Alien vs Predator: Requiem:
The Evolution of the PredAlien

J. J. Booker's "Hy'brid" from the Facehugger fanzine 1993

leading from: 

a) In 1993, the Alien Fanclub fanzine Facehugger edited by Simon Clarke, an amature comic book writer /illustrator by the name of J. J. Booker surprised the readers with a short story called "Hy'brid" where a new alien hybrid has been bred by the human race to deal with the known aliens, one mixed with the genes of the Predator.

from Facehugger's Hy'brid



b) In the Aliens vs Predator comicbook, every alien that came out from a host whether it was human or beast would grow into a man sized semi-humanoid creature as seen in Aliens Most people were unaware of the idea that the Alien should take on the characteristics of the host. However the creature in this story also had developed the ability to become invisible like its host had managed to do by technology, which is something that the final Predalien would not be able to do.
from Facehugger's Hy'brid

c) The "Facehugger" fanzine produced a couple of stories with some inventive enough "what if" amature comic book stories on the theme of Alien hybrids. The artist J. J. Booker designed the creature retaining the idea of a division down the centre. Original concept drawings for Stan Winston's predator featured a tongue that was split into two, and this artist gave the creature a skull that divides into two rear lobes and a double ended tail.  ( See: Facehugger, Issue 5, March 1993)

Dave Dorman's Predalien mid 1990s

leading from:  


a) Involved in Alien vs Predator film production
Dave Dorman the freelance illustrator talked about how 20th Century Fox/Dark Horse approached him for a design for the Alien/ Predator hybrid and he created a painting around the mid 1990s as concept work for the very first iteration of the Aliens Predator movie when Dark Horse was co-producing with 20th Century Fox. However this version of the project was shelved.

b) Distant signs of uncredited use of his design
The work that he did for them, as is most work with film companies, was work for hire, so even though that particular production was abandoned, all of the work that was produced went into the 20th Century Fox archives. When Aliens v. Predator 2 came out, and to a lesser extent, one of the Aliens v. Predator video games, they utilised imagery that Dave Dorman noticed was very close to the designs that I created for the initial abandoned film. Technically, he couldn't say that he created the imagery that they used, because it was “work for hire”, and was keen to point out the similarities between his work and the final Predalien design.


c) Designing the creature
His idea about the Predalien design was that both the Predator and the Alien were both humanoids in basic structure. Obviously their heads are different, but he wanted to keep the recognizable elements of both head designs and try to work them together for the creature. Thus it was a matter of taking bits and pieces, just as one would with mixed breeds of dogs, where one would recognize elements within the creature, but not necessarily be more one breed than the other.



Source Quotes
You are credited as creating the first art of the Predalien, does that mean you actually created the creatures look? 
A: I did Predalien designs for the very first iteration of the Aliens Predator movie way back in the 1990′s when Dark Horse was co-producing with 20th Century Fox. The work that I did for them, as is most work with film companies, was work for hire, so even though that particular production was abandoned, all of the work that was produced went into the 20th Century Fox archives. When Aliens v. Predator 2 came out, and to a lesser extend, one of the Aliens v. Predator video games, they utilised imagery that was VERY CLOSE to the designs that I created for the initial abandoned film. Technically, I can’t say that I created the imagery that they used, because it was “work for hire” but as I have displayed on my blog, I am just displaying the similarities in the designs.

Read more at http://galactic-squid.com/comics/galactic-squid-interview-dave-dorman/1439/#pFIMFAborzOv2Tcx.
  1.  Dave Dorman : So I'm having breakfast this morning (Friday Oct 26) and I open the USA Today and go right to the entertainment section... (Front page...Bleh!... Lets get to the real news!!). I pull out the section and unfold it and there jumping out at me is a photo of an Alien-ish creature. But wait... there's something different about it. I scan over to the headline and the article is about the new Aliens v. Predator film coming out this December. Cool. So I start to read the article, but my eye keeps going back to the photo. Why does this Predalien creature look so familiar? This is the first official posts of the creature...
     
    Then my mind goes back... to the mid 1990's. I was hired by 20th Century Fox/Dark Horse Productions to develop some Predalien creature designs for the (then viable) first incarnation of Aliens v Predator. I did a number of designs, including the one shown here. Well much to my surprise here I am looking at my designs, in the flesh, so to speak! I have posted here my original designs and the photos showing the quite distinct similarity!

    I have no hard feelings about this. As a freelance illustrator I am aware of contractual obligations and the "work for hire" clause that is in most of these. (For those who don't know, the "work for hire" clause means basically that the work done for any particular company is completely owned by them. I sign over all rights to them on completion of the work. So they can do anything they want with it without paying me any more above the original cost of the work). So I had produced these designs for Fox and then they scrapped the production. The art went into the vaults. And I thought they would never see the light of day...

    Well it appears someone might have done some digging because the similarity is striking. It would have been nice to be acknowledged for the work. I doubt I will get any credit. But I wanted to post this to show my fans and the world that sometimes lost work isn’t lost after all and good designs will always work, no matter how old they are!! (davedorman.blogspot.co.uk/2007/10/)
  2.  galactic-squid:You are credited as creating the first art of the Predalien, does that mean you actually created the creatures look?
    Dave Dorman: I did Predalien designs for the very first iteration of the Aliens Predator movie way back in the 1990′s when Dark Horse was co-producing with 20th Century Fox. The work that I did for them, as is most work with film companies, was work for hire, so even though that particular production was abandoned, all of the work that was produced went into the 20th Century Fox archives. When Aliens v. Predator 2 came out, and to a lesser extend, one of the Aliens v. Predator video games, they utilised imagery that was VERY CLOSE to the designs that I created for the initial abandoned film. Technically, I can’t say that I created the imagery that they used, because it was “work for hire” but as I have displayed on my blog, I am just displaying the similarities in the designs. (galactic-squid.com/)
  3. Q: In your blog, you discuss how the final designs for the Predalien in Alien vs Predator: Requiem bear a strong resemblance to your early designs for Alien vs Predator in the mid-nineties. I'm interested to hear more about your experience working with Fox on the project. Can you expand on that?
    A: They asked me to design a creature for what was supposed to be the original Aliens v. Predator movie and so I produced a series of drawings and a painting for them as work-for-hire. The project was shelved, and all of my artwork went into their files.
    Q: I'd like to hear more about your approach designing the Predalien. What elements did you feel you had to keep of both characters and what did you feel could be left out?
    A: They are both humanoid in their basic structure. Obviously, the heads are different, so I wanted to keep the recognizable elements of both head designs and try to work them together for the creature. Then it was just a matter of taking bits and pieces, like you would mixed breeds of a dog, where you would recognize elements within the creature, but not necessarily be more one breed than the other. (http://www.thegeektwins.com/)

"Alien vs Predator duel"

leading from:

In 1995 "Alien vs Predator duel" was the first comic book to feature an alien that had grown inside a predator and taken on the host's features and became a monster based on Dave Dorman's earlier creation.  In the drawings, spines running along the tail are almost razor blade like.




White hybrids in Alien vs Predator: Deadliest of the species

leading from:  


In 1996, Dark Horse intoduced another Predator/Alien hybrid in a comic book series Aliens vs. Predator: Deadliest of Species, called a White Hybrid. This creature had human genes as well in the mix.
  1. entry in Wikipedia regading this character"White Hybrids
    The hybrids are a race of Aliens created by a corrupted computer system called "Toy". The hybrids possess the traits of Aliens, Predators and humans. Like Aliens, they are a eusocial species with acid for blood (though it is less acidic than that of the ordinary strain) and like humans, they are capable of speech and can use firearms. They are led by a hybrid king which generates facehuggers capable of impregnating ordinary Aliens.
    Appears in: Aliens vs. Predator: Deadliest of Species
    "




Alien vs Predator:
The Hybrid Chestburster

leading from 
and 
The hybrid chestburster

Alien vs Predator "Pre-Alien hybrid" chestburster

The Alien/Predator hybrid chestburster makes its appearance at the end of Alien vs Predator. The director Paul Anderson didn't expect this end shot to lead to what would become the beginning of the story of following film Alien vs Predator Requiem, but it would happen never the less. He also abbreviated the name of the thing to  "Pred-Alien hybrid" and curiously Predalien would stick when the sequel came. The final design as seen in the maquette replica photo reflects very much the concept work drawn by Patrick Tatopoulos , one of the illustrators working on the film.
( see also: Alien/Predator hybrid maquette sculpted by Akihito Ikeda)

concept design by Patrick Tatopoulos


Source Quote
  1. Paul W.S. Anderson: I also wanted to introduce the Pred-Alien hybrid, which is a very cool feature of the comic books (Total Film #95, p103)

Sideshow's maquette replica

Alien vs Predator Requiem:
Farzad Varahramyan's Predaliens

leading from




a) Farzad hired by ADI
Farzad Varahramyan was hired by ADI to create concept art for the Predalien. We find several sketches and a painting. The mandibles are elongated with long teeth. The sketches feature the creature with a bulbous cranium that is not very elongated in comparison to the ones that we often see, but this creature has long finger like projections coming out of the back instead of the typical spines that hang down the side of the Predator's head like dreadlocks.



b) Predalien head, 26th March 2005

  • 1) combo dreds - face-hugger
  • 2) The Mandibles shoot out like the alien tongue
  • 3) -
  • 4) i) shorter head, ii) alien dome mimics predator helmet, iii) dreadlocks are tipped with acid loaded stingers
  • 26th March 2005
 
c) Predalien whole body , 26th March 2005

26th March 2005


d)  Predalien fighting a Predator (9th June 2006)

  • Hybrid 007  
  • Acid Tipped stingers extend on demand and are whipped around by head action 
  • 27th March 2005


e)  Predalien fighting a Predator (9th June 2006)

Predalien fighting a Predator (9th June 2006)

Farzad also created a painting of the Predalien, the lower mandibles have teeth running along them and what appears to be a tendon running beneath it. He decided to give his version of the creature a long tale with a scorpion's stinger at the end.
  • farzad_varahramyan: AVP-R Design Sketches: PREDALIEN. This was one of the first images I was tasked with on the project. Just a way to dive into the idea of this hybrid creature: taking 2 of the greatest original alien designs ever and mixing them. Another great collaboration with Tom and Alec at Studio ADI. (February 14th 2019 https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt1-gSrlIrd/)




f) Drawing no.1 ) Predalien (10th June 2006)


Drawing no.1 ) Predalien (10th June 2006)
  • Shiny dome on "Face" transitions into bony ridged  dome
  • Larger face proportions, w/ more powerful mandibles
  • Lower jaw has dual fangs 

g) Drawing No 2)  Predalien (10th June 2006)

Drawing No 2)  Predalien (10th June 2006)
  • Arachnid like mandibles
  • Ribbed dome
  • Larger mouth
  • More angular lines

h) Drawing No.3) Hybrid 010 (11th June 2006)


Drawing No.3) Hybrid 010 (11th June 2006)
  • Face hugger influence on face & head dome  
  • More angular cheeks


i) Drawing No. 4) Hybrid 011  Predalien with spidery finger dreadlocks (11th June 2006)


Drawing No. 4) Hybrid 011  Predalien with spidery finger dreadlocks (11th June 2006)
  • farzad_varahramyan: AVP-R Design Sketches: PREDALIEN: started exploring dreads that were blended with the Facehuger fingers, as well as adding more angular reptilian elements to the biomedical alien anatomy. Another great collaboration with Tom and Alec at Studio ADI. (February 18th 2019, https://www.instagram.com/p/BuCDvvwF2PN/)



j) Drawing No.5)  Farzad's Predalien face (11th June 2006)

Drawing No.5)  Farzad's Predalien face (11th June 2006)
        •    Took some genetic cues from scar -AVP1
        •    Vaginal shapes from predator inner mouth - above upper lip
        •    Scar's facial proportions 7 lower jaw/chin
        •    Mandibles could point down to follow angular lines of face. Mandibles will articulate lines of face. Mandibles will articulate & fangs rotate to configure more to a pred silhouette

        •    Angular cheek forms

k) Drawing No.6) Predalien body (11th June 2006)

Drawing No.6) Predalien body (11th June 2006)

  • farzad_varahramyan: AVP-R Design Sketches: PREDALIEN: blending more Predator sharp shaped anatomy into the Alien physiology. The tail starts hinting at the same design language as I had planned out for the Woolf Predator whip sketch. To “blend” the two species into this hybrid, was a great personal exercise in breaking down the individual key elements which makes each species so unique. And when you think you have figured it out, the real experts like Tom and Alec would share things that you’ve never read or seen anywhere, but that they have inferred by the smallest physical or behavioral detail of the character. Always a great learning experience with those two gentlemen. (February 19 2019 https://www.instagram.com/p/BuElcMEFV5w/)

Alien vs Predator: Michael Broom's Predalien




Hybrid 034 (06/13/06).  Broom's predalien with horizontal rear headspines






same image as above but presented brighter and with more colour

Hybrid 036 (06/14/04) Broom's predalien with rear claw like spines









Broom's predalien with articulated back spines and a head with a 
alien queen like ridges
Broom's Predalien with claw like back spines.

Hybrid 38 - June 13th 2006
Broom's predalien with vertical hanging side head spines, short horizontal 
head spines and a head with a alien queen like back ridges
Broom's Predalien face
upper torso and head of Predalien by Broom

Predalien (see lower image at Predators concept art by Michael Broom for comparison)
Predalien head with tendrils turned into claw like fingers by Broom


Alien vs Predator: Justin Murray's Predaliens

a) Justin Murray supplied a creature that looked as if it were something that could have belonged to a dark fantasy barbarian stories which would have fit in with the intended tone of Paul Anderson's Aliens vs Predator which took inspiration from the Frank Frazetta paintings associated with the old Conan the Barbarian and other Edgar Rice Burroughs or barbarian paperbacks through the 1960s and 70s.

Predalien by Justin Murray
b) His Predalien looked as if it could be a hulking ferocious thing with extended mandibles and trailing dreadlocks that had become like tentacles.  The pencil sketch on the right shows the creature with a row of skulls fixed to the side of its head. The concept of very elongated mandibles also can be found on a Predator mask design that he drew for the film project as well. See the Justin Murray's blog and www.justinmurrayart.com
Predalien by Justin Murray

Alien vs Predator: The Predalien

leading from
and
and




a) Assembling ideas
In Alien vs Predator: Requiem;, the Alien/Predator hybrid becomes a major creature and becomes a major creature and the directors decide to name this creature the Predalien, which Paul Anderson already started to do, and this thing would represent an amalgam of the two hybridized concepts
 
Several artists were brought in to offer their designs of a Predalien, Farzad Varahramyan, Michael Broom, and Justin Murray provided illustrations. Greg Figiel, Akihito Ikeda, Cory Schubert, Jordu Schell supplied maquette studies, Steve Koch provided photoshop artwork to provide visualisations incorporating such things as Jordu Schell's sculptures or skins from existing alien and predator suits and other pieces left over from the AvP movie. From their works, ADI chose elements which they liked to make their final creation.

b) Design Criteria of the Predalien
Fox executive Alex Young, Producer John Davis, and the Strauses were all in agreement that since this new creature was an Alien that had gestated inside a Predator, it may have picked up traits from its host but was fundamentally still an Alien, but this time they all felt that potent DNA of the host Predator might cause more intermixing traits. This allowed them to play more with superficial features like dreadlocks, mandibles and colouration.

c) Previsualization of the Predalien
About a year before they went into production on AVP Requiem, they got a call from producer John David with heads up that the project might be coming their way. As it is often the case in Hollywood, the plume of smoke could be seen long before the train arrived. That said, sometimes enthusiasm took over and they would just have to go where it took them, to they thought they'd generate a couple of Predalien designs. Alec Gillis had an idea for a Queen like version and he sculpted a head using castings of teeth from their miniature queen from Alien Vs Predator. For dreadocks, he cast multiple tails using molds of the miniature Alien from David Fincher's Alien 3, and head formed them into shape. Artists digitally added mandibles from the Predator at ADI's showroom and gave the creature the appropriate paintscheme.

d) Production 
Due to the tight production schedule, the design meetings were frequent. Starting from scattershot rounds of drawings, they were able to reduce the concepts down to a series of maquettes sculpted by veteran Steve Wang. He and the team of other sculptors worked furiously on the full scale sculpture. Artist Chris Ayers produced paint schemes for further comment and eventual approval. A few more design changes were requested while they were sculpting the full scale creature and thankfully Paul Deason pushed the appearance of the PredAlien to late in the schedule to give them them the desperately needed time

e) Artistic explorations
i. Drawings show experiments with different ideas for heads and mouths, the dreadlocks coming from the head of one creature would seem to grow in length at the back extending into the air like jellyfish tendrils. One example had the spikes transformed into dangling insect limbs with elbows, and in another they would stick horizontally out of the back of the head. (see Farzad Varahramyan's Predaliens)

ii. The spines sticking out of the back had become replaced by structures that seemed insect like limbs or reptilian claws, and on other occasions spines like the lower toothy mandibles of the Predator (see: Michael Broom's Predalien )

iii. An eccentric exploratory drawing featured a predalien with humanoid alien face protruding out from between mandibles of a Predator with small spines coming out backwards from the back of the head and shoulders. (see last image in Farzad Varahramyan's Predaliens)


Giger's front view of second concept for humanoid alien
f) Inspired by Giger
The final creatures body also had elements borrowed from concept paintings by Giger that could only just about be recognised, such as the way the muscles stretch across the shoulders and down the sides of the arm, as well as the humanoid mouth and chin



The sculptor Steve Wang, although one of the top special effects sculptors in the business who worked on the original predators created a form of biomechanics on the creatures body that bore his own style rather than Giger's, and the patterns around the stomach and groin are similar to Giger's concept paintings.

 
g) Endless Criticisms
Some fans jokingly compared this creature to something from the Guyver films which Steve Wang had the roles of director and co-director, special makeup effects and the creature effects department for. Some even went as far as to describe it as a new villain for the Power Rangers, an episode of which was directed by Steve Wang.
 
Quite frankly the design hasn't been final enough for many fans, many of whom have their own design for a Predalien in their own minds and some preferred Dave Dorman's idea from some years earlier. Had James Cameron and Stan Winston been involved, it certainly would have been a different design completely, as it would have been also had Giger been involved.



h) "Weird Dwarf Alien"
In raw footage of the Predalien costume, it was mansized with a large head, often on a platform. Alec Gillis admitted that in still if you didn't know what the design of the creature was about and you saw its legs, it looked like a dwarf and it was more often than not that you managed to see the costume this way. Tom Woodruff who is a normal sized man, wore the rubber suits for the main alien of the film since Alien 3.
"weird dwarf alien"

  1. Gillis & Woodruff:  In Alien vs Predator: Requiem, the Alien/Predator hybrid known becomes a major creature and the directors decide to name this creature the Predalien, an amalgam of the two hybridized concepts. (AVPR: Inside the Monster Shop) 
  2. Gillis & Woodruff: Fox executive Alex Young,  Producer John Davis and the Strauses were all in agreement that since this new creature was an Alien that had gestated inside a Predator, it may have picked up traits from its host but was fundamentally still an Alien, but this time we all felt that the potent DNA of the host Predator might cause more intermixing traits. This allowed us to play more with the superficial features like dreadlocks, mandibles, and colouration.   (AVPR: Inside the Monster Shop, p107) 
  3. Gillis & Woodruff: About a year before we began production on AVP2 we got a call from Producer John Davis with heads up that the project might be coming our way. As is often the case in Hollywood, you see the plume of smoke long before the train arrives. That said, sometimes enthusiasm takes over and you just have to go where it takes you, so we thought we'd generate a couple of PredAlien designs. Alec had an idea for a Queen-like version and he sculpted a head using castings of teeth from our miniature Queen from AVP.  For dreadlocks, he cast multiple tails using molds of the miniature Alien from Fincher's Alien 3, and heat formed them into shape. Artists digitally added mandibles from the Predator at ADI's showroom and gave the creature the appropriate paintscheme.(AVPR: Inside the Monster Shop, p105) 
  4. Gillis & Woodruff:  Due to the tight production schedule, the design meetings were frequent. Starting from a scattershot round of drawings we were able to reduce the concepts down to a series of maquettes. After feedback from the directors and the studio, we boiled down the notes into a single maquette sculpted by veteran Steve Wang. He and our team of other sculptors worked furiously on the full scale sculpture. Artist Chris Ayers produced paint schemes for further comment and eventual approval. A few more design changes were requested while we were sculpting the full-scale creature, and thankfully producer Paul Deason pushed the appearance of the PredAlien to late in the schedule to give us desperately needed time.(AVPR: Inside the Monster Shop, p107-111)
  5. Alec Gillis: When you see Tom in a suit, it's kind of goofy from head to toe because it's legs look very squat, we're always very concerned that the still photographers will take a picture, somebody that really doesn't know that this thing is mostly meant to be shot from waste up releases a shot to the magazine where it looks like it's a weird dwarf alien and that can cause great concern among the fans. (DVD documentary on the making of the Predalien)

Alien vs Predator: Chris Ayers' Predalien

leading from
and



Predalien by Chris Ayers

The AVP:R Alien warrior

leading from: 


a) A new design for the alien warrior head lead to a creature with large fans and ridges along the skull that resembled Predator weaponary as if this were a sign of their genetic tampering to make their biomechanics reminiscent of the Predator's creativity as shown in the AVP movies. There were also attempts to bring back Giger's biomechanic style into the design which might be said to be visible within the new neck area..

Greg Strause talked about the aliens biomechanic look being based on the warrior aliens from Alien, but Colin Stause talked about the alien warrior's biomechanic look being due to the fact they try to conceal themselves in the spaceship. But if a part of the Alien Vs Predator: Requiem movie had the aliens warriors bursted from humans running around aboard the Predator spaceship, or at least it was scripted to, then we might even agree with the idea and take note of how parts of their ridged patterns also resemble the style of the Predator's armour designs.


Just Murray's Alien Warrior
b) Justin Murray's concept drawing shows an Alien warrior and this appears to be the only one released for the public, while is shows a creature with a face that's not much more than an oversized mouth and large jagged edges along the top, it doesn't show anything that resembles the armour of the Predators.

alien head with "chainsaw teeth" like ridges and  biomechanic look introduced to  the neck area



c) They had the cinematographer Daniel Pearl from that film working on AVP:R, but in hindsight came the suggestion that the angular ridges of the alien warriors would be as chainsaw teeth in homage to Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

d) The addition of the Predator style armour design into the head came at a point not spoken of, however here are a couple of examples of Predator weaponry and armour as featured in AVP and AVP:R for comparison.

replica of Predator's shuriken from AVP

AVP:R's Wolf's backpack with overlapping layers

AVP:R Predator's medikit sculpture
 
Source Quotes 
  1. Greg Strause: Our head design is a throwback to James Cameron. The new Alien head is based on the warrior design from ALIENS. But the detail level that they're now able to achieve is definitely a step up. (Starlog, March 2008, p55)
  2. Colin Strause: Part of the idea behind that, is that the Aliens try to conceal themselves in the spaceship. Their long, smooth surfaces blend in, like in ALIENS. The rigid head helps them camouflage into their environment. They are warrior Aliens. They aren't drones. So they have a different mentality. They're on a different mission as well. (Starlog, March 2008, p55)
  3. Colin & Greg Strause"The new head has been compared to a chainsaw, and we would have to agree" (Colin & Greg Strause, p9, AVPR: Inside the Monster Shop) 
  4. This writer is searching for another comment in Fangoria that he has read where one of the Strause brothers states that cinematographer Daniel Pearl agrees with the idea that the aliens are the chainsaws