Production notes

In June 2014, Fox announced a sequel. Shane Black, who also starred as supporting character Rick Hawkins in Predator, directed, and co-wrote with Fred Dekker, while John Davis produced. Davis has said of the film that he thinks it is fresh and reimagines the franchise in a "different, interesting way". In February 2016, Black stated that the title of the new sequel would be The Predator. He has referred to the project as an event film which aims to elevate the Predator series: "It's an attempt to 'event-ise' the Predator again... [An attempt to] make it more mysterious." Black also expressed that the film would mark a return to the "intimate" scale of the original film and that the filmmakers hoped to achieve “the same sense of wonderment and newness that Close Encounters had when that came out.” The film is set in the present day and the titular character has upgraded armor. Black confirmed that the film takes place between the events of the second and third films. Jake Busey was cast as Sean Keyes, the son of Peter Keyes (a character who was portrayed by Busey's father Gary Busey in Predator 2). In February 2016, the studio revealed a teaser image of the film, confirming the title The Predator. Chief-executive-officer of 20th Century Fox Stacey Snider shared her thoughts on The Predator and Shane Black and Fred Dekker's script:

We've got a Predator film coming out that is unexpected and utterly fresh. I just imagined that it would take 500 hours to read the script—that it would be interior jungle, exterior more jungle and then fighting happens, but Emma [Watts] went out and recruited Shane Black. From the first page, it didn't read like a Predator film. It's set in suburbia. There's a little boy and his dad at the center of the action.

Arnold Schwarzenegger talked with Black about reprising his role as Dutch Schaefer from the first Predator film, but declined the cameo due to the short role. Rapper 50 Cent also spoke of the possibility of being involved in the film but ended up dropping out. By September 2016, Benicio del Toro had signed on to star. The following month, Boyd Holbrook replaced del Toro, who departed due to scheduling issues. In November 2016, Olivia Munn joined the cast. In January 2017, Trevante Rhodes, Keegan-Michael Key, Sterling K. Brown, Thomas Jane and Jacob Tremblay joined the cast. In February, Alfie Allen and Yvonne Strahovski were added. In March, the last main role was filled by Augusto Aguilera while Jake Busey was also cast in a supporting role. In March 2017, Edward James Olmos was cast as Sanchez, a military general.

Filming was scheduled to begin in February 2017 in Vancouver, British Columbia. On November 21, 2016, Larry Fong was confirmed hired as cinematographer for the film. Black announced that filming had begun on February 20, 2017. Additional photography in Vancouver took place in March 2018.

The visual effects were provided by MPC, Atomic Fiction, Raynault VFX, Rising Sun Pictures and Proof.

20th Century Fox had an early cut of the film screened to test audiences, in reaction to which the studio ordered the entire third act of the film undergo reshoots. During production in Vancouver in 2017, reports indicated that the set experienced low morale, and the film underwent multiple delays and reshoots. Black stated the original ending was deemed to be too complicated, so the ending was reshot become more streamlined, as well as to take place at night instead of during the day to make the Predator seem scarier. In August 2018, Olmos announced that his role had been cut from the final film, to reduce the film's running time, as his character was deemed not integral to the plot. According to Keegan-Michael Key, approximately three quarters of the script for the final act was rewritten. Exposition about the "Project Stargazer" military initiative studying the Predators was cut, while easter egg references to Predator (1987) and Predator 2 (1990) were added. Françoise Yip who had previously portrayed Mrs. Yutani in Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007) was cast to reprise her role, however her lines were cut and she was recredited "Tracking Supervisor". Taking place at a military base identified as Area 52, which had been established to defend Earth from Predators and armed with Predator technology, the original ending of The Predator featured the human characters working with two human allied "Emissary Predators" who had come to Earth to help humanity prepare for an alien invasion. The finale included a menagerie of hybrid Predator creatures created through DNA splicing experiments, including Spider Predators and other failed experiments, released by the Upgrade Predator and attacking a military convoy and resulting in multiple character deaths, and featured the human-allied Predators on an APC battling the mutant hybrids. The ending featured multiple limbed and tentacled Predator hybrids, which were defeated when the heroes activate self destruct collars. The sequence ended with the characters flying away in the Predator ship instead of it being blown up, before a subsequent fight at the Upgrade Predator's crashed spacecraft. Reshoots changed much of this, removing the friendly Predators and hybrids, altering key deaths, and moving the final showdown with the Upgrade Predator to instead take place in the woods at night. As the original finale of the film had the Predators "Ark" cargo pod containing the mutant hybrids, the contents of the container had to be reshot for the ending. Two alternate endings were filmed featuring actress Breanna Watkins portraying first the character Ellen Ripley then the character Newt from Aliens (1986), both of which had their faces hidden under facehugger like masks. These were substituted with the Predator Killer armour, an exo-suit designed to allow humans to fight Predators. Black and co-writer Fred Dekker noted that the film’s original screenplay attempted a complex blend of genres, but the production challenges caused by reshoots resulted in tonal inconsistencies in the script when combining elements of horror, action, comedy, and family melodrama. Black has expressed his desire for the original cut to be released on home video as an alternate directors cut.

The Predator grossed $51 million in the United States and Canada, and $109.5 million in other territories, for a total worldwide gross of $160.5 million, against a production budget of $88 million. It ranked the fourth-highest-grossing film behind Predators, the original Predator and Alien vs. Predator, at the domestic box office. In the United States and Canada, The Predator was released alongside White Boy Rick, A Simple Favor and Unbroken: Path to Redemption, and was projected to gross $25–32 million from 4,037 theaters in its opening weekend. It made $10.5 million on its first day, including $2.5 million from Thursday night previews. It went on to debut to $24 million, finishing first at the box office but marking a lower start than the 2010 film ($24.8 million). It dropped 65% in its second weekend to $8.7 million, finishing fourth. In its third weekend the film grossed $3.9 million, finishing eighth.

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 34% of 296 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.0/10. The website's consensus reads: "The Predator has violence and quips to spare, but its chaotically hollow action adds up to another missed opportunity for a franchise increasingly defined by disappointment." Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 48 out of 100, based on 49 critics, indicating "mixed or average" reviews. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of C+ on an A+ to F scale, those on PostTrak gave it a 66% positive score and a 55% "definite recommend", and social media monitor RelishMix noted there were "mixed reactions" about the film online. Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, Jordan Mintzer called the film "bigger, meaner, gorier, funnier" than previous installments, writing, "Whether the world actually needs [a sequel], and whether this reboot was necessary at all, is probably a question worth raising, but at least Black's take on it is to never take it too seriously while keeping us duly entertained." Brian Tallerico of RogerEbert.com praised the ensemble, pacing and Black's direction, writing, "Black is assisted greatly by an incredibly charismatic cast, and he knows how to use them to amplify their strengths." A. A. Dowd of The A.V. Club wrote "The Predator, which Black penned with Monster Squad co-writer and director Fred Dekker, makes a few concessions to modern blockbuster filmmaking, including an overabundance of CGI, a blatantly franchise-thirsty ending, and some winking references to the original. But the movie's values are more 1988 than 2018, and that's what makes it fun, at least in spurts: Black has captured the spirit of that bygone era of adrenaline-junkie junk without getting all retro-fussy about it." He graded the film a B−. In a negative review, Dennis Harvey of Variety called it "an exhaustingly energetic mess in which a coherent plot and credible characters aren't even on the cluttered menu". Writing for Nerdist, Katie Walsh called the film "messy, chaotic, and convoluted", adding that its "comedy and action are at war with each other. Characters spew rat-a-tat quips, while tussling with Predators and their pets, essentially neutralizing the effect of both the humor and the action." Jonathan Barkan, writing for Dread Central, gave the film two out of five stars, saying, "Poor story choices and strange, if not outright silly, character decisions result in an experience that will ultimately leave audiences feeling a great amount of 'meh'." Jim Vejvoda of IGN gave the film a 6.5 out of 10, saying, "The Predator does a lot right to reinvigorate the 31-year-old series. But everything crashes down during its frenzied, messy final act, a disappointing conclusion to what had largely been a fun romp up until that point."

In 2020, Boyd Holbrook looked back on the underperformance of The Predator and what he learned from the experience: "I just think the first one [Predator] caught lightning in a bottle [... and] with people wanting to do more, maybe you should just let a sleeping dog lie, sometimes." In 2022, director Shane Black blamed himself for the film's failure: “I’m not going to take the road of blaming anyone – including the studio – for a failed movie. We tried something different. In retrospect – talking of finger on the pulse – I guess we just didn’t have that finger.”

Director Shane Black hired his longtime friend Steven Wilder Striegel (known professionally as "Steve Wilder") for a minor, un-auditioned role in The Predator, in which his character repeatedly tries to flirt with Bracket (who rebuffs him), played by Olivia Munn. Wilder has been a registered felony sex offender since 2010, when he pleaded guilty to "enticing a minor by computer" after he attempted to lure a 14-year-old girl into a sexual relationship via email. A few days before picture lock on the film, Munn became aware of Wilder's history and approached Fox executives, insisting that the scene be removed. Black defended his casting decision and his friend, until later issuing a public apology and rescinding those comments during backlash. Fox released a statement saying that they were unaware of Wilder's status and confirming that the scene had been cut from the film. Co-star Sterling K. Brown tweeted in support of Munn, but initially, most other actors on the film remained silent, releasing statements after mounting public pressure. The Predator also suggests not only that autistic persons who exhibit savant qualities and other forms of neurodiversity are or were advantageous, but that they represent a forward step on the human evolutionary path. According to the scientific opinions reported by Syfy Wire, such a thesis would have some issues. A New York Post review ends by stating: "But worse is a plot line involving autism and a dubious scientific theory that will leave parents fuming." In a review for Uproxx, Emma Stefansky called the film's depiction of autism "maybe the worst thing I have seen in a film this year" and scolds the filmmakers for their depiction of these issues, especially the idea that "autism = really smart".