Movies
“Die Hard On a Predator Ship”: ‘Predators’ Writer Explains His Plan for the Sequel That Didn’t Happen
Back in 2010, producer Robert Rodriguez and director Nimród Antal brought the franchise back to life with Predators, an action-packed sequel that takes place on an alien planet that’s been turned into a hunting grounds by the titular beasts. This alien game preserve is where the beasts test their skills, hunting not only humans but also creatures from other planets.
By the end of Predators, the only survivors are Adrien Brody‘s Royce and Alice Braga‘s Isabelle, and the film ends with the tease that their fight is far from over. But even if Predators made a respectable $127 million at the worldwide box office, a sequel never did follow in its wake. Instead, the franchise returned nearly a decade later with Shane Black’s The Predator.
[Related] It’s Time We Recognize That ‘Predators’ Was an Awesome Movie
Even if it never did happen, Predators co-writer Alex Litvak did nevertheless dream up a sequel storyline that he just laid out to our friends over at AvP Galaxy this week.
Litvak’s concept for Predators 2 would’ve brought Royce and Isabelle onto a Predator ship, forcing them to battle their way through the ship in what ends up being a Die Hard-type movie.
“At the end of Act One, Royce, Isabelle and their guys are captured by Super Predators – on purpose because they allow themselves to be captured – and are brought to their ship that they use to funnel people to this planet,” he explains. “There’s got to be some sort of big transport. So now you get to see this transport. So our guys breakout…and what the movie is is Die Hard on a Predator ship.”
Litvak continues, “The idea was now you break free and now you’re trying to take control of the ship with all of the Super Predators you have to fight there. And of course all the other shit that’s there…like the alien zoo on that ship… And get this…the last thing is why Drew [20th Century Fox] was like “wow, I love that idea!” At the end of the day we win, we get back to Earth, we land and we realise it’s the future! All along we thought this was happening now, but what if these guys have been on ice for 300 years? The hatch opens, and the Space [Colonial] Marines come in!”
Yes, Predators 2 would’ve once again brought the Alien and Predator franchises together, which was interestingly enough also almost attempted by Shane Black with The Predator.
Be sure to read the full chat over on AvP Galaxy for more.
Movies
‘Abigail’ on Track for a Better Opening Weekend Than Universal’s Previous Two Vampire Attempts
In the wake of Leigh Whannell’s Invisible Man back in 2020, Universal has been struggling to achieve further box office success with their Universal Monsters brand. Even in the early days of the pandemic, Invisible Man scared up $144 million at the worldwide box office, while last year’s Universal Monsters: Dracula movies The Last Voyage of the Demeter and Renfield didn’t even approach that number when you COMBINE their individual box office hauls.
The horror-comedy Renfield came along first in April 2023, ending its run with just $26 million. The period piece Last Voyage of the Demeter ended its own run with a mere $21 million.
But Universal is trying again with their ballerina vampire movie Abigail this weekend, the latest bloodbath directed by the filmmakers known as Radio Silence (Ready or Not, Scream).
Unlike Demeter and Renfield, the early reviews for Abigail are incredibly strong, with our own Meagan Navarro calling the film “savagely inventive in terms of its vampiric gore,” ultimately “offering a thrill ride with sharp, pointy teeth.” Read her full review here.
That early buzz – coupled with some excellent trailers – should drive Abigail to moderate box office success, the film already scaring up $1 million in Thursday previews last night. Variety notes that Abigail is currently on track to enjoy a $12 million – $15 million opening weekend, which would smash Renfield ($8 million) and Demeter’s ($6 million) opening weekends.
Working to Abigail‘s advantage is the film’s reported $28 million production budget, making it a more affordable box office bet for Universal than the two aforementioned movies.
Stay tuned for more box office reporting in the coming days.
In Abigail, “After a group of would-be criminals kidnap the 12-year-old ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure, all they have to do to collect a $50 million ransom is watch the girl overnight. In an isolated mansion, the captors start to dwindle, one by one, and they discover, to their mounting horror, that they’re locked inside with no normal little girl.”
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