# Predator Predator is the science fiction and horror franchise built around a dreadlocked alien trophy hunter, launched by the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger film and expanded across sequels, Alien crossovers, and a Comanche-era prequel. Its Yautja design became one of the most cosplayed, remixed and fan-arted creatures in genre cinema, spawning subreddits, DeviantArt communities and Kickstarter fan films. ## Origin The first Predator opened in United States theaters on June 12, 1987, directed by John McTiernan and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as Dutch, the leader of a special forces team ambushed by an alien hunter in the Central American jungle[2]. It pulled in more than $59 million at the domestic box office and pushed the studio to greenlight a sequel[2]. Predator 2 followed in 1990 with Danny Glover leading a Los Angeles police hunt for the creature during a 1997 gang war[1]. After Predator 2 underperformed compared to the original, no theatrical follow-up appeared for roughly fifteen years[2]. - **Platform:** Theatrical film (viral fandom on YouTube, Reddit, DeviantArt) - **Creator:** John McTiernan (director) and Jim and John Thomas (writers) - **Date:** 1987 ## Overview The original film set the template the whole series still runs on: an invisible extraterrestrial hunter picking off human prey with thermal vision, wrist blades and a shoulder plasma cannon[1]. Sequels moved the fight out of the Central American jungle and into a near-future Los Angeles in Predator 2 (1990) starring Danny Glover[1], and later to an alien game preserve in Predators (2010). The mandibled Yautja design stayed close enough across films that fans could recognize the silhouette from a single frame. Online, Predator became a long-running fandom rather than a single meme format. DeviantArt hosts close to 700,000 pieces of Predator fan art, and dedicated communities on Reddit and Tumblr trade stills, cosplay, edits and crossover art with the Alien series[2]. Urban Dictionary even carries slang built from the first film, including 'pulling a predator', meaning to open fire wildly with a heavy weapon in the general direction of an unseen threat while your squad screams and curses around you[3]. ## How to Use Predator content online tends to fall into three lanes: cosplay and prop builds of the Yautja mask, thermal-vision or 'get to the choppa' edits pulled from the 1987 film, and crossover art pitting the hunter against Xenomorphs or other franchises. Fan videos on YouTube often recreate the invisibility shimmer effect using rotoscoping or After Effects and drop the creature into new settings, as the Kickstarter-funded Predator: Dark Ages did with medieval Templar knights[4]. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Predator? Predator is a science fiction and horror film franchise about an alien trophy hunter species, launched with the 1987 movie directed by John McTiernan and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger[2]. ### Where did Predator come from? The first film opened in United States theaters on June 12, 1987, made over $59 million domestically and spawned the sequel Predator 2 in 1990[2]. ### What does Predator mean? Beyond the films, 'predator' is used online as slang, including an Urban Dictionary entry describing 'pulling a predator', meaning firing a heavy weapon wildly in a jungle-style panic scene[3]. ### How do you use Predator? The fandom runs on cosplay of the Yautja mask, thermal-vision video edits and crossover art with the Alien series, plus fan films like the Kickstarter-funded Predator: Dark Ages (2015) that drop the hunter into new time periods[4]. ### Is Predator still popular? Yes, the franchise is still active: Prey (2022) directed by Dan Trachtenberg drew strong reviews on Hulu and its official trailer topped 8 million YouTube views inside two months[5]. ## References 1. [https://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=predator2.htm]() 2. [https://knowyourmeme.com/memes/predator]() 3. [https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Predator]() 4. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2hBYGwKh3I]() 5. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pLe_1SheJms]() --- Source: https://meme.com/memes/predator Published by meme.com — The Internet Meme Library