Updated July 29, 2021 15.2K votes 4.2K voters 388.9K views
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Vote up the Predator fan theories you think are true, and vote down the ones you think are not.
On the surface, the films in the Predator series are essentially retellings of Richard Connell’s The Most Dangerous Game. And if you think they’re simple tales of men fighting against nature, that’s fine. Many fans, however, aren’t afraid to look deeper in order to get to the choppa (and the allegorical meanings of Predator). There are actually a lot of levels to the film, and it wouldn't be outlandish to claim Predator is the best action movie ever made.
And, as with all things, if it bleeds you can write theories about it. These crazy Predator theories are both bananas and more-or-less on on par with the ideas we see play out in the franchise. As you’ll come to discover, you can kind of project anything onto a series of movies about dreadlocked space monsters coming to collect your skull as a trophy.
Predator fan theories don’t just touch on topics like the AIDs epidemic and the concept of masculinity (but, yes, they totally do that, too), they bring in other franchises, and even expand on the purpose of the aliens at the heart of the Predator series, the Yautjas. To read these Predator series fan theories, you need to remember all the bizarre moments in the five films, from how Dutch beat his alien foe, to how Danny Glover was an unlikely choice but did quite well against the city hunter. It's then you realize the Predator series is a tabula rasa, allowing any and all ideas to be applied. Just enjoy the ride, and get lost in a web of Predator movie theories.
The Predator Lets Dutch Escape On Purpose At The End Of The Movie
Photo: 20th Century Fox
Any Predator fan worth their salt remembers the original film ends with the Predator blowing himself up with an alien arm bomb. Rather than being a sore loser, however, he's actually applauding Dutch by killing himself.
Redditor ghostofyourmom says that because there's such an emphasis put on the Predator's countdown, it can only mean the alien is letting Dutch know what's up. And, rather than the laugh being a gesture meant to taunt Dutch, it's the only way the creature can tell his human adversary he's a worthy opponent.
1,954 votes
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927 VOTES
Super Predators Are Genetic Modifications Created By The Original Race
If you were one of the faithful people who watched the attempt at jump starting the franchise with 2010's Predators, then you remember the addition of the Super Predators. If you didn't, they are big ol' Yautjas wore bone masks and bullied their more diminutive cousins.
YouTube user Mr. H believes, and lays out in the video above, that in the 2018 follow up by Shane Black, the audience is going to find out that the Super Predators were created via genetic modifications by the old school Yautjas, who are now trying to keep their creations in check. Is that what's going to happen? Only time will tell.
927 votes
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1,186 VOTES
Dutch's Team Was Unknowingly Playing A Game
Photo: 20th Century Fox
In Predator, the men on Dutch's team are picked off one by one in deadly jungle warfare, but should they have been aware of what was going to happen to them? Redditor JimmyAJames believes so.
In the movie, Dutch and the gang are drawn to a downed helicopter, and they find a collection of skinned bodies hanging in the trees. But were those signs of bad luck to come, or an offering? In this theory, the idea is the Predator was inviting the special forces crew to play the most dangerous game. When Dutch and his boys killed everyone in the cartel, they messed up the game, and unwittingly became the prey of the creature.
1,186 votes
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978 VOTES
Prometheus Is A Sequel To The AVP Movies
Photo: 20th Century Fox
Even though Ridley Scott said he was ignoring the AVP movies in his prequels to Alien, it turns out the movies fit like a glove. Reddtor jinhush believes that the planet from Prometheus was originally used by the Yautja for hunting, and that it wasn't a military outpost at all.
They may even be lying in wait for members of the Prometheus crew to create a new species for them to hunt. And if you're wondering, this is the order in which you should watch the films: Predator, Predator 2, Alien vs Predator, Aliens vs Predator: Requiem, Predators, The Untitled Shane Black Predator Sequel, Prometheus, Alien: Covenant, Alien, Aliens, Alien 3, and Alien Resurrection.
You know, should you have the time.
978 votes
5
857 VOTES
The Predator Is In The Jungle Because He's An Outcast
A question that has plagued fans since the original Predator film: why was a member of the Yautja tribe (the Predator's race) on earth? Why go on a solo hunting expedition when it's so much more fun to crack an invisible cold one open with the boys and collect some skull necklaces?
Well, according to YouTuber Mr. H (you can watch his full theory in the video above), the creature we meet in the first film is actually an outcast from his society, who was forced to leave his homeworld for being dishonorable. That's why he's on earth all by his lonesome.
857 votes
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872 VOTES
Predator Is A Critique Of Traditional Masculinity
Photo: 20th Century Fox
Despite the ostensible celebration of manhood the film seems to espouse, there's a theory the original Predator critiques the very concept of masculinity in every frame. Not only are the characters total muscle daddies who have constant flexing matches (even though they are all very huge), but the phallic symbolism of the film is undeniable.
However, the portion of the film that's most critical of masculinity is when the killing begins. According to Redditor Bosola, each member of Dutch's crew is dispatched by the their foe in a way that's most devastating to their brand of masculinity (Hawkins jokes about his girlfriends lady parts are and the Predator creates a massive hole in his body, Blain famously claims he "Doesn't have time to bleed," and the Predator kills him with a cauterizing blast of plasma, etc.).
Depending on how you read the movie, Dutch is only able to defeat the creature by ditching his phallic weapons, or by harnessing the largest phallic metaphor he can find – in this case a giant tree – and smashing it into his foe.
