(VIDEO) Jean Claude Van Damme In Predator (1987)

You’re probably already aware that Jean Claude Van Damme was originally cast as the Predator in the original movie.  This was before Stan Winston got around to designing the alien (with a little input from James Cameron) and the thing looked like a giant lobster.

This week the Stan Winston School has uploaded a clip with special effects guru Steve Johnson, where he discusses Van Damme’s performance in the movie and how pissed he was.  You can see Van Damme running around in that hideous suit too.

Also if you check out the Predator Special Editions you can see more footage from this and hear John McTiernan talk about the suit itself.  McTiernan famously filmed footage of the lobster Predator, fully knowing that it looked like shit, then sent it to Fox to scare them into redesigning the Predator.  It worked.

Whether Van Damme quit or was released due to the redesign is not 100% clear to me (can anyone confirm?), but I don’t think anyone would argue against Kevin Peter Hall being the perfect replacement.