About
Predator is a science fiction/horror franchise which began in 1987 with the film Predator starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. [1] The franchise has since been adapted into several feature length films, comics,[2] and games,[3] often appearing alongside fellow science fiction/horor franchise, Alien, in various crossovers.
History
The original Predator was released in 1987, with it’s sequel, Predator 2 being released in 1990.[4] A third movie entitled Predators was released on July 7, 2010.[5] The franchise has appeared in various comics throughout the 90s and 2000s, most notably in the Alien vs. Predator comic series, and it’s spin-offs.[6] There have also been several games in the franchise, most notably Predator: Concrete Jungle.[7]
Online Relevance
Predator has a sizable following online on several sites. On Tumblr there are various posts tagged to the franchise,[8] as well as several blogs dedicated to Predator.[9][10][11][12] On Reddit this is a dedicated subreddit to Predator[13] as well as to Alien vs. Predator[14]. On DeviantArt there are nearly 700,000 pieces of fanart for Predator,[15] as well as several groups and accounts dedicated to the franchise.[16][17][18]
Fan Films
For many years there have been fan made films that are centered around the Predator mythos. An early example of this was a fan-made film entitled Batman: Dead End in which The Dark Knight faces off against both an Alien and a Predator. The film was initially shown on July 19, 2003 at the San Diego Comic-Con[19], and was released onto the creator’s personal website not long after. However the site has since been apparently abandoned and the film is no longer available there. The film has been uploaded many times to YouTube (for example: the one shown below).
One of the earliest instances of these films on YouTube is called “PREDATOR 3 fan film Corto gore caspa friki” uploaded by YouTuber paco culebra on May 6, 2006 (shown below left). On June 1, 2007, YouTuber murphy38 uploaded a video called “ROBOCOP VS PREDATOR. Work in progress” (shown below right).
Several of these fan films pit the Predator monster against characters from other well known franchises. On July 14, 2012 YouTuber freakinrad uploaded a video titled “Halo vs. Predator” which has over 4 million views as of June 2015 (shown below left). On August 14, 2013 YouTuber batinthesun uploaded a video entitled “WOLVERINE vs PREDATOR” as part of their Super Power Beat Down series (shown below right). As of June 2015 the video has nearly 13 million views, making it the most viewed Predator fan film to date.
Om June 29, 2014, a Kickstarter page for a film entitled Predator: Dark Ages was launched.[20] The Kickstarter reached it’s goal on August 8, 2014. The film was released on YouTube on May 25, 2015 (shown below). The film was reported upon by sites such as blastr,[21] TheWrap,[22] and ComicBook.com.[23]
Search Interest
External References
[3]Wikipedia – List of Alien, Predator and Alien vs. Predator games
[4]Wikipedia – Predator 2
[6]Wikipedia – Aliens Versus Predator
[7]Wikipedia – Predator Concrete Jungle
[8]Tumblr – Posts tagged ‘Predator’
[9]Tumblr – Aliens and Predators
[10]Tumblr – Everyday Predator
[11]Tumblr – Fuck Yeah Predator
[12]Tumblr – Ask Suni the Predator
[13]Reddit – r/Predator
[15]DeviantArt – Search results for ‘Predator’
[16]DeviantArt – The-Predator-Club
[17]DeviantArt – predator-fan-art
[18]DeviantArt – Predator-fan-club
[19]Wikipedia – Batman: Dead End
[20]Kickstarter – Predator Dark Ages
[21]blastr – A Predator hunts down medieval knights in this insanely cool fan film
[22]TheWrap – ‘Predator: Dark Ages’ Imagines the Alien Hunter Wreaking Havoc in the Middle Ages
[23]ComicBook.com – Predator: Dark Ages Fan Film Pits Predator Against Templar Knights