Predator Teases the Grim Final Fate of Arnold Schwarzenegger's Dutch

Summary Arnold Schwarzenegger's Dutch may have a grim final fate in the current Predator canon, as it's all-too possible that he's been unceremoniously killed off-screen.

John Schaefer, Dutch's brother, may finally find his missing brother captured by the Predators, but even he knows it's more likely that Dutch is dead.

However, the stage is set for an epic conclusion to Dutch's storyline, but only if Predator does reveal how he died (if he's even dead at all).

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Predator: The Last Hunt #2! The legendary action movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger famously played Dutch Schaefer in the 1987 film Predator, and while his character survived, he was never seen again in any of the subsequent films or tie-in comics. However, that may change in the current continuity of Predator canon, but unfortunately, it may only amount to revealing a grim final fate for Schwarzenegger’s iconic Dutch.

In Predator: The Last Hunt #2 by Ed Brisson and Francesco Manna, the greatest Predator-killer of all time, Theta, has come across a Yautja Stasis Farm where the alien hunters are keeping the unconscious bodies of those they’ve kidnapped over the course of decades for the purpose of waking them up at their leisure and hunting them on the Predators’ many preserve planets. Before investigating the Stasis Farm itself, Theta and her companion, Paolo, meet a group of survivors who escaped their stasis pods, and one of them is John Schaefer.

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John Schaefer is Dutch’s older brother, whose storyline began in Dark Horse Comics’ Predator: Concrete Jungle. In the Dark Horse Comics Predator continuity, Dutch had gone missing immediately following the end of 1987’s Predator, and John took it upon himself to find his brother. John’s story was left incomplete when 20th Century Studios started publishing Predator books. But now, it seems like John may finally find Dutch, if his brother was captured by the Predators, and if he wasn’t already hunted by them. However, as stated by John himself, the odds that Dutch is still alive are undeniably slim.

2:05 Related Predator Teases the Return of Arnold Schwarzenegger's Dutch in the Far Future of 2068 Arnold Schwarzenegger's iconic character from 1987's Predator, Dutch, is teased to be making a return to the franchise in the current continuity!

Predator: The Last Hunt Teases that Dutch has Already Been Killed by the Predators Off-Screen

In Dark Horse Comics continuity, there was never an explanation given as to how or why Dutch was kidnapped by the Predators - in fact, it wasn’t even confirmed that he was kidnapped by the Predators at all. John just assumed that was the case, and spent his life hunting Predators wherever they popped up on Earth in the hopes that he’d find a trace of his missing brother, yet he never did. What 20th Century Studios has done is offer fans exactly how and why Dutch would have been kidnapped, if he was, indeed, taken by the Predators at all.

The Yautja would have been impressed with how Dutch handled the Predator in the 1987 movie, and would have wanted to abduct him and keep him in stasis for another hunt on one of their worlds at a later date. Unfortunately, given that Dutch would have been kidnapped in the late ‘80s, and the current ‘present day’ of Predator canon is 2068, it’s all-too probable that Dutch had been awakened from his stasis and hunted on a far-off world, with his final stand taking place totally off-screen.

Predator Sets the Stage for an Epic Conclusion to Dutch’s Storyline

If Dutch is already dead in Predator: The Last Hunt, fans need to see what happened!

While it is possible that Dutch is still alive, and John’s pessimistic (though justifiably realistic) assumption as to his brother’s fate is totally wrong, it seems just as likely that Dutch is really gone. John Schaefer has effectively superseded his brother as a major protagonist within Predator comics, so Dutch’s return would only overshadow that status quo. However, that means the stage is set for one last storyline where Dutch is once again the star, as fans will need to see the final days of this iconic warrior if he is truly gone in Predator: The Last Hunt.

While a separate storyline featuring Dutch’s final stand would be an amazing addition to the wider Predator universe, that isn’t guaranteed to happen, even if Dutch is really dead in Predator: The Last Hunt. Therefore, the idea that he died off-screen is decidedly grim, especially when considering how truly iconic Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch is in Predator canon.

Predator: The Last Hunt #2 by 20th Century Studios is available now.