‘The Predator’ Had An Alternate Ending Involving ‘Alien’s Ripley

Many fans are divided on the Aliens Vs. Predator crossover series, though the idea of the ultimate hunters taking on the xenomorphs us a concept that people can get behind.

While the individual franchise films have stayed in their own lanes, the walls could have been smashed down in Shane Black’s The Predator. The film failed to impress critics and fans, but it almost included an ending that would have brought Alien‘s Ellen Ripley into the franchise in a major way.

According to visual effects artist and puppeteer Yuri Everson, three endings were shot for The Predator, and one would have included Sigourney Weaver’s character from the hit Alien franchise, with a different actor playing the role.

As Everson stated, this is but one of a few endings that Black planned for his film. The finished film showed the protagonist played by Boyd Holbrook finding “predator killer” armor, setting up a possible sequel where his character of Quinn McKenna could take the fight to the Predators themselves.

Another ending would have included a cameo from Arnold Schwarzenegger, who would reprise his role as Dutch Schaeffer from the first Predator movie. In that version, Dutch would come and recruit some of the main characters, possibly leading into a sequel where his character would play a bigger role.

Unfortunately, Schwarzenegger refused to appear in The Predator because he wasn’t a fan of the role.

“They asked me, and I read it, and I didn’t like it — whatever they offered,” Schwarzenegger said. “So I’m not going to do that, no. Except if there’s a chance that they rewrite it, or make it a more significant role. But the way it is now, no, I won’t do that.”

It seems like The Predator straddled the line between fan service and telling a compelling story, and ultimately fell short of both.

The film is now available on Blu-Ray, DVD, and Digital HD.