Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 39 minutes ago
The Predator franchise gets another chance...and wastes nearly every advantage it has.
JD and Paul are joined by comedian Andres Becerril to revisit The Predator (2018), Shane Black’s expensive, chaotic attempt to transform Predator into a larger science-fiction action franchise.
The ingredients looked promising: Shane Black returning to the franchise, a cast featuring Olivia Munn, Sterling K. Brown, Keegan-Michael Key, Thomas Jane and Boyd Holbrook, and an ambitious story designed to expand the mythology. But after extensive rewrites, reshoots and a completely replaced third act, the finished movie feels like several conflicting films stitched together.
The crew examines the abandoned version in which Predators joined forces with humanity, the studio’s response to early footage, the controversy surrounding a deleted Olivia Munn scene, Benicio del Toro’s proposed lead role, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s rejected cameo and the bizarre decision to end the film with an alien Iron Man suit.
Along the way, they discuss Predator dogs, Gary Busey nepotism, Shane Black’s career, the movie’s handling of autism and Tourette syndrome, Olivia Munn’s underused character, the franchise’s endless callbacks, and whether The Predator is a horror movie, action comedy, family drama or all three at once.
Finally, JD and Paul update their rankings of every Predator movie covered so far.
Chapters
00:00 Predators on the Couch
00:36 Welcome to Hold Onto Your Butts
02:43 Andres Becerril Joins the Show
03:35 High Hopes for The Predator
04:57 The Olivia Munn Deleted-Scene Controversy
06:19 Reshoots, Rewrites and the Lost Version
07:18 Benicio del Toro Almost Starred
08:09 Andres’ First Full Predator Movie
11:33 What Happened to Shane Black?
14:38 Predators Were Originally Helping Humanity
15:19 Three Different Movies Stitched Together
16:42 Global Warming and the Predator Killer
19:27 The Verdict: Wasted Potential
20:39 Boyd Holbrook and the Overloaded Cast
23:02 Was Olivia Munn the Best Part?
24:16 Watching an R-Rated Predator Movie With Your Kid
25:14 Spider-Man vs. Predator
26:56 Fast Facts, Box Office and Franchise History
29:53 Halloween, Timeline Problems and Shane Black’s Style
33:32 Predator Dogs and Recycled Ideas
39:07 A Great Cast Trapped in a Bad Movie
41:18 Attempting to Explain the Plot
49:42 Jake Busey and Predator Nepotism
51:07 Hold Onto Your Butts Moments
57:04 Would Our Partners Help the Loonies?
01:02:00 Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Rejected Cameo
01:04:10 The Movie’s Autism Plotline
01:11:34 Alien Technology and Convenient Explanations
01:13:09 Shane Black’s Complicated Predator History
01:17:47 Predator Easter Eggs and the Dog Homage
01:20:07 Defending Olivia Munn
01:25:04 The Parkour Predator
01:30:33 The Abandoned Daytime Ending
01:36:38 Why the Story Barely Holds Together
01:40:06 Is the Podcast Warning People Away?
01:44:33 Predator Should Be Horror, Not Superhero Action
01:47:10 Best Kills and Favorite Moments
01:50:34 Behind-the-Scenes Trivia
01:54:01 The Predator Killer Suit
01:55:02 Ranking All Six Predator Movies
02:01:24 Andres’ Plugs and Final Thoughts
02:03:10 Outro
Listen to Hold Onto Your Butts wherever you get podcasts.
#ThePredator #Predator #ShaneBlack #OliviaMunn #SterlingKBrown #MoviePodcast #FilmPodcast #PredatorFranchise #HoldOntoYourButts
The Predator franchise gets another chance...and wastes nearly every advantage it has.
JD and Paul are joined by comedian Andres Becerril to revisit The Predator (2018), Shane Black’s expensive, chaotic attempt to transform Predator into a larger science-fiction action franchise.
The ingredients looked promising: Shane Black returning to the franchise, a cast featuring Olivia Munn, Sterling K. Brown, Keegan-Michael Key, Thomas Jane and Boyd Holbrook, and an ambitious story designed to expand the mythology. But after extensive rewrites, reshoots and a completely replaced third act, the finished movie feels like several conflicting films stitched together.
The crew examines the abandoned version in which Predators joined forces with humanity, the studio’s response to early footage, the controversy surrounding a deleted Olivia Munn scene, Benicio del Toro’s proposed lead role, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s rejected cameo and the bizarre decision to end the film with an alien Iron Man suit.
Along the way, they discuss Predator dogs, Gary Busey nepotism, Shane Black’s career, the movie’s handling of autism and Tourette syndrome, Olivia Munn’s underused character, the franchise’s endless callbacks, and whether The Predator is a horror movie, action comedy, family drama or all three at once.
Finally, JD and Paul update their rankings of every Predator movie covered so far.
Chapters
00:00 Predators on the Couch
00:36 Welcome to Hold Onto Your Butts
02:43 Andres Becerril Joins the Show
03:35 High Hopes for The Predator
04:57 The Olivia Munn Deleted-Scene Controversy
06:19 Reshoots, Rewrites and the Lost Version
07:18 Benicio del Toro Almost Starred
08:09 Andres’ First Full Predator Movie
11:33 What Happened to Shane Black?
14:38 Predators Were Originally Helping Humanity
15:19 Three Different Movies Stitched Together
16:42 Global Warming and the Predator Killer
19:27 The Verdict: Wasted Potential
20:39 Boyd Holbrook and the Overloaded Cast
23:02 Was Olivia Munn the Best Part?
24:16 Watching an R-Rated Predator Movie With Your Kid
25:14 Spider-Man vs. Predator
26:56 Fast Facts, Box Office and Franchise History
29:53 Halloween, Timeline Problems and Shane Black’s Style
33:32 Predator Dogs and Recycled Ideas
39:07 A Great Cast Trapped in a Bad Movie
41:18 Attempting to Explain the Plot
49:42 Jake Busey and Predator Nepotism
51:07 Hold Onto Your Butts Moments
57:04 Would Our Partners Help the Loonies?
01:02:00 Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Rejected Cameo
01:04:10 The Movie’s Autism Plotline
01:11:34 Alien Technology and Convenient Explanations
01:13:09 Shane Black’s Complicated Predator History
01:17:47 Predator Easter Eggs and the Dog Homage
01:20:07 Defending Olivia Munn
01:25:04 The Parkour Predator
01:30:33 The Abandoned Daytime Ending
01:36:38 Why the Story Barely Holds Together
01:40:06 Is the Podcast Warning People Away?
01:44:33 Predator Should Be Horror, Not Superhero Action
01:47:10 Best Kills and Favorite Moments
01:50:34 Behind-the-Scenes Trivia
01:54:01 The Predator Killer Suit
01:55:02 Ranking All Six Predator Movies
02:01:24 Andres’ Plugs and Final Thoughts
02:03:10 Outro
Listen to Hold Onto Your Butts wherever you get podcasts.
#ThePredator #Predator #ShaneBlack #OliviaMunn #SterlingKBrown #MoviePodcast #FilmPodcast #PredatorFranchise #HoldOntoYourButts
