1987, Schwarzenegger was in his heyday as an action hero. He also was not the only beefed-up protagonist of the film, leading a group of commandos that included Carl Weathers and Jesse Ventura. While this gimmick of pitting humans with bodybuilder physiques against the Predator worked for the original, the Predator franchise, in mixing scares and action with sci-fi, wisely recognized it as best being used as a one-off asset.
Predator took Arnold Schwarzenegger’s bodybuilder image and created a scenario where the situation was turned on him. With the much larger and stronger Predator (Kevin Peter Hall) as the film’s villain, Schwarzenegger’s Dutch was made to look like the underdog against a terrifying opponent. While an effective tool for suspense in Predator, its successors wisely recognized that it also could not be repeated to the same effect.
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