Before it landed in theaters, The Predator underwent a number of changes, not only in its development but also by undergoing reshoots that revised its ending. Over on Instagram, one of the artists responsible for bringing the film to life shared images of an unused alternate ending which would have depicted a grown-up Newt from Aliens.
Yuri Everson shared photos of the alternate ending, detailing, “We shot 3 different endings for The Predator, all variations of a ‘Predator Killer.’ This unused ending was Predator Killer Newt aka Rebecca Jordan wearing the breather mask we created for the film. You can see her name there on the monitors. Breanna Watkins played Newt. The moving ‘fingers’ and ‘tail’ on the mask were deemed too facehugger-like on the day and were cut and removed by someone.”
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The character of Newt was introduced in Aliens as the only survivor of a colonist community, taking to the shadows to avoid detection by the xenomorphs. The young character altered the dynamic of the narrative, not only by proving even a young child could hide from the creatures, but also by allowing Sigourney Weaver’s Ellen Ripley an opportunity to show off her more protective side.
Despite fans enjoying Newt’s involvement in the film, she was killed before the events of Alien 3.
Thanks to the two Alien vs. Predator movies, audiences are aware that the sci-fi franchises exist in the same universe. While various installments in each franchise have featured subtle nods to one another, the biggest connections have come from the films in which the titular creatures face off against one another.
One possible reason that this ending was scrapped, much like another ending that featured references to Ripley, is that The Predator was meant to revive the Predator franchise and, by leaning too heavily into its Alien connections, these endings might have distracted from the film’s narrative.
Taking in $160 million worldwide and earning 33 percent positive reviews on aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes, it looks like the final product failed to bring the series back to life in a substantial way.
The Predator is out now on Blu-ray and DVD.
Do you wish Newt was featured in The Predator? Let us know in the comments below or hit up @TheWolfman on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!
