About Predator (1987)
Predator is a 1987 American science fiction action film directed by John McTiernan and written by brothers Jim and John Thomas. Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as Dutch Schaefer, the leader of an elite paramilitary rescue team on a mission to save hostages in guerrilla-held territory in a Central American rainforest, who encounter the deadly Predator (Kevin Peter Hall), a skilled, technologically advanced extraterrestrial who stalks and hunts them down. Carl Weathers, Elpidia Carrillo, Bill Duke, Richard Chaves, Jesse Ventura, Sonny Landham, and Shane Black are supporting co-stars. Predator was written in 1984 with the working title of Hunter. Filming ran from March to June 1986 with creature effects devised by Stan Winston and a budget of around $15 million.
20th Century Fox released the film on June 12, 1987, in the United States, and it grossed $98 million worldwide. Initial reviews were mixed, but the film has since been considered a classic of the action and science fiction genres and one of the best films of the 1980s, and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. The success of Predator launched a media franchise of films, novels, comic books, video games, and toys. It spawned four additional films: Predator 2 (1990), Predators (2010), The Predator (2018), and  Prey (2022). A crossover with the Alien franchise produced the Alien vs. Predator films Alien vs. Predator (2004) and Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007).
Schaefer would return in the video games Alien vs. Predator (1994) and Predator: Hunting Grounds (2020), with Schwarzenegger reprising his role in the latter. The success of Predator led 20th Century Fox to finance the three direct sequels over the next thirty-one years, each by different directors, starting with Predator 2 released in 1990. The second sequel, Predators, was released in 2010. A fourth film, The Predator, released in 2018, is set between the events of Predator 2 and Predators. A prequel, Prey, was released in 2022 as a Hulu original film.