Every Cancelled ‘Predator’ Movie

by

Predator: Badlands is easily one of the top movies of 2025, and its positive reception from both audiences and critics suggests we’ll see several more films in the series soon. So far, nine Predator movies have been made, all focusing on battles between humans (or other creatures) and highly advanced aliens who hunt for sport. These aliens—called Predators in the films, but also known as Yautja, Skin Thieves, or Hish-Qu-Ten in expanded universe materials—are consistently portrayed as the most dangerous enemies the heroes face.

It’s surprising to learn that not all planned Predator movies were actually made. Several projects were canceled for different reasons – some were very close to happening, while others were just ideas being discussed. Even though they only existed as concepts, they all sounded promising, and it’s fun to imagine how those films might have turned out. While most of those ideas are likely gone for good, a few could potentially be developed into scripts for future Predator movies.

Here’s every canceled Predator movie, ranked by how close it was to getting made.

7
Untitled Predator Period Movie


20th Century Studios/Hulu

While making Predator 2, the writers, Jim and John Thomas, considered setting a Predator story in the past. The movie itself includes a clue to this idea: the Predator gives Mike Harrigan an old pistol marked with the name “Raphael Adolini 1715.” The Thomas brothers envisioned a story taking place when people only used early technology like steam engines and flintlock firearms.

It’s a really interesting thought to see a Predator hunt humans in a time before modern weapons. Instead of just relying on strength, the heroes would have to be much more creative to survive. The movie could powerfully show what life and conflict were like for people facing hardship during the early stages of industrialization, but who still fought back. And visually, it would be stunning – imagine battles taking place in factories, on pirate ships, or amidst revolutionary wars.

Unfortunately, the studio decided not to move forward with the project. This was partly because the movie Predator 2 wasn’t very successful. It only made $57 million at the box office, despite costing $35 million to make. As a result, Fox put the Predator series on hold. Although the new movie never happened, the idea lived on in a 1996 comic book called Predator: 1718, which told the story of the pistol and showed a Predator getting involved in a fight between a pirate and his crew. Director Dan Trachtenberg and producer Jhane Myers have said this comic, and the pistol itself, were inspirations for their film Prey, which takes place in 1719 with a Comanche background.

6
Vincenzo Natali’s ‘Predator’


20th Century Studios

I was so fascinated to learn that Vincenzo Natali, the director of Cube, actually pitched a Predator idea to 20th Century! He told Alien Vs. Predator Galaxy that he envisioned a really cool concept: aliens hunting humans… but on our planet. He and some incredibly talented concept artists, Amro Attia and Dan Milligan, even developed artwork and storyboards to bring his vision to life. It’s a shame the studio ultimately decided not to move forward with it, though – I would have loved to see that movie!

The idea of placing humans on an alien planet, vulnerable and hunted, felt original and exciting when it first emerged. The danger is amplified because these characters have no easy way to escape or turn the tables on their pursuers – they’re completely foreign to this world. This concept, reminiscent of classic survival-horror films like The Most Dangerous Game, is ideally suited for a new Predator movie. Early concept art from the director shows the potential for a visually impressive film.

Ultimately, the studio chose Robert Rodriguez’s Predators over Natali’s project. Rodriguez had been a long-time favorite, so the decision made business sense. Interestingly, Natali’s original idea, though never produced, shared a lot of similarities with Rodriguez’s film – both involved humans being hunted on another planet.

5
‘Predator 3’ (Dutch Returns)


20th Century Studios

Many fans were disappointed that Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn’t in Predator 2, so a third movie was planned to bring him back. The idea was that his character, Dutch, had secretly been working for a government group studying aliens and trying to control them, which explained why he’d disappeared from public view.

Bringing back the character Dutch would have significantly increased the franchise’s popularity. Paired with the right director, a movie featuring Dutch could have been a huge success, similar to Terminator 2: Judgement Day. This might have avoided the years of weaker films that followed. Although recent Predator movies have been well-received, the films from the 1990s and 2000s were often disappointing, a downturn that Dutch’s continued presence could have prevented.

A major reason Predator 3 was never filmed was a dispute over salary. By the early 1990s, Arnold Schwarzenegger was a very popular actor and asked for a significant raise. He also didn’t think the new script was strong enough. However, some ideas from the planned third film lived on. We see a government team researching Predator technology in the 2018 movie The Predator, and the Prey film expands on the history and culture of the Yautja, the Predator species.

4
Robert Rodriguez’s Untitled ‘Predator’ Sequel


20th Century Fox

Robert Rodriguez eventually got to produce Predators, but he’d been a fan of the original Predator for years and had a vision for a sequel much earlier in his career. He wrote a script that would have returned to the jungle setting of the first film, but on a larger scale – he wanted it to be similar to Aliens, expanding the story with more creatures and action after the original Alien movie.

Robert Rodriguez originally envisioned a unique film featuring both Super Predators and creatures that were a mix of human and Predator DNA. Early plans reportedly included intense, gladiator-like fights. However, the project ultimately became the movie Predators, which Rodriguez produced but didn’t direct. While Predators is a solid film, many feel it didn’t quite realize the full scope of Rodriguez’s initial vision.

Rodriguez explained to The Guardian that the special effects and filmmaking technology of the 1990s weren’t advanced enough to bring his idea to life. He decided to work on Desperado instead, which became a major hit. Fortunately, in 2009, Alex Young from Fox contacted Rodriguez about revisiting the original concept and potentially rebooting the franchise. Rodriguez was able to use his own production company, although the movie still had a relatively small budget.

3
‘Alien vs. Predator 3’


20th Century Fox

I recently learned some interesting tidbits about what the directors of AVP: Requiem, the Strause brothers, had planned for a potential third film. Apparently, they envisioned a sequel set far in the future, possibly on a human colony world or even the Predator’s home planet. The core idea was to put a Special Ops team on screen, but with a twist – they’d be armed with weapons built using reverse-engineered Predator technology. It sounded like it could have been a really cool direction to take the franchise!

Liam O’Donnell, while working as a visual consultant, wrote a story for a third film that would have filled in many gaps. It would have explained the decades of Weyland-Yutani’s secret military research into the Xenomorphs, the power struggles shown in the first Alien movie, and how humanity first encountered alien life. Importantly, the story was planned to be made relatively cheaply, so the studio likely wouldn’t have lost money even if the film hadn’t been a success.

The studio decided to stop working on the film for two key reasons. First, AVP: Requiem received very negative reviews, currently holding a score of just 12% on Rotten Tomatoes. Second, Ridley Scott wanted to go back to making Alien movies, and he eventually began working on Prometheus. While it took several years, Prometheus ended up being one of his most successful science fiction films.

2
‘Predators 2’ (Sequel to the 2010 Film)


20th Century Studios

According to Alex Litvak, a co-writer on the movie Predators, a sequel was planned that would have featured the returning characters Royce and Isabelle. He envisioned it as a story similar to Die Hard, but set aboard a Predator ship, with the heroes sneaking onto the ship and systematically eliminating the Predators.

Alex Litvak had ambitious ideas for the story, even including time travel in one draft. He envisioned the spaceship as a kind of alien menagerie, filled with various predatory creatures. The common assumption is that all predators act alike, but Litvak wanted to explore how drastically different their behaviors could be – so much so that it could spark a full-blown civil war among them. Ultimately, though, these ideas never made it into the final version. What held things back?

In early 2010, Robert Rodriguez shared that after making Predators, the studio asked him for ideas for a sequel. He explained they’d intentionally left some key plot elements unexplored in the first film, hoping to build on them in a follow-up. However, Michael Finch, who also wrote the film, said the studio changed its mind after Predators received mixed reviews. They decided a fresh reboot was a safer option.

1
‘The Hunt: Alien vs. Predator’


20th Century Fox

Peter Briggs originally wrote the screenplay for The Hunt in 1991, drawing heavily from the Alien vs. Predator comics published by Dark Horse. 20th Century Fox purchased the script and requested revisions to the story, which centered around a battle between two alien species on an alien planet, all observed with a sense of glee by humans.

The movie The Hunt didn’t quite live up to its potential, despite some creative ideas in the original script. It was supposed to feature exciting zero-gravity fight scenes – a fresh take on alien battles, which usually happen on solid ground. The Xenomorphs were also planned to have a unique biology, producing a resin substance from spines on their backs instead of through their mouths, and they were intended to infect hosts other than humans, like lemurs and rhinos.

The Alien vs. Predator Galaxy blog reported significant headway had been made, with Roland Emmerich set to direct. However, internal studio conflicts arose, as some executives worried combining the Alien and Predator franchises would weaken both. The project stalled further when Joe Roth, a key supporter of the crossover, left 20th Century Studios. To make matters worse, the second draft of the script was reportedly lost, hindering efforts to revive the initial concept.

Read More

2025-11-17 21:37