Dark Horse Comics has been publishing Predator comics for almost as long as they’ve been in business. Now the publisher is returning to the beginning of the franchise—actually, before the beginning—with an adaptation of Hunters, the screenplay by writers James E. Thomas and John C. Thomas that served as the basis for the film. Predator: The Original Screenplay will be written by Jeremy Barlow, and illustrated by Patrick Blaine and Andy Owens.
Here’s how Dark Horse describes the story of Predator: The Original Screenplay:
In Predator: The Original Screenplay, a team of military specialists are on a rescue mission in the jungles of Central America. The details of the mission are classified, but the team soon uncovers a trail of lies and deceit. Something is observing them—tracking their every move. The hunt has begun!
The story sounds similar to the finished film product, but the cover art reveals an alternate design for the Predator that resembles a cross between the aliens in Independence Day and the titular creatures in Gremlins:
Predator: The Original Screenplay is the latest addition to Dark Horse’s line of screenplay adaptations. An adaptation of William Gibson‘s unproduced script for Alien 3 made The Beat‘s list of Best Comics of 2019, and the publisher’s adaptation of Dan O’Bannon‘s original screenplay for the first Alien film is due out in April 2020.
Writer Jeremy Barlow is no stranger to the world of Predator, having written the currently ongoing miniseries Alien vs. Predator: Thicker Than Blood. Blaine has also contributed to Dark Horse’s Predator offerings, with a forthcoming variant cover for Predator: Hunters III #3 on the way in April.
Predator: The Original Screenplay #1 (of 5) is due out from Dark Horse on Wednesday, June 10th, 2020.
