There have been plenty of fan theories regarding Predator (1987) over the years. From claims that the alien being is an intergalactic cop to the film being a parable about the AIDS crisis and even claims that the creatures are mutated Engineers from Prometheus, we’ve heard it all before. But a new Predator fan theory regarding the end of the first film actually makes a lot of sense.
Since the first appearance of the Predators in the 1987 movie of the same name, the Predator franchise has been a huge part of pop culture and sci-fi history. One of the many big mysteries of the franchise is the ending of the first movie, where the Predator speaks one of the few times, repeating some phrases that they have heard throughout the movie.
What the predator says has befuddled fans for ages as he repeats “What the hell are you?” before activating his self-destruct countdown, and then laughs maniacally while Arnold’s character Dutch runs and barely escapes the explosion.
One of the last scenes of the movie gives the impression that the Predator is being vindictive and trying to catch Dutch in the blast, but there are a few raised questions that were addressed in Reddit users’ fan theory.
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Reddit user Arch_Stanton posted his Predator fan theory to Reddit about a month ago, which now has over 1 thousand upvotes.
The user suggests that instead of being vindictive or intending to kill Dutch, the predator was trying to express mercy towards Dutch, the same way that Dutch had expressed mercy moments before. It is thought that the Predator is only able to use bits of language that they have observed from the prey they have been watching and would repeat what they were saying out of context.
Just moments prior, Dutch had dropped the rock that he had been holding intending to kill the Predator but decides to spare him. The Predator then sets the self-destruct and laughs maniacally, mirroring Billy’s laugh which is heard earlier in the movie as he tells Hawkins a vulgar joke, after which Hawkins walks away.
The fan theory suggests that the Predator associated the question “What the hell are you?” with the act of sparing an opponent and that laughing in that way was associated with the act of someone walking away from them. It’s possible that the Predator was trying to tell Dutch that he was sparing him and telling him to get away with the only bits of human language and knowledge it had at its disposal, before setting the timer for the bomb which would remove any trace of his alien body or equipment and prevent it from falling into the hands of humans.
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Others Agree with the Theory As Well
Reddit user SilverWolfIMHP76 replied to the theory and clarified it nicely:
“I like this and it helps explain the timer. If the Predator wanted Arnold’s character to be caught in the blast then why have a timer? We see the Predator activate the bomb it[s] logical it could have set it to go off whenever it wanted. The Predator set the bomb just long enough for Arnold to get away, something he would have figured out studying his prey. If he had set the timer longer Arnold would have been able to grab some of the Predator’s tech (an outcome the bomb is meant to avoid). Any shorter and Arnold would [have] been in the blast radius. So with those logical reasons, I agree with your theory. The Predator wanted Arnold’s character to survive.”
We know that the Predator race is an intelligent one, so it makes a lot of sense that they might have respected being met with an opponent that was a good match.
Of course, Predator isn’t the only franchise that is subject to fans theorising, so if you are curious about other theories, check out the r/FanTheories Reddit page.
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