POTD: 'The Predator' Has An Easter Egg Referencing JCVD's Original Role As The Predator

The Predator is available on home video, which means fans are starting to notice certain details they missed the first time around. One of those details includes an Easter egg referencing Jean-Claude Van Damme's original involvement in the movie as the film's titular jungle stalking creature.

That's right, the legendary JCVD was originally the man who was meant to be in the creature suit as the titular alien hunter in Predator, but the creature design ended up being drastically changed after the suit ended up looking positively terrible. We know that because of behind the scenes footage revealed the original suits used on set, and one of those suits used for visual effects reference ended up as a The Predator Easter egg.

First of all, here's an explanation about Jean-Claude Van Damme's original role in Predator:

Steve Johnson, who appears in the above video, was the make-up effects supervisor for Boss Films at the time, and he was responsible for the Predator in the movie. He explains how JCVD ended up being disappointed in his role in the movie, which ultimately led to his departure from the project:

"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."

One of the suits was this skin tight red suit that looked more like a giant lobster. It was bright red in order to contrast with the green of the jungle so visual effects could create the cloaking effect easily. And that's the suit that was used for an Easter egg in The Predator, as confirmed by cinematographer Larry Fong:

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

So when you're watching the Halloween scene with Jacob Tremblay trick-or-treating in the Predator's helmet and gauntlet, keep an eye out for Jean-Claude Van Damme's red lobster version of the creature. Maybe enjoy it while having some of that new Predator bourbon whiskey available for pre-order right now.