Alien vs. Predator - Complete VINTAGE Base Set (90 cards) - issued by Inkworks in 2004.
Alien vs. Predator (stylized as AVP: Alien vs. Predator) is a 2004 science fiction action film written and directed by Paul W. S. Anderson, and starring Sanaa Lathan, Raoul Bova, Lance Henriksen and Ewen Bremner. It is the first film installment of the Alien vs. Predator franchise, adapting a crossover bringing together the eponymous creatures of the Alien and Predator series, a concept which originated in a 1989 comic book. Anderson wrote the story together with the creators of the Alien franchise, Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett, and Anderson and Shane Salerno adapted the story into a screenplay. Their writing was influenced by Aztec mythology, the comic book series, and the writings of Erich von Däniken. In the film, scientists are caught in the crossfire of an ancient battle between Aliens and Predators as they attempt to escape a bygone pyramid.
Alien vs. Predator was theatrically released on 12 August 2004. It received generally negative reviews, with praise for its special effects and set design, but received criticism for its dialogue, the "fast-paced editing" during fight sequences, lighting, and its PG-13 rating. It grossed $177.4 million worldwide against a production budget of $60–70 million, and a sequel, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem,
In 2004, a satellite detects a mysterious heat bloom beneath Bouvetøya, an island about 1,000 mi (1,600 km) off the coast of Antarctica. Wealthy industrialist Charles Bishop Weyland (Lance Henriksen) discovers through thermal imaging that there is a pyramid buried 2,000 ft (610 m) beneath the ice. He attempts to claim it for his multinational communications company, Weyland Industries, a subsidiary of the Weyland Corporation, and assembles a team of experts to investigate. The team includes archaeologists, linguistic experts, drillers, mercenaries, and a guide named Alexa "Lex" Woods (Sanaa Lathan).
As a Predator ship reaches Earth's orbit, it fires an energy beam aimed at the pyramid site. When the team arrives at the abandoned whaling station above the heat source, they find a perfectly circular, unnatural tunnel running directly beneath the ice towards the pyramid. Weyland shows the team satellite images showing that the passage was not there 24 hours ago. The exploration team descend the tunnel and locate the mysterious pyramid and begin to explore it, soon finding evidence of a prehistoric civilization and what appears to be a sacrificial chamber filled with human skeletons. Inexplicably, all the skeletons appear to have ruptured rib cages.
Meanwhile, three Predators – Scar, Celtic and Chopper – arrive and kill the remaining team members on the surface. They make their way down to the pyramid and arrive just as the team unwittingly activates the structure and are trapped within it. The Alien Queen awakes from cryogenic stasis and begins to produce eggs. When the eggs hatch, several facehuggers attach themselves to humans trapped in the sacrificial chamber. Chestbursters emerge from the humans and quickly grow into adult Xenomorphs. Conflict erupts between the Predators, Xenomorphs, and humans, resulting in several deaths. Celtic and Chopper are killed by a Xenomorph, and Weyland buys Lex and Italian archaeologist Sebastian De Rosa (Raoul Bova) enough time to escape from Scar, giving his life in the process. The two witness Scar kill a facehugger and a Xenomorph with a shuriken before unmasking and marking himself with the blood of the facehugger. After Lex and Sebastian leave, another facehugger attaches itself to Scar due to him not wearing his mask.
Through translation of the pyramid's hieroglyphs, Lex and Sebastian learn that the Predators have been visiting Earth for thousands of years. It was they who taught early human civilizations how to build pyramids, and were worshipped as gods. Every 100 years they visit Earth to take part in a rite of passage by which several humans sacrifice themselves as hosts for the Xenomorphs, creating the "ultimate prey" for the Predators to hunt. As a fail-safe, if overwhelmed, the Predators would activate a self-destruct device to eliminate the Xenomorphs and themselves. The two deduce that this is why the current Predators are at the pyramid, and that the heat bloom was a ruse to attract humans to the site for the sole purpose of making new Xenomorphs to hunt.
Lex and Sebastian decide that the Predators must be allowed to succeed in their hunt so that the Xenomorphs do not escape to the surface. Sebastian is captured by a Xenomorph, leaving only Lex and Scar to fight the Xenomorph. Scar uses parts of a dead Xenomorph to fashion weapons for Lex and the two form an alliance. The Xenomorph Queen, using her own acidic blood, is freed from her restraints and, along with the other Xenomorphs, begins pursuing Lex and Scar. Just as they are about to escape, Scar detaches and uses a bomb in his wrist module to destroy the pyramid and the remaining Xenomorphs and eggs. Lex and Scar reach the surface, however the Xenomorph Queen has survived and continues chasing them. They defeat the Queen by hooking her chains to the whaling post's water tank and pushing it over a cliff, dragging her to the ocean floor. Scar, however, was stabbed by the Xenomorph Queen's tail and succumbs to his wounds.
A Predator ship uncloaks and several Predators appear. They retrieve their fallen comrade and an elder Predator presents Lex with one of their spear weapons as a gift. The other Predators recognize her skill as a warrior by the symbol that Scar burned on her cheek before he died, using alien blood. The Predators' spaceship flies off, leaving Lex behind. Lex walks over to a snowcat and leaves the area. The Predators leave Scar's body on a plinth in front of a window on the ship. Moments later, a Predalien chestburster with Alien and Predator traits erupts from Scar's chest, leading into the events of Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem.
Sanaa Lathan as Alexa "Lex" Woods, an experienced guide who spent several seasons exploring Arctic and Antarctic environments. Based on Machiko Noguchi.
Raoul Bova as Professor Sebastian De Rosa, an Italian archaeologist and member of the exploration team who is able to translate the pyramid's hieroglyphs.
Lance Henriksen as Charles Bishop Weyland, the billionaire head of Weyland Corporation and its subsidiary, Weyland Industries, who organizes the expedition.
Ewen Bremner as Dr. Graeme Miller, a Scottish chemical engineer, the main scientist of the exploration team.
Colin Salmon as Maxwell Stafford, assistant to Mr. Weyland and former British Special Forces officer.
Tommy Flanagan as Mark Verheiden, a member of the armed escort that accompanies the exploration team.
Carsten Norgaard as Rusten Quinn, head of the drilling team.
Joseph Rye as Joe Connors, a member of the armed escort that accompanies the exploration team.
Agathe de La Boulaye as Adele Rousseau, a member of the armed escort that accompanies the exploration team.
Sam Troughton as Thomas Parks, the second archaeologist of the exploration team, De Rosa's assistant.
Petr Jákl as Stone, a member of the armed escort that accompanies the exploration team.
Liz May Brice as The Supervisor at the Nebraska satellite receiving station that detects the heat bloom in Antarctica.
Karima Adebibe as a Sacrificial Maiden in the flashback to the ancient era.
Tom Woodruff Jr. as The Alien / "Grid". The Alien played by Woodruff is listed in the film's credits as Grid, referencing crosshatch scars from Predator net constriction in the battle with the Predator called "Celtic".
Ian Whyte as The Predator / "Scar", one of the three main Predators who come to Earth to create and hunt Aliens within the pyramid as a rite of passage. Whyte played the lead Predator, called Scar in the film's credits due to the Predator marking himself with the Alien's acidic blood. Based on Dachande, Whyte also played the other three Predators: "Chopper", "Celtic" and "Elder" (leader of the Predators at the end of the film, based on Top-Knot).
Before 20th Century Fox gave Alien vs. Predator the greenlight, Aliens writer/director James Cameron had been working on a story for a fifth Alien film. Alien director Ridley Scott had talked with Cameron, stating "I think it would be a lot of fun, but the most important thing is to get the story right." In a 2002 interview, Scott's concept for a story was "to go back to where the alien creatures were first found and explain how they were created"; this project eventually became Scott's film Prometheus (2012). On learning that Fox intended to pursue Alien vs. Predator, Cameron believed the film would "kill the validity of the franchise" and ceased work on his story, "To me, that was Frankenstein Meets Werewolf. It was Universal just taking their assets and starting to play them off against each other...Milking it." After viewing Alien vs. Predator, Cameron remarked that "it was actually pretty good. I think of the five Alien films, I'd rate it third. I actually liked it. I actually liked it a lot." Conversely, Ridley Scott had no interest in the Alien vs. Predator films. When asked in May 2012 if he had watched them, Scott laughed, "No. I couldn't do that. I couldn't quite take that step." Director Neill Blomkamp would eventually go on to pitch his sequel to Aliens. However, Scott stated in 2017 that the project has been cancelled.
The concept of Alien vs. Predator originated from the Aliens versus Predator comic book in 1989, starring the characters of Machiko Noguchi and Dachande, the bases for Alexa "Lex" Woods and Scar. It was also hinted at when an Alien skull appeared in a trophy case aboard the Predator ship in Predator 2. Shortly after the release of Predator 2, Predator co-writer Jim Thomas discussed the possibilities of a Predator franchise and commented on the prospect of a crossover film, stating, "I think Predator vs. Alien is a good idea that will probably never happen". Screenwriter Peter Briggs created the original spec screenplay in 1990–1991, which was based on the first comic series. In 1991, he successfully pitched the concept to 20th Century Fox, who owned the film franchises, although the company did not move forward with the project until 2002. The project was delayed chiefly because the studio was working on Alien: Resurrection. A draft penned by James DeMonaco and Kevin Fox was rejected by producer John Davis, who hoped to give the film an original approach by setting it on Earth.
As there were six producers between the film franchises, Predator producer John Davis had difficulty securing the rights as the producers were worried about a film featuring the two creatures. Paul W. S. Anderson pitched Davis a story he worked on for eight years, and showed him concept art created by Randy Bowen. Impressed with Anderson's idea, Davis thought the story was like Jaws in that it "just drew you in, it drew you in". Anderson started to work on the film after completing the script for Resident Evil: Apocalypse, with Shane Salerno co-writing. Salerno spent six months writing the shooting script, finished its development, and stayed on for revisions throughout the film's production. Dan O'Bannon and Ronald Shusett received story credit on the film based on elements from their work on the original Alien.
Influenced by the work of Erich von Däniken and Aztec mythology, Anderson had the Predators come to Earth in spaceships and teach humans how to build pyramids. As a result, they were treated as gods.
Early reports claimed the story was about humans who tried to lure Predators with Alien eggs, although the idea was scrapped. Influenced by the work of Erich von Däniken, Anderson researched von Däniken's theories on how he believed early civilizations were able to construct massive pyramids with the help of aliens, an idea long debunked and based on misinterpretations of Aztec mythology. Anderson wove these ideas into Alien vs. Predator, describing a scenario in which Predators taught ancient humans to build pyramids and used Earth for rite of passage rituals every 100 years in which they would hunt Aliens. To explain how these ancient civilisations "disappeared without a trace", Anderson came up with the idea that the Predators, if overwhelmed by the Aliens, would use their self-destruct weapons to kill everything in the area. H. P. Lovecraft's novella At the Mountains of Madness (1931) served as an inspiration for the film, and several elements of the Aliens vs. Predator comic series were included. Anderson's initial script called for five Predators to appear in the film, although the number was later reduced to three.
As Alien vs. Predator was intended to be a sequel to the Predator films and prequel to the Alien series, Anderson was cautious of contradicting continuity in the franchises. He chose to set the film on the remote Norwegian Antarctic island of Bouvet commenting, "It's definitely the most hostile environment on Earth and probably the closest to an Alien surface you can get." Anderson thought that setting the film in an urban environment like New York City would break continuity with the Alien series as the protagonist, Ellen Ripley, had no knowledge the creatures existed. "You can't have an Alien running around the city now, because it would've been written up and everyone will know about it. So there's nothing in this movie that contradicts anything that already exists."
The first actor to be cast for Alien vs. Predator was Lance Henriksen, who played the character Bishop in Aliens and Alien 3. Although the Alien films are set hundreds of years in the future, Anderson wanted to keep continuity with the series by including a familiar actor. Henriksen plays billionaire and self-taught-engineer Charles Bishop Weyland, a character that ties in with the Weyland-Yutani Corporation as the original founder and CEO of Weyland Industries. According to Anderson, Weyland becomes known for the discovery of the pyramid, and as a result the Weyland-Yutani Corporation models the Bishop android in the Alien films after him; "when the Bishop android is created in 150 years time, it's created with the face of the creator. It's kind of like Microsoft building an android in 100 years time that has the face of Bill Gates."
Anderson opted for a European cast including Italian actor Raoul Bova, Ewen Bremner from Scotland, and English actor Colin Salmon. Producer Davis said, "There's a truly international flavor to the cast, and gives the film a lot of character." Several hundred actresses attended the auditions to be cast as the film's heroine Alexa Woods. Sanaa Lathan was selected, and one week later she flew to Prague to begin filming. The filmmakers knew there would be comparisons to Alien heroine Ellen Ripley and did not want a clone of the character, but wanted to make her similar while adding something different.
Anderson reported in an interview that California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was willing to reprise his role as Major Alan "Dutch" Schaeffer from Predator in a short cameo appearance if he lost the recall election on condition that the filming should take place at his residence. Schwarzenegger, however, won the election with 48.58% of the votes and was unavailable to participate in Alien vs. Predator. Actress Sigourney Weaver, who starred as Ellen Ripley in the Alien series, said she was happy not to be in the film, as a possible crossover was "the reason I wanted my character to die in the first place", and thought the concept "sounded awful".
Production began in late 2003 at Barrandov Studios in Prague, Czech Republic, where most of the filming took place. Production designer Richard Bridgland was in charge of sets, props and vehicles, based on early concept art Anderson had created to give a broad direction of how things would look. 25 to 30 life-sized sets were constructed at Barrandov Studios, many of which were interiors of the pyramid. The pyramid's carvings, sculptures, and hieroglyphs were influenced by Egyptian, Cambodian, and Aztec civilisations, while the regular shifting of the pyramid's rooms was meant to evoke a sense of claustrophobia similar to the original Alien film. According to Anderson, if he was to build the sets in Los Angeles they would have cost $20 million. However, in Prague they cost $2 million, an important factor when the film's budget was less than $50 million.
Third scale miniatures several meters in height were created to give the film the effect of realism, rather than relying on computer generated imagery (CGI). For the whaling station miniatures and life-sized sets, over 700 bags of artificial snow were used (roughly 15–20 tons). A 4.5-meter miniature of an icebreaker with working lights and a mechanical moving radar was created, costing almost $37,000 and taking 10 weeks to create. Visual effects producer Arthur Windus, claimed miniatures were beneficial in the filming process: "With computer graphics, you need to spend a lot of time making it real. With a miniature, you shoot it and its there." A scale 25-meter miniature of the whaling station was created in several months. It was designed so the model could be collapsed and then reconstructed, which proved beneficial for a six-second shot which required a re-shoot.
A hydraulic Alien was used to film six scenes as it was faster than a man in a suit. The puppet required six people to operate it.
Special effects company Amalgamated Dynamics Incorporated (ADI) was hired for the movie, having previously worked on Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection. Visual special effects producers Arthur Windus and John Bruno were in charge of the project, which contained 400 effects shots. ADI founders Alec Gillis, Tom Woodruff Jr. and members of their company, began designing costumes, miniatures and effects in June 2003. For five months the creatures were redesigned, the Predators wrist blades being extended roughly four times longer than those in the Predator films, and a larger mechanical plasma caster was created for the Scar Predator.
The basic shape of the Predator mask was kept, although technical details were added and each Predator was given a unique mask to distinguish them from each other. These masks were created using clay, which was used to form moulds to create fiberglass copies. These copies were painted to give a weathered look, which Woodruff claims "is what the Predator is all about". A hydraulic Alien puppet was created so ADI would be able to make movements faster and give the Alien a "slimline and skeletal" appearance, rather than using an actor in a suit. The puppet required six people to run it; one for the head and body, two for the arms, and a sixth to make sure the signals were reaching the computer. Movements were recorded in the computer so that puppeteers would be able to repeat moves that Anderson liked. The puppet was used in six shots, including the fight scene with the Predator which took one month to film.
The crew tried to keep CGI use to a minimum, as Anderson said people in suits and puppets are scarier than CGI monsters as they are "there in the frame". Roughly 70% of scenes were created using suits, puppets, and miniatures. The Alien queen was filmed using three variations: a 4.8-meter practical version, a 1.2-meter puppet, and a computer-generated version. The practical version required 12 puppeteers to operate, and CGI tails were added to the Aliens and the queen as they were difficult to animate using puppetry. The queen alien's inner-mouth was automated though, and was powered by a system of hydraulics. Anderson praised Alien director Ridley Scott's and Predator director John McTiernan's abilities at building suspense by not showing the creatures until late in the film, something Anderson wanted to accomplish with Alien vs. Predator. "Yes, we make you wait 45 minutes, but once it goes off, from there until the end of the movie, it's fucking relentless".
Austrian composer Harald Kloser was hired to create the film's score. After completing the score for The Day After Tomorrow, Kloser was chosen by Anderson as he is a fan of the franchises. It was recorded in London, and was primarily orchestral as Anderson commented, "this is a terrifying movie and it needs a terrifying, classic movie score to go with it; at the same time it's got huge action so it needs that kind of proper orchestral support."
The score album was released on iTunes on 9 August 2004, and on CD on 31 August 2004 and received mixed reviews. James Christopher Monger of Allmusic thought Kloser introduced electronic elements well, and called "Alien vs. Predator Main Theme a particularly striking and serves as a continuous creative source for the composer to dip his baton in."
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (stylized as AVPR: Aliens vs Predator - Requiem) is a 2007 American science fiction action film directed by the Brothers Strause (Colin and Greg Strause) in their directorial debut and written by Shane Salerno. The film stars Steven Pasquale, Reiko Aylesworth, John Ortiz, Johnny Lewis and Ariel Gade.
It is a sequel to Alien vs. Predator (2004), and the second and latest installment in the Alien vs. Predator franchise, continuing the crossover between the Alien and Predator franchises. Set immediately after the events of the previous film, the film begins with a Predator ship crashing into a forest outside of Gunnison, Colorado, where an Alien-Predator hybrid known as the Predalien escapes and makes its way to the nearby small town. A skilled veteran Predator is dispatched to kill the Predalien, and the townspeople try to escape the ensuing carnage.
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem premiered on November 4, 2007 in Los Angeles. It was released theatrically on December 25 in the United States. It received generally negative reviews, with criticism for its lighting, plot, and editing. It grossed $130.2 million worldwide against a production budget of $40 million, and plans for a further sequel were put on hold indefinitely.
Following the events of the previous film, a Predator ship leaves Earth carrying Alien facehuggers, and the dead body of Scar, the Predator that helped Lex defeat the Xenomorph Queen. A chestburster with traits of both species erupts from Scar's body. It quickly matures into an adult Predalien and starts killing the Predators on board (in the extended cut, this happens on a scout ship that has been detached from the mother ship). A Predator's weapon punctures the hull and the ship crashes in the forest outside of Gunnison, Colorado, killing all but one of the Predators, who is severely injured and sends a distress signal before being killed by the Predalien.
The Predalien and several facehuggers escape, implanting embryos into a nearby father and son who are out hunting in the forest, as well as several homeless people who live in the sewers. On the Predator homeworld, a skilled veteran Predator, Wolf, receives the signal and takes it upon himself to travel to Earth to hunt and kill Xenomorphs. He arrives at the crashed Predator ship, uses a blue acid-like liquid to dissolve and erase evidence of Xenomorphs' presence, and triggers an implosion to completely destroy the vessel.
Meanwhile, ex-convict Dallas Howard has just returned to Gunnison after serving time in prison. He is greeted by Sheriff Eddie Morales and reunites with his younger brother Ricky. Ricky has a romantic interest in his classmate Jesse, but is constantly harassed by her boyfriend Dale and his two friends. Kelly O'Brien has also just returned to Gunnison after serving in the US Army's 101st Airborne Division, and reunites with her husband Tim and daughter Molly. Darcy Benson, the wife of the killed father, begins searching for her missing husband and son. Meanwhile, local waitress Carrie Adams discovers she is pregnant, but her police officer husband, Ray, is killed by Wolf after witnessing him dissolving the bodies of Darcy's husband and son while he was searching for them in the forest. Wolf skins his corpse and hangs him upside down from a tree branch for sport.
Wolf tracks several Xenomorphs in the sewer and defeats two of them, but as the battle reaches the surface, four disperse into the town. Wolf pursues some to the power plant, where collateral damage from his dual plasma-caster weapons causes a citywide power outage. Ricky and Jesse meet at the high school swimming pool but are interrupted by Dale and his cohorts just as the power goes out, and a Xenomorph enters the pool area, killing Dale's friends. Another Xenomorph invades the O'Brien home, killing Tim while Kelly escapes with Molly. After the fry cook at the local diner where Carrie works is attacked by Xenomorphs, Carrie is also attacked after hearing the cook's screams, and is impregnated by the Predalien with multiple chestbursters. Darcy discovers her body in horror, but Sheriff Morales arrives and brings her with him.
Kelly, Molly, Ricky, Jesse, Dale, Dallas, and Sheriff Morales gather at a sporting goods store to collect weapons. Troops from the Colorado Army National Guard arrive but are quickly slaughtered by Xenomorphs. Wolf briefly captures Dallas inside the store to use as bait to lure Xenomorphs, but Dallas escapes. Several Xenomorphs arrive and Wolf handily defeats them. Dale is killed by a Xenomorph during the battle and one of Wolf's shoulder plasma-casters is damaged. He removes his remaining one and modifies it into a hand-held blaster.
As the survivors attempt to escape Gunnison, they make radio contact with Colonel Stevens, and are told that an air evacuation is being staged at the center of town. Dallas and Kelly are skeptical since going there would cause them to become surrounded by Xenomorphs, so they, along with Ricky, Jesse, Molly and a few others go for the helicopter at the hospital to get out of town, while Sheriff Morales and Darcy head to the evacuation zone. However, the hospital has been invaded and overrun by Xenomorphs and the Predalien, who has impregnated some pregnant women to breed more Xenomorphs, by filling each with multiple, fast growing embryos. Wolf soon arrives at the hospital where he dispatches more Xenomorphs and, during the battle, the Predator accidentally impales Jesse with one of his shuriken weapons. Distraught, Ricky rushes Wolf with rifle fire only to be injured by the Predalien. The Predator is attacked by a Xenomorph and both tumble down an elevator shaft. Dallas takes possession of Wolf's plasma blaster.
Dallas, Ricky, Kelly, and Molly reach the roof and fight off several Xenomorphs before escaping in the helicopter, while Wolf, having survived the fall, battles the Predalien on the roof in hand-to-hand combat. Wolf and the Predalien mortally wound each other just as a military jet arrives. Rather than a rescue mission, the F-22 Raptor executes a tactical nuclear strike that levels the entire city, instantly killing Sheriff Morales, Darcy, and everyone else gathered at ground zero. The shock wave causes the fleeing helicopter to crash in a clearing, where the survivors are rescued by the military. Wolf's plasma blaster is confiscated, and Colonel Stevens presents it to Ms. Yutani.
Steven Pasquale as Dallas Howard, a recently released convict, Ricky's brother.
Reiko Aylesworth as Kelly O'Brien, a soldier returning to her family.
John Ortiz as Eddie Morales, the sheriff of Gunnison.
Johnny Lewis as Ricky Howard, student and younger brother of Dallas.
Sam Trammell as Tim O'Brien, husband to Kelly and father of Molly.
Ariel Gade as Molly O'Brien, daughter of Kelly and Tim O'Brien.
Robert Joy as Colonel Stevens, commander of the military forces.
Kristen Hager as Jesse Salinger, love interest of Ricky, angering her boyfriend, Dale.
David Paetkau as Dale Collins, Jesse's boyfriend who bullies Ricky.
Matt Ward as Mark, one of Dale's friends.
Michal Suchánek as Nick, one of Dale's friends.
David Hornsby as Drew Roberts, a pizza parlor supervisor.
Gina Holden as Carrie Adams, a pregnant waitress; Deputy Ray Adams' wife.
Chris William Martin as Deputy Ray Adams, Carrie's husband.
Chelah Horsdal as Darcy Benson, a mother searching for her son and husband.
Liam James as Sam Benson
Kurt Max Runte as Buddy Benson
James Chutter as Deputy Joe
Tim Henry as Dr. Lennon
Tom McBeath as Karl
Ty Olsson as Nathan
Rainbow Sun Francks as Earl
Juan Riedinger as Scotty
Dalias Blake as Lieutenant Peter Wood
Curtis Caravaggio as Special Forces Commander
Françoise Yip as Ms. Yutani, the CEO of the Yutani Corporation.
Tom Woodruff Jr. as the Aliens and the Predalien. Having previously portrayed the Aliens in Alien 3, Alien: Resurrection, and Alien vs. Predator. Woodruff reprised the role for the film.
Ian Whyte as The Predator / "Wolf", the main Predator who arrives on Earth to eliminate the Aliens and all traces of their presence. The production team nicknamed the character "Wolf" after Harvey Keitel's character in Pulp Fiction, whose role is also that of a "cleaner." Matthew Charles Santoro provided the voice of Wolf. Whyte portrayed the four Predators in the previous film.
Bobby "Slim" Jones ("Bull") and Ian Feuer ("Atomic") as the additional Predators.
Inspired by Terminator 2: Judgment Day, brothers Colin and Greg Strause moved to Los Angeles to break into the film business. After an unsuccessful attempt to find employment at Industrial Light & Magic, the brothers worked on The X-Files film and founded their own special effects company, Hydraulx. The company produced special effects for films such as Volcano, The Day After Tomorrow, Poseidon and 300 and the brothers began a career directing commercials and music videos. Colin believes Hydraulx secured a strong relationship with 20th Century Fox, which owns the Alien and Predator franchises.
The brothers unsuccessfully pitched an idea for the first Alien vs. Predator film and Fox almost bought a film titled Wolfenstein suggested by the brothers, "When the script came up for this movie, they thought we'd be perfect for it because it's an ambitious movie for the budget that they had and they knew that having our visual effects background was going to be a huge thing." The brothers were hired to direct the sequel to Alien vs. Predator in late spring 2006 and had limited time to start filming in the fall. The film's original title was Alien vs. Predator: Survival of the Fittest, but was later dropped.
Filming on Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem begun on September 23, 2006 in Vancouver, Canada for a 52-day schedule. During filming breaks, the brothers supervised visual effects work on 300, Shooter and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer by using in-house supervisors and a system called Mavis and Lucy, which let the brothers track, view and approve dailies. Colin estimates Hydraulx produced 460 of the 500 visual effects shots including the nuclear explosion which was created using Maya fluids and BA Volume Shader. The interior of the Predator ship was created using CGI, as the brothers felt it would be more cost effective than building a set. The visual effects team peaked at 110 people for several months and averaged 70, almost all of the entire Hydraulx staff.
Using their knowledge in visual effects and making use of principal photography, the brothers tried to film as much as they could on camera without resorting to CGI, Colin said "other than the exterior spaceship shots, there are no pure CG shots." CGI was used for the Alien tails and inner jaws, whereas they required puppeteers and wire removal on previous films. The main visual effects of the film included set design, a nuclear explosion, the Predator's ship crashing and the Predator cloak, about which Colin stated: "We wanted to make sure it didn't look too digital."
As a side-note, in the DVD commentary the brothers explained that they wanted actor Adam Baldwin to reprise his role as Garber in Predator 2, but were unable to do so, instead using Robert Joy as a new character. Additionally, while the previous installment attracted casual moviegoers as well as fans of the franchises, the film catered exclusively to Alien and Predator fans with many references to the previous films appearing in the film.
Composer Brian Tyler, was hired to the score for the film. The film's main theme track is a clash of two main themes, one consisting of the Predator type theme (bongos and basses) and the second of the Aliens (high pitched violins, violas and flutes). The directors Colin and Greg Strause wanted to take a new direction from Harald Kloser's Alien vs. Predator score and wanted Tyler to use some reference to the three films' original score pieces, such as the horrific violas and percussion from James Horner's Aliens and the primitive tribal percussion from Alan Silvestri's Predator and Predator 2. Tyler also referenced composer John Frizzel's Alien: Resurrection into the score, in the tracks of "National Guard" and "Taking Sides". The soundtrack album was released on December 11, 2007 by Varèse Sarabande. "The Chopper" and "Grim Discovery", the two tracks from Predator was listed in the film's end credits, both composed by Silvestri. The tracks are not included in the film's soundtrack and the Predator soundtrack, but can be found only on YouTube. The song "Wach auf!" ("Wake Up") by German band Oomph!, was released as a promo in January 2008, with the music video using clips from the film. The song has only appeared in the band's album Monster.
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem had its premiere at the Los Angeles Comic Book and Sci Fi Convention in Los Angeles on November 4, 2007. The Brothers Strause attended the event, presenting the film to an audience for the first time. The film was later released in the United States and in other territories on December 25, 2007.
Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem was released on DVD, Blu-ray and PSP UMD Disc on April 15, 2008, in North America and May 12, 2008, in the United Kingdom by Fox Home Entertainment. It was released in three versions: a single-disc, R-rated version of the 94-minute theatrical presentation, a single-disc unrated version extended to 101 minutes and a two-disc unrated version with the 101-minute film and a second disc of special features. Extra features on the single-disc editions include two audio commentary tracks: one by the directors and producer John Davis and a second by creature effects designers and creators Tom Woodruff Jr. and Alec Gillis.
Disc one of the two-disc unrated edition includes both commentary tracks as well as both cuts of the film seamlessly branched and an exclusive "Weyland-Yutani archives" picture-in-picture reference guide to the warring alien races; five behind-the-scenes featurettes: Prepare for War: Development & Production, Fight to the Finish, The Nightmare Returns: Creating the Aliens, Crossbreed: The Predalien and Building the Predator Homeworld; multiple galleries of still photos showing the creature designs and sets; and the film's theatrical trailer. The second disc includes a "digital copy" download feature.
In its first week of release, Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem debuted at number two on the DVD charts, earning $7.7 million and number one on the Blu-ray charts. The film has made $27,403,705 in DVD sales in the United States.
The film opened in North America in 2,563 theaters alongside with The Bucket List and The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep. It was rated R for violence, gore and language, unlike its predecessor, which was given a PG-13 rating. In the UK and Australia, the BBFC's classification decision for the film is the same as the original (Rated 15), whilst the Australian ACB rated the film MA15+, up from the original's M rating.
The film grossed $9,515,615 on its opening day for an average of $3,707 per theater and was number six at the box office. It grossed $5 million in Australia, $9 million in Japan and the United Kingdom and $7 million in Russia, and had an international total of $86,288,761. The film had a domestic gross of $41,797,066 and an international gross of $88,493,819, bringing it to a total of $130,290,885.