1980s nostalgia is so in right now [1]. It was the age that ushered in the action blockbuster, so it seems pretty fitting that one of the most anticipated '80s throwbacks of 2018 is the next movie [2] in the Predator series, The Predator. The franchise, which revolves around invasions of Earth by the eponymous alien beings, had a pair of movies in the '80s and '90s, followed by a revival with 2010's Predators, all of which have enjoyed box office success.
The newest instalment [3] in the series is a next-gen take on the classic sci-fi [4] series. Including this film, there are a total of four films in the franchise so far (not counting the double-dose of sci-fi when the series had crossovers with the Alien franchise in the mid-2000s). If you need a refresher on the past films before the new one hits theatres, we've got you covered.
Predator
The original Predator, released in 1987, is the epitome of 1980s sci-fi action [5]: guns, grit, and a healthy helping of cheesiness. It's even got Arnold Schwarzenegger [6] in the lead role of Dutch, a retired Army major who is asked to lead a crack team to rescue a CIA official held hostage somewhere in Guatemala. When they get there, it turns out the mission was actually an intelligence-gathering one. They get much more than they bargained for when they encounter a dangerous alien creature that begins picking them off one by one, turning their mission into a fight for survival until Dutch finally defeats the creature.
Despite a mixed critical reaction at the time, the movie has become iconic over the years.
Predator 2
The next decade saw the release of this sequel in 1990, which brought back the original concept, but not the original cast. Instead, Danny Glover took the lead as Mike Harrigan, a LAPD officer whose investigation into drug cartels takes a turn for the extraterrestrial. After finding cartel members massacred by the Predator, Harrigan begins to dig deeper, despite being warned off by Special Agent Keyes (Gary Busey). Harrigan's investigation takes a turn for the violent, and Keyes loops him in so they can team up to try to take the Predator down — but it escapes to return another day [7] . . .
Predators
A gap of 20 years separates this 2010 sequel from its predecessor. Once again, the cast has completely changed, and so has the mission: we're not on Earth anymore. Adrien Brody [8] plays the lead role of Royce, yet another ex-soldier leading man as the series has come to expect, supported by Alice Braga's Israeli sniper Isabelle and Topher Grace [9]'s unsettling doctor Edwin, among others. The mismatched team discovers that, on this planet, Predators hunt humans for sport, and they attempt to exploit a rivalry between Predator groups to enact a plan to return to Earth. Of course, nothing goes to plan.
This film is also notable for being an early role of future Moonlight Oscar winner Mahershala Ali [10]
The Predator
This year's instalment returns us to Earth, where a young boy (Jacob Tremblay [11]) accidentally summons the long-dormant Predators back to Earth. His ex-Army Ranger father Quinn, played by Boyd Holbrook, has long since known of the Predators' existence, but has struggled to get anyone to believe him until now. These Predators, however, are nothing like the ones that came before: they've enhanced themselves with DNA from other alien species, and it'll be up to a ragtag team (one that also includes Olivia Munn, Keegan-Michael Key, and Sterling K. Brown [12]) to stop these new, super-dangerous creatures before they can wipe out humankind.
The new movie opens Sept. 14!