The Original Predator Writers Are Suing Disney: Here’s Why

It’s about to be a battle worthy of being called a knockdown, drag-out fight not unlike what took place in the first Aliens vs. Predator movie when things really became good for a minute or so since Jim and John Thomas, the original screenwriters for the movie Predator, are taking action to sue Disney for the sole rights to the property, and one can easily guess that Disney isn’t having it, since the Predator franchise could be worth a lot of money if someone could finally discover a way to right the ship and make something that people won’t criticize to death. Well, that might still happen, but the Thomas’s are set to do what it might take in order to take control of the Predator franchise in order to not only wrest it from Disney but likely find the right bidder that can do something it and possibly bring back the idea that the Predator franchise is worth saving. As many fans already know, the past two or three installments to the franchise haven’t exactly been winning when it comes to the fans or the critics, but there are plenty of diehards that are willing to see more since the idea is still sound. Many think of what Disney might do to the franchise and can’t help but shudder since the fact is that the Mouse House already has a less than stellar track record, despite box office numbers, when it comes re-imagining a franchise.

Three decades ago, a little over actually, the original Predator turned a lot of heads since it was something that hadn’t been seen before and easily became one of the greatest action movies ever made since it pits a bunch of muscle-bound warriors against a single enemy that had a huge advantage and a penchant for sport-hunting. This type of story had never really been seen in this fashion before, and on top of that such names as Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, and Jesse Ventura only made things even more appealing since all three were known for being among the roughest and tough individuals in the movies. Even better was the fact that the creature in the movie was able to move through all three men in such a fashion that it looked almost easy, which made the alien that much more intimidating since the Marines sent after the xenomorphs in Aliens were able to take the creatures down with superior firepower and not much else, but Arnold and his men only wounded the predator before leveling an entire area of forest in an attempt to finish it off. The Predator franchise has been one that has shown a definite difference in alien-driven movies since the predator’s own personal code is baffling, as is the thought that there are different types among them, and that they aren’t as evil as they appear at all times.

The actions that they take would argue otherwise since beheading someone feels kind of personal. But the fact is that they’re hunters that take trophies, and while it’s kind of a deplorable act in the eyes of many people, it’s also a part of their culture, which is focused heavily on proving themselves as great warriors. Initially, it was easy to think of the creature as evil and that it was cut and dried because it was going after humans. But as the creatures have evolved over the course of the movies that have been released it’s become a little too easy to see that while they have no real love for humanity, the predators are in some way a little more complex than people thought to begin with. But the hope that Disney would treat the franchise as people are expecting isn’t really bound to be something that fans are going to want to see since let’s face it, the Predator movies have been rather violent and filled with blood and guts over the course of the years, and while they’re not quite as bloody as they could be, this isn’t exactly something that people can see the Disney of today being associated with, meaning that if Disney somehow manages to keep the franchise it’s likely that they’ll drive it into the ground for another bit of profit. But if the Thomas’ manage to gain control of the franchise it could hopefully be shopped out to other studios that might be able and willing to do something with it that would bring the Predator movies back to prominence.

In all fairness, Predator 1 and 2 were great movies for their own reasons, while Predators wasn’t too bad either. But The Predator, the most recent movie, felt a little flat, as though it needed something to pep it up just a bit. Hopefully once this matter is settled the future of the Predator will be brighter than it’s been as of late.