Predator is considered to be one of the best action movies of the 1980s and a film credited with helping cement Arnold Schwarzenegger's status as a bona fide star.
However, some fans of the sci-fi scarefest are seeing the movie in a whole new light after one eagle-eyed viewer highlighted an often-overlooked cameo at the end of the film.
In a post upvoted an impressive 47,000 times on Reddit, a cinephile writing under the screenname Majami1 pointed out something that many may not have noticed about the movie's conclusion.
Warning: spoilers for a film released in 1987 follow.
As Predator fans may recall, Schwarzenegger's character Major Alan "Dutch" Schaefer is the leader of an elite paramilitary unit dispatched to rescue hostages from an unspecified Central American rainforest.
Things soon go awry, however, when his team come into contact with a technologically advanced alien who begins picking them off, one by one. Later in the film, with his numbers dwindling, Schwarzenegger's Schaefer is heard to utter the now-immortal like "get to the choppa!"
Now regarded as something of a catchphrase for the Austrian American actor and former Republican governor of California, when his character does eventually defeat the titular Predator and escape to the helicopter waiting for him, he's greeted by what many don't realize is actually a familiar face.
As Majami1 explains: "The helicopter pilot seen at the end of Predator (1987) is Kevin Peter Hall, the actor who plays the Predator. John McTiernan [the director] gave him the brief on-screen role, because his 'work as Predator was so exhausting.'" The post can be viewed here.
A blink-and-you'll-miss-it appearance, Hall's cameo had fans seeing the ending to Predator in a hilarious new light.
"So the pilot was Predator the whole time?" GetsGold wrote. "Don't get to the choppa!" JTRuno chimed in with. "He both terrorized and saved the team at the same time," B1ishy also noted.
P***ydamage commented: "I love that Dutch wanted to 'get to the choppa' and when he finally does, the predator is flying it. Plot twist!" to which Matoeter quipped: "You mean pilot twist!!!"
This little bit of trivia blew some people's minds. "Just want to say thank you. By far one of the best movie facts I've seen on here," Black_Dog_Seranade wrote.
It comes after fans spotted a similar easter egg in another Schwarzenegger classic , The Terminator. An equally fascinating little detail was also found by fans rewatching The Lord of the Rings.
Hall's IMDb listing confirms he did play both the Predator and the helicopter pilot that rescues the team from the Predator. An immensely talented physical actor who stood tall at 7 feet, 2.5 inches, Hall was actually a late replacement for the then-unknown Jean-Claude Van Damme.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Van Damme was replaced after the studio decided to revamp the look of the Predator following a series of issues with the suit the Belgian actor was expected to wear.
Hall went on to reprise the role of the Predator in 1990's Predator 2 and is also remembered for playing the role of Harry the Bigfoot in both the film and TV versions of Harry and the Hendersons.
Sadly, Hall died from AIDS-related pneumonia in April 1991 after contracting HIV from a blood transfusion required during surgery for injuries sustained in a car accident. He was just 35.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Jack Beresford is a Newsweek Senior Internet Culture & Trends Reporter, based in London, UK. His focus is reporting on ... Read more
