The Predator franchise has suffered through its fair share of ups and downs in the 35 years since Arnold Schwarzenegger and his buff brothers-in-arms first stepped into the jungle, but regardless of how inconsistently the series has been from a critical and commercial perspective, the titular aliens have remained one of the most iconic creatures in pop culture.
It doesn’t matter how you felt about Danny Glover getting sweaty on the streets of Los Angeles, Paul W.S. Anderson’s anemic Alien vs. Predator crossover, its egregiously awful sequel Requiem, the vastly underrated Predators that never got the sequel it deserved, Shane Black’s misjudged attempt at combining a sequel with a reboot, or the acclaimed Hulu prequel Prey; the intergalactic trophy hunters are instantly recognizable all over the world, even among those who haven’t seen a single Predator film.
Reflecting on the 35th anniversary of John McTiernan’s classic original in an interview with Variety, veteran producer John Davis gave his thoughts on why the mandibled maniacs have remained at the top end of the cultural totem pole for so long.
“The alien is an iconic creature. A comic monster, if you will. Monster movies get made again and again and again and again. Look how many Dracula movies have been made. Or the Wolf Man. I mean, you can go through these iconic monsters or creatures. Once you establish them, people know them, understand the mythology of them and want to see them again in different situations. And I think both Alien and Predator on the 20th Century Fox side are their most mythic monsters. These are 20th Century Fox’s most mythic creatures.”
While some purists may scoff at Predator and Alien being referred to in the same breath as Universal’s cabal of tragic Gothic monsters, let’s not forget the two sci-fi horror brands have been churning out new installments for a combined total of 78 years already, so their longevity and enduring popularity was secured a long time ago.
Published: Aug 16, 2022 03:03 am