Editing Predator 2 (section)

==Production==
Once [[20th Century Fox]] approached ''Predator'' screenwriters [[Jim Thomas (screenwriter)|Jim]] and [[John Thomas (screenwriter)|John Thomas]] to write a sequel, they pitched six ideas, one of which was "putting the creature in an urban jungle", which the studio liked.<ref name="starlog">{{cite magazine|author=Shapiro|first=Marc|date=December 1990|title=Predator Season|url=https://archive.org/stream/starlog_magazine-161/161_djvu.txt|magazine=[[Starlog]]|issue=161}}</ref> The eventual setting was Los Angeles, blighted by gang warfare during a severe [[heat wave]], creating the ideal "hot spot" in which the Predator hunts targets. The script was then developed in just three weeks.<ref>{{cite AV media|people=Jim & John Thomas |year=2005  |at=Writers Commentary track|publisher=[[20th Century Fox]]|title='Predator 2 | medium=DVD}}</ref> A goal of the sequel was to expand on the Predator's origins and motives, showing the creature has been visiting the planet for centuries, is not psychopathic, but just interested in hunting, and exploring its spacecraft's interior.<ref name=starlog/>

Producer [[Joel Silver]] invited director [[Stephen Hopkins (director)|Stephen Hopkins]], who drew his interest while directing ''[[A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child]]''.<ref name=fangoria/> As Hopkins joined production before the screenplay was finished, he worked closely with the Thomases in the script revisions and storyboarding the sequences they had written. For the lead role of LAPD police officer Harrigan, Hopkins had originally envisioned [[Patrick Swayze]] playing the role, teaming up with a returning [[Arnold Schwarzenegger]], who starred as [[Dutch Schaefer|Dutch]] in the first film.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.joblo.com/horror-movies/news/predator-2-director-steven-seagal-was-desperate-to-star-in-the-1990-sequel|title=Predator 2 Director Says Steven Seagal Was Desperate to Star in the Sequel|last=Hamman|first=Cody|work=joblo.com|date=November 25, 2020|access-date=March 7, 2021}}</ref> Hopkins also met with [[Steven Seagal]] for the role; although the actor was interested in starring in the film and had his own ideas about the character, wanting to portray him as a [[CIA]] psychiatrist and martial arts expert, Hopkins ultimately decided against it, as he wanted the character to be an [[average Joe]] type.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://bloody-disgusting.com/movie/3642761/steven-seagal-nearly-starred-predator-2-heres-crazy-story/|title=Steven Seagal Nearly Starred in 'Predator 2'; Here's the Crazy Story!|last=Miska|first=Brad|author-link=Brad Miska|work=[[Bloody Disgusting]]|date=November 25, 2020|access-date=March 7, 2021}}</ref> Due to a dispute over salary, Schwarzenegger declined to return to the sequel,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.contactmusic.com/news/money-stopped-arnold-schwarzenegger-starring-in-predator-2_1224485|title=Arnold Schwarzenegger - Money Stopped Arnold Schwarzenegger Starring In Predator 2|author=<!-- Staff -->|work=[[Contactmusic.com]]|date=June 8, 2011|access-date=August 23, 2014}}</ref> and Silver brought in three actors he had worked with in ''[[Lethal Weapon]]'': [[Gary Busey]], [[Steve Kahan]], and [[Danny Glover]] in the role of Harrigan.<ref name="P2MO"/> Production was split between location shooting, mostly at night, and soundstage filming.<ref name=fangoria/>

The main Predator was designed to look more urban and [[Hip (slang)|hip]] than its predecessor. Design changes included tribal ornamentation on the forehead, which is steeper and shallower, brighter skin coloration, and a greater number of fangs.<ref name="Winston">{{cite book | author =  Jody Duncan & James Cameron| title = The Winston Effect: The Art and History of Stan Winston Studio | year = 2007 | page = 336 | publisher = Titan Books (US, CA) | isbn = 978-1-84576-150-9 }}</ref> Describing the new Predator's design, [[Stan Winston]] said, "Broad concept's the same. The difference is, this is a different individual. A different individual of the same species. As in a snake is a snake, but different snakes are different. Their colorings are different, different parts of their characteristics, their facial structures, subtle differences."<ref name="P2MO">{{cite video|title=The Making of Predator 2|medium=[[documentary film|Documentary]]|publisher=[[20th Century Fox]]|date=2005|location=''Predator 2'' special edition DVD}}</ref> Production designer Lawrence Paull said that with the Predator ship, he attempted "a space vehicle unlike anything that had ever been designed before", a snail-shaped vessel whose interior was "both technological and reptilian, where the creature and its ship blend and work together". Given the ''[[Alien (franchise)|Alien]]'' franchise is also by Fox with effects work by Winston, the crew added an [[Xenomorph]] head among the trophy skulls in the Predator ship.

''Predator 2'' is set ten years after the original, which was the then-future of 1997, leading to some developments like new video technology and a nonexistent subway in Los Angeles. (The [[Los Angeles Metro Rail]] started operating the same year as the film's release.) For the set design, Paul aimed for a "kind of retrograde future that's equal parts ''[[Brazil (1985 film)|Brazil]]'' and ''[[Blade Runner]]'' mixed in with modern-day technology", with "big and outrageous" structures but simpler prop design, such as boxy and colorless cars.<ref name=fangoria>{{cite journal|title=Predator 2 Stalks The Concrete Jungle|last=Shapiro|first=Marc|date=December 1990|issue=99|journal=[[Fangoria]]|url=https://archive.org/stream/Fangoria_099_c2c_1990_Predator_2_FemaleBikerSweat-DREGS/Fangoria_099_c2c_1990_Predator_2_FemaleBikerSweat-DREGS_djvu.txt}}</ref>

The MPAA initially gave ''Predator 2'' an NC-17 rating, so several cuts were made to bring it down to an R rating.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://screenrant.com/movies-originally-rated-x-nc-17-shocking/|title=15 Movies That Were Originally NC-17|last=Byrd|first=Matthew|date=August 14, 2017|website=[[Screen Rant]]|access-date=April 9, 2018|archive-date=April 9, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180409233705/https://screenrant.com/movies-originally-rated-x-nc-17-shocking/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Toward the end of filming, a short unofficial music video was made, with Danny Glover dancing with the Predator and others.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://movieweb.com/predator-2-outtake-danny-glover-dance-party/|title = Danny Glover Throws a Predator Dance Party in Wild Predator 2 Outtake|date = July 9, 2020}}</ref>