Predator: Badlands Echoes The Story Of A Dennis Quaid And Louis Gossett Jr. Sci-Fi Classic

Dan Trachtenberg is the best thing to happen to the "Predator" franchise since John McTiernan. He revitalized 20th Century Studios' struggling, 38-year-old sci-fi series with the inventive "Prey," and followed that triumph with the animated hit "Predator: Killer of Killers," and the terrific "Predator: Badlands," the first installment to make the title creature a protagonist. He's hanging around for at least one more chapter, and fans couldn't be more excited.

While "Predator: Badlands" is yet another breath of fresh air for the franchise, genre fans of a certain age might've sensed a connection to an underseen 20th Century Fox sci-fi flick that pre-dates the hunter-alien series. So consider it an added benefit to the release of Trachtenberg's film that viewers might not be compelled to check out Wolfgang Petersen's "Enemy Mine."

Released in 1985 after a turbulent production (which we'll get into), "Enemy Mine" was itself an echo of Stanley Kramer's "The Defiant Ones," an action-drama about two escaped convicts (Sidney Poitier and Tony Curtis) who are forced to overcome racial hatred to keep each other alive. Written by Edward Khmara, Petersen's movie stars Dennis Quaid and Lou Gossett Jr. as galactic fighter pilots trying to blast each other out of the cosmos in the midst of an interplanetary war. Quaid is a human, while Gossett plays a combatant from the reptilian Drac race. They wind up shooting each other down, crash landing on a hostile planet where, if they're to survive, they'll have to cease hostilities and work together.

Sounds a bit like the deal Dek and Thia have to strike to weather the dangers of the death planet, no? The similarities don't end there (and I'm going to issue a spoiler alert here, as I'm about to ruin a huge plot twist from "Enemy Mine").

In "Enemy Mine," Gossett's character, Jeriba, is revealed to be with child, as the Dracs spawn via self-fertilization. Before dying in childbirth, Jeriba makes Quaid's Davidge promise not only to protect their offspring but also to ensure that they are returned to the Dracs' home planet. This rhymes with Dek and Thia looking after Bud after the death of their father, the Kalisk.

I've no idea if Trachtenberg was consciously riffing on the woefully underrated "Enemy Mine" when he wrote "Predator: Badlands," but it's nice to have an excuse to put this gem on sci-fi fans' radar — especially since it came very close to getting scrapped after a disastrous start to its production. Richard Loncraine, who'd directed the film version of Dennis Potter's "Brimstone and Treacle," shot on location in Iceland for several weeks with Quaid and Gossett, but was ultimately fired because the studio was concerned with delays and poor dailies. Fox had already spent $18 million on the movie, so they were, in poker parlance, pot committed at this point.

Fox turned to Petersen, who, despite not being a sci-fi fan, found value in the screenplay's themes. They paused production on "Enemy Mine" while Petersen finished up "The NeverEnding Story," and allowed the German filmmaker to build massive sets on a Munich soundstage. The budget soared, but Petersen aced the assignment. Alas, when it came time to release the movie on December 20, 1985, Fox had no idea how to sell it. They poured millions into a clumsy last-second marketing blitz, but the movie bombed. It wasn't until "Enemy Mine" hit the home entertainment window that people fell in love with it. If you've never seen it, treat yourself. It's a deeply moving, humanistic work of science fiction that'll leave you hopeful for a change in these rough times.