Claim: Arnold Schwarzenegger was an actor in action films.

Predator is a 1987 American science-fiction action film directed by John McTiernan . It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the leader of an elite special forces team who are on a mission to rescue hostages from guerrilla territory in Val Verde in Central America 's Northern Triangle . Kevin Peter Hall co-stars as the titular antagonist , a technologically advanced form of extraterrestrial life secretly stalking and hunting the group . Predator was written by brothers Jim and John Thomas in 1985 , under the working title of Hunter . Filming began in April 1986 and creature effects were devised by Stan Winston .   The film 's budget was around $ 15 million . 20th Century Fox released it in the United States on June 12 , 1987 , where it grossed $ 59,735,548 . Initial critical reaction was mixed ; criticism focused on the thin plot . In subsequent years , critics ' attitudes toward the film became positive , and it has appeared on a number of `` best of '' lists . It spawned two sequels , Predator 2 -LRB- 1990 -RRB- and Predators -LRB- 2010 -RRB- , and two crossover films with the Alien franchise , Alien vs. Predator -LRB- 2004 -RRB- and Aliens vs. Predator : Requiem -LRB- 2007 -RRB- . Another film , The Predator , is scheduled for 2018 .