The Predator co-star Jake Busey reveals a fun easter egg linking the movie to Predator 2 was cut. There was a lot of excitement when Shane Black (The Nice Guys) signed on for The Predator. Black made his name as the screenwriter behind witty, action-packed movies like Lethal Weapon and The Last Boy Scout. He later became a director himself and is best known for helming 2013’s Iron Man 3. Black coming on to The Predator promised it would have that 1980’s flair - and it didn’t hurt he actually appeared in the original movie back in 1987 either.

Unfortunately, the final version of The Predator proved to be a disappointment. Following test screenings, the studio and filmmakers opted to ditch the original final act, which featured a major battle against hybrid alien creatures. Instead, the reshot finale featured the heroes being hunted in a dark forest, in a more traditional stalking sequence. Despite this, the movie felt compromised, with choppy editing often spoiling the fun. The movie still contained Black’s trademark talent for great character and dialogue, but the final cut felt rushed.

While the movie was initially thought to be a complete reboot, it soon emerged The Predator would link to the original films. This was made particularly explicit when Jake Busey was hired to play Sean Keyes, the son of Peter Keyes from Predator 2, who was played by his father Gary Busey. The undeniable resemblance between the two actors made it hard to miss for fans, but Jake Busey recently revealed to MEAWW (via AVP Galaxy) a moment where Casey (Olivia Munn) looked at a picture of Peter Keyes and makes the paternal connection was cut.

It was the moment in the lab when she looks at the picture of my dad, as Peter Keyes, and then looks up at me, and gets this look of recognition on her face. The audience would have gotten to see my dad and me in the same frame and the tongue in cheek aspect of it, that both of us were of the same age when we filmed the Predator movies. A timeline would be established for the fans who would've been glad that my dad's character was back. I was really excited. The reason why they cut it all out is because they did not understand how cool it was.

Busey is referring to the studio in his last comment. The Predator contained a surprising amount of references to Predator 2, with Project Stargazer having grown out of Peter Keyes' operation from that entry. While this scene wouldn’t have been essential to the plot, it would have been a nice easter egg tying the two movies together even more.

It was recently revealed a couple of alternate endings were shot for The Predator, which would have tied the movie to the Alien series. One ending featured the mysterious Predator pod opening to reveal Ellen Ripley, whose face is covered with a Facehugger-style breathing mask, while the other revealed an adult version of Aliens' Newt. These two endings were shot side by side with the final scene that was ultimately used, where the pod opens to reveal Predator Killer armor being gifted to humanity for an upcoming war.

It seems unlikely an alternate or extended cut featuring the myriad deleted scenes will appear, and while The Predator is likely to become a cult movie in the years again, a direct sequel probably won’t happen.