The following contains SPOILERS for the ending of The Predator.

Intended as the shot of rejuvenation the franchise needed, The Predator was always meant to end with a tease of what might be coming next, as humans open up a capsule that was left to them as a “gift” from the Fugitive Predator to help head off a reverse-terraforming event by his nastier kin. The way the opening was hyped, we thought maybe Arnold Schwarzenegger might be inside, or something else we’d instantly recognize from previous films. Instead, we got a battle suit that can turn a human into a powerful mecha-Predator. It looked cool, but in some ways it felt anti-climactic.

Now, via Bloody Disgusting and Instagram, artist Yuri Everson has revealed that a much more shocking surprise was planned, though the contortions it requires of the timeline might have proven more confusing than cool. An ending was shot in which the “Predator Killer” was not going to be a battle suit, but rather Alien series protagonist Ellen Ripley, wearing a Weyland Industries breathing mask. Stuntwoman Breanna Watkins was filmed in the pod as a stand-in for Sigourney Weaver, who was not involved.

 

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We shot 3 different endings for #thepredator, all variations of a “Predator Killer”. This unused ending was Predator Killer Ripley wearing the breather mask we created for the film. You can see her name tag there on her costume. Breanna Watkins played Ripley under the mask instead of Sigourney Weaver. The moving “fingers” and “tail” were deemed too facehugger-like on the day and were cut and removed by someone… ✂️ Sorry @jon_k_miller who headed up making the breather mask for us @thestudioadi with @saratheterra @ape5150 Zac Teller and Lord Garth but they made me do it! Michael Diner and his amazing Vancouver crew made the pod. All in no time flat. More #bts to follow…🎬🎥 #flashbackfriday #avpgalaxy

A post shared by Yuri Everson (@h2originals) on Dec 28, 2018 at 1:08pm PST

Considering the critical and audience response to The Predator was less than what was hoped for, it seems more likely that any future Predator movie will do its own thing rather than follow up directly. And Alien/Predator crossover movies have typically been the least-loved films in either franchise, so maybe it’s best this didn’t happen.

But if Predators have time travel (Ripley would be from the future of The Predator‘s timeline), that opens up a lot of fun possibilities. As of next year, the ball will be in Disney’s court.

Image: 20th Century Fox