THE PREDATOR Featured an Easter Egg That Referenced Jean-Claude Van Damme's Original PREDATOR Costume
I’ve got a fun little tidbit of information for you regarding an Easter egg that has been pointed out and confirmed for Shane Black’s The Predator.
This Easter egg is a reference to the original Predator test costume that Jean-Claude Van Damme wore when he was training and doing screen tests for the film. It’s pretty crazy to think that at one point JCVD almost actually played the Predator!
Anyway, the original Predator costume that JCVD wore was very different than the costume that ended up on the big screen. The screen test costume was pretty silly looking. If you need a refresher, here’s a video for you to watch:
When talking about the costume and what Van Damme thought about it, make-up effects supervisor Steve Johnson said:
“Jean-Claude comes in and we’re fitting him in this red suit and just assuming, like the slaves that we are, that the higher ups have told him exactly what’s going on. But he thought this was actually the real look of the monster in the movie, and he was, ‘I hate this. I hate this. I hate it. I look like a superhero.’ He was so angry.”
Now for The Predator‘s Easter egg! In the photo below, which was confirmed by cinematographer Larry Fong, you can see the giant lobster-looking alien costume in the Halloween trick-or-treating scene where Jacob Tremblay is out while wearing the Predator’s helmet.
Fun fact: a few of us were intent on having a JCVD Easter egg. Finally I called our costume designer Tish Monaghan and asked if she could make a little version for the halloween sequence. She nailed it! https://t.co/gSpqSwMeiR
— Larry Fong (@larryfong) December 27, 2018
Did you catch this little nod to JVCD the first time you watched the movie?