It’s been 38 years since John McTiernan’s Predator (1987) dropped a sweaty, muscle-packed Arnold Schwarzenegger deep in the jungle and turned him into an alien’s worst nightmare. And all these years later, fans still consider the first film the gold standard of the franchise. After all, it did make $98.3 million at the box office off a $15 million budget, and jam-packed the film with one-liners you can still hear fans echoing today. “Get to the choppaaa!”
But the franchise never really gave Dutch, Arnold’s cigar-chomping character, a proper send-off or any closure at all. He just disappeared. No sequels. No small cameos. No post credit-scenes. Nothing. Now, thanks to Predator: Killer of Killers, the animated anthology film currently streaming on Hulu and Disney+, we finally have an idea why. And it’s both fascinating and kinda sad.
In Killer of Killers, we learn that humans who manage to kill a Predator aren’t just given a scouting badge and left alone. No, they’re abducted and forced into a brutal intergalactic Gladiator-style fight on the Yautja homeworld by Bad Bloods, more hostile and “mentally unstable” Predators who don’t follow the traditions of the species. Win a fight, move on. Lose and you become a trophy.
That means Dutch, who outsmarted and obliterated a Predator with mud, tree bark and booby traps, was likely taken by the Yautja for an elite-level deathmatch. Either he died fighting in that arena, or he survived and was cryogenically frozen for later. And if that’s the case, the door just creaked open for Arnold Schwarzenegger to return to the Predator franchise.
For years, fans asked: “Why is Arnold okay with doing five Terminator sequels, but not one more Predator?” Well, we know there was a salary dispute for Predator 2. Dutch was meant to team up with LAPD’s Mike Harrigan (Danny Glover’s role), and Patrick Swayze and Steven Seagal were reportedly circling the project, too. But after that, we never heard much about the character again (although he did show up in a few video games).
With fans excited about the franchise again, now might be the perfect time to bring Schwarzenegger back on board. Yes, he turns 78 this year, but while he might not be uzi-ing like it’s 1987, the idea of an aged Dutch, weathered and worn from years, or even decades, of alien combat, mentoring new human fighters or leading a rebellion off-world is blockbuster material.
We’ve seen other characters in the franchise get Yautja respect. Mike Harrigan got handed an antique pistol. Alexa “Lex” Woods got the Predator fist bump for helping take out an Alien Queen. But Killer of Killers proves that none of them are truly safe from the Predators.
If Predator: Killer of Killers is connecting all timelines (past, present, and future), then an older Dutch could be the glue that ties it all together.
RELATED: “What If a Predator Was Arnold?” — Killer of Killers Director Reveals The Film’s Unique Twist
Predator: Killer of Killers is currently streaming on Hulu and Disney+.
