Headcanon for the film Predator.
Occasionally I get ridiculous ideas. Here is one.
I don't usually think about fanfic and such, but I was recently reading an article on the upcoming reboot/remake/whatever of the film Predator, and I now have a new headcanon around the whole Predator universe.
So the basic idea of the film is that the alien is on earth as a kind of big-game hunter, killing off the various special-ops type people in Arnold Schwarzenegger's commando team, until Arnie defeats him in a final macho battle of man vs. monster.
And we basically are left to assume that the Predator comes from a race of warrior/hunter types that go around the galaxy spreading mayhem and killing off whatever prey they encounter.
But what if they're not? I mean, they're a technologically advanced society, right? What if this guy hunting humans on Earth is the exception? What if he is treated a lot like our society is starting to treat people who consider big-game hunting an acceptable form of entertainment?
Suppose whenever he lands his spaceship back on the Predator home planet, he's greeted by a bunch of animal-rights protesters. What if he attracts tons of negative attention on Predator social media every time he posts a picture of himself posing with a human skull/spine?
What if he has to defend his hobby to friends and family? It's traditional! And sporting! ("Sporting? You're using high-tech plasma weapons and an invisibility suit! What's sporting about that?" his liberal son-in-law asks.).
Besides, it's not like humans are an endangered species or anything! The planet is clearly overpopulated! And hunting is regulated these days! He had to pay a small fortune just to get a permit to hunt humans on Earth!
What if when Schwarzenegger does him in, people share the news article on the Predator version of Facebook with captions like "Big-game hunter gets exactly what he deserves when a human actually kills him!"?
What if it's become much more socially acceptable to engage in eco-tourism? There could be dozens of Predators visiting Earth at any given time, wearing their invisibility suits and taking photos of humans to upload onto Predator Instagram when they get home from their vacation.
Perhaps we of Earth can hope for the day when the only Predators who visit our planet will take only pictures and leave only footprints.
