Predator: Killer of Killers director Dan Trachtenberg has announced a new cut of the movie at San Diego Comic-Con. Our original review can be found here.
The original cut of Predator: Killer of Killers revealed that Naru, Amber Midthunder’s character from Prey, was being kept in suspended animation on the Yautja home world (Yautja is the stupid name someone invented for the Predator species).
But Naru wasn’t alone. The Predators had a huge warehouse full of everyone who had defeated one of their kind in battle over the years. I didn’t mention it in my review to avoid spoilers, but my initial thought was that the Predators can’t be too good if they’ve been beaten so much. An entire warehouse?
Given this revelation, it’s logical to conclude that both Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch (Predator) and Danny Glover’s Mike Harrigan (Predator 2) are also stuck in that warehouse somewhere. And now it has been confirmed.
Unhappy Endings
The extended epilogue confirms that both characters are being kept on ice. Arnold gave his blessing to use his likeness. Judging by that image, they needn’t have bothered because it doesn’t look like him at all. Harrigan looks better. Hopefully, they cut Danny Glover a check.
It seems they forgot about Royce, Adrian Brody’s character from Predators, and whoever survived The Predator (was it the autistic kid?). Maybe they’re not ‘canon’ or whatever.
I’m not sure how happy I am about this. From a story perspective, it makes little sense. How did the Predators find Dutch? Why did they gift Harrigan a pistol and send him on his way at the end of Predator 2 if kidnapping was their policy?
I love the end of Predator 2. When all hope seems lost and Harrigan is surrounded, the alien warriors show him respect and reward him with his freedom (and a cool gun). It’s an unexpected twist and gives depth to the creatures. They operate with a degree of honour. There’s no honour in this warehouse nonsense.
From a franchise perspective, it’s obviously a crude attempt to bring back classic characters and mine them for nostalgia. Fair enough, I suppose, that’s the world we live in now. But it’s depressing to imagine that this is Dutch’s fate after all he went through.
I’m pretty good at compartmentalising, so I will still be able to enjoy Predator and ignore this retconning. But for some, this development will rank alongside Alien 3 for retrospectively fucking over the previous films in the series.
