Even though we liked Shane Black’s The Predator a lot more than most others did, we did have some issues with it, and chief amongst them was the film’s ending, which attempted to set up a sequel on the dumbest possible grounds. We’ll preserve the surprise for this two-year-old film for those who haven’t seen it yet, but we will tell you the original plan for the ending. Apparently, Arnold Schwarzenegger was asked to reprise his role as Dutch, the muscle-bound badass from the first Predator, in the film’s final moments, and Arnold turned them down, perhaps with good reason. This would have been pretty fucking dope and, as soon as we found out about it, we were very depressed, contemplating what could have been.
But we have reason to hope once again: Apparently, Schwarzenegger will be reprising his role as Dutch in the first round of downloadable content for the new video game Predator: Hunting Grounds, an asymmetrical multiplayer shooter which dropped last month (“asymmetrical,” in this case, means that one person plays as the Predator, and four other players play a special forces team who have to fight him). Cue the celebrations!
We haven’t been able to play the game yet (Epic Store Exclusives, man), but everything we’ve seen from it shows that a bunch of hardcore nerds worked on this, and, as IllFonic CFO Jared Gerritzen put it in a post on the Official Playstation Blog, this was the thrill of a lifetime for the developers:
“Yes, Arnold Schwarzenegger has reprised one of my favorite roles from childhood for this game. The game that IllFonic has developed out of a love for the ’87 Predator. To say my inner child cannot be contained is putting it mildly. Yes, I got to meet him, and yes, I think I kept my cool. We got to spend a day in sunny California recording with Arnold. And before you ask, Arnold truly is one of the nicest people I have met in my lifetime.”
Schwarzenegger’s playing an older version of Dutch, and as such, the DLC will be split into two parts. The first is a free update for all players, which contains audio logs explaining exactly what happened to the character in the thirty-plus years after the events of the first Predator, and the second, a paid download, will let those who purchase it play as Dutch in matches and give them early access to two item — the QR5 “Hammerhead” Rifle and Dutch’s Knife.
Both Predator: Hunting Grounds updates will release on May 26, and man, we can’t wait to play this now.
Here’s how the character will look in the game:
