Does Shane Black's The Predator Have a Post-Credits Scene?

CBR

Does The Predator Have a Post-Credits Scene?

By Kevin Melrose

Published Sep 13, 2018

Shane Black's The Predator expands the franchise's decades-old mythology, but does it also embrace modern techniques like the post-credits scene?

When Predator debuted in 1987, movie trilogies weren't exactly common, and the modern concept of a shared cinematic universe was still years away. And when the previous franchise installment, Predators, arrived in 2010, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was still in its infancy, and the revival of the post-credits scene a mere novelty. But director Shane Black's The Predator premieres this weekend in an entirely different Hollywood environment, in which studios lay the groundwork for sequels, prequels and spinoffs from the get-go.

With that in mind, audiences might wonder whether The Predator, which is so rooted in 1980s sci-fi action, embraces the zeitgeist by include some kind of post-credits stinger teasing a sequel.

After all, veteran producer John Davis has said he hopes this latest film will reinvigorate the 31-year-old franchise and lead to a full-blown trilogy, even if Black isn't yet willing to make such a commitment. “I would love to say we’ve been planning a trilogy, but I take one day at a time,” the director said in July. “In motion-picture terms, that’s one movie at a time.”

So, does The Predator include a post-credits scene? Alas, no, it does not, leaving moviegoers free to make their way out of the darkened theater as the credits roll, to catch the train, order an Uber or feed the Predator Hounds. Of course, that's not to say The Predator doesn't drop some (blood-soaked) clues to a potential sequel, or sequels; it's just that Black confines them to the film itself.

Although The Predator has been praised as the best installment of the franchise since the 1987 original, the film stands at a mere 36 percent on Rotten Tomatoes. CBR's Meg Downey dubbed The Predator an incomprehensible mess, with "absolutely abysmal visual effects." However, negative reviews aren't likely to keep the franchise faithful way from theaters; the film is on track for a domestic opening weekend of $30 million, which is expected to conquer the competition -- namely, the returning The Nun.

However, The Predator may yet be hampered by the arrival of Hurricane Florence, which has already caused the closing of theaters in South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia, and the controversy surrounding the removal of a scene after star Olivia Munn informed Fox that Black had cast his friend, a registered sex offender, in a minor role.

Directed by Shane Black from a script he wrote with Fred Dekker, The Predator stars Boyd Holbrook, Trevante Rhodes, Jacob Tremblay, Keegan-Michael Key, Olivia Munn, Thomas Jane, Alfie Allen and Sterling K. Brown. The film opens Friday nationwide.