11 Things About The Predator Series That Make No Sense

Although never named in any entries of the franchise, the deadly aliens in the "Predator" series are a species called the Yautja (pronounced "Yah-OOT-Cha"). The films themselves do little to explain where they come from and what their civilization might be like. What little we know is based on seeing a few of them as intergalactic big-game trophy hunters, but is this true of their entire society? Is their civilization centered around the hunt? Or are the Predators we've seen pariahs, the Yautja equivalent to big-game trophy hunters like Walter Palmer, widely criticized for his participation in the controversial killing of both Cecil the lion and a protected ram in Mongolia?

In 2010's "Predators," Royce (Adrien Brody) quotes Hemingway, "Certainly there is no hunting like the hunting of man and those who have hunted armed men long enough and liked it, never really care for anything else thereafter." Like us, he and other on-screen characters are speculating. Being literal aliens, we must assume their motivations and reasoning are also alien. That's a convenient excuse for the Yautja to behave any which way convenient to the story.

But audiences are human beings with human insights and perspectives, and we expect stories and what occurs in them to make some kind of sense to us. From that human perspective, there are definitely some things that make no sense in the Predator franchise.

Speaking of that ship explosion, in "Predator 2," Special Agent Peter Keyes (Gary Busey) describes the explosion from "Predator" as destroying an area of rainforest equivalent to 300 city blocks; a blast radius of something on the order of 1,000 meters. If the Predators blow themselves up to avoid revealing their presence on Earth, isn't flattening a two-kilometer circle counterproductive? Why such a giant blast? An uncontrolled (presumably) interstellar spaceship explosion taking out a large area, sure. But not a personal self-destruction.

One can argue the mushroom cloud seen at the end of the first film was the ship going up separate from its pilot, but even if that were the case, isn't a blast of that size likely to draw unwanted attention? Are the Yautja concerned about humanity at-large learning about their hunting trips? If so, flattening a two-kilometer area is a terrible way to avoid detection, especially when that ship is in a major urban environment, as in "Predator 2." One would assume the ship would auto-pilot into orbit before going kaboom, avoiding troubling questions

The Predator timeline covers centuries, and "Prey" Director Dan Trachtenberg wisely used that film's early 18th-century milieu to simplify the Predator's arsenal, yet maintained a delicate balance to make sure it still felt very advanced and very beyond earthly capability and ensured the "new" Predator weapons never made things easier for Naru (Amber Midthunder). But the series hasn't always gotten the balance right.

It's a given that Predators are big-game trophy hunters specifically focused on obtaining impressive specimens for display. We've seen they typically don't hunt defenseless or child-bearing humans. That provides at least a glimpse into what they believe constitutes good sports-thing-ship. Whatever governs that isn't what we — at least in our current culture — would consider ethical, especially injuring or killing those that aren't specifically their target. Their use of high-tech sensors is equivalent to the unsporting human hunting practice of "spotlighting," which uses artificial lights to hunt nocturnal animals.

Indeed, some weapons seem like overkill for mere hunting purposes, and a Yautja's use of force can be disproportionate to the prey in question, rather like hunting a rabbit with an elephant gun. It's one thing to use a shoulder cannon to take out Ol' Painless-wielding Blain. It's quite something else to use a homing weapon like the Smart Disk introduced in "Predator 2." Where's the skill in a weapon that can change course in flight? There isn't any.

Throughout the franchise, Yautja typically select prey based on a combination of factors such as strength, skill, and the thrill of the hunt. They appear drawn to formidable opponents, targeting armed individuals or groups who pose a challenge and ignoring the unarmed. In the first two films in the franchise, the Predators hunt in war zones, rural or urban. Among the best and worst Predator fan theories, one proposes that City Predator of "Predator 2" targets drug lords specifically to entice a more formidable prey into joining the hunt: the feds.

But 2010's "Predators" mucks this up. It's one thing to hang around in hotspots where you expect challenging prey to be, rather like going on safari, and quite another to select specific individuals for transport to a game preserve world. How did the Predators pick their prey? Where's their intel coming from? Are the Predators watching Action 5 News to know about criminals? Are they somehow accessing military and police records? And how are they capturing them? The effort seems disproportionate to the challenge.

Worse, some of their choices are inexplicable. Case in point: Stans played by Walton Goggins. Sure, he's a convicted serial killer, but that's just being evil, not necessarily a challenging opponent. Worse, he's dropped into the hunt armed with only a shiv. A shiv! How is that a challenge to the Super Predators? The only potential threat to them would be in melee combat, not using their signature ranged weapons. Bad form, Yautja.

An antagonist with inhuman perspectives is a double-edged sword narratively. The enigmatic nature of the Yautja maintains an air of mystery that keeps them from becoming stale, which is good, but conversely, it leaves their motivations unclear and confusing, which can be bad. The latter is the case with the Fugitive Predator, who crashes on Earth in "The Predator." 

At best, its behavior seems inconsistent and contradictory. It comes to Earth with a pod bearing the so-called Predator Killer suit. There's a suggestion that it's giving it to humanity to help them prepare for an imminent invasion of their common foe. The Upgraded Predator refers to the Fugitive as the "traitor," which certainly implies the latter was trying to get the Predator Killer to humanity.

But if that's the case, why is the Fugitive so quick to slaughter humans? One can understand it violently attacking its keepers in the Project Stargazer facility, especially if it expects to be experimented on or dissected. But otherwise, why isn't it attempting to communicate the threat and point the humans to the suit? Is it a case of the "Scorpion and the Frog" fable that teaches that some are incapable of acting against their instincts or true nature, even if it leads to their own demise? 

An alternate climactic battle was considered, in which the Fugitive would team up with the "Loonies," the film's main protagonists, but it was one of many scenes in the franchise that didn't make the cut.

"That's my new suit, bubba. I hope they got it in a 42 long."

That's whatQuinn McKenna (Boyd Holbrook) says after witnessing the contents of the Fugitive Predator's pod latch onto a hapless Project Stargazer scientist, pulling an Iron Man-esque suit-up by forming into a ridiculous-looking Yautja-like suit of armor bristling with weapons before inexplicably folding back up again.

But just what is this thing, and who was it invented for? Heads aside, non-Upgraded Yautja bodies are roughly analogous to human ones, and when the suit forms around the scientist, it clearly customizes itself to fit. So how certain can we be it was specifically designed for humans to wear?

Yes, Rory translated its description as "Predator Killer," which certainly suggests it was made for human use. But if Yautja like the Fugitive are in conflict with the Upgrades, why aren't they making these for themselves? Or is this a case of the Predators living by some code of honor that we don't understand? They're clearly outclassed, as proven by how effortlessly the Upgrade kills the Fugitive. Maybe they're making these for themselves and this particular one's being gifted to humans? Or maybe no one making the movie really thought it through. There were certainly a variety of options considered for the surprise ending and the contents of the pod.