Never Forget The Batman VS Alien And Predator Movie, The Crazy Story Of Its Creation
We can collectively thank the Marvel Cinematic Universe for putting superhero movies at the forefront of modern cinematography (and we can thank Disney for ruining them), but the truth is that some of the best stories out there weren’t written by the greats. No, some of the best stories are told by the fans, and in the light of the DC cinematic universe’s reshuffling—the most recent one—fans of DC Comics have gravitated towards a fan-made movie titled Batman: Dead End.
Batman: Dead End pits the caped Crusader against the Joker, Xenomorphs, and Predators.
Batman: Dead End, is a completely fan-made short film featuring the Caped Crusader fighting some intergalactic and inter-franchise foes we never thought he’d encounter: the Xenomorph from Ridley Scott’s 1979 Alien and a Yautja from John McTiernan’s 1987 Predator. An aspiring filmmaker, Sandy Collora, who worked in Hollywood as a special effects technician, needed to make something that would impress the studios and prove his talents, so he decided to take the darker Batman, the one we know from the comics, onto the screen.
Batman: Dead End ends with a massive cliffhanger with the Dark Knight surrounded by both Aliens and Predators…
The result was a more brooding, prone-to-grimace Batman we used to see after the release of Batman Begins. And while that movie was an absolute hit, it’s safe to say that Collora’s short film is the first, more canonical version of the character. Interestingly, this movie was the first to pit Predators against Aliens before the 1989 comic book Alien versus Predator was adapted into 2004’s AVP: Alien vs. Predator. However, in Batman: Dead End, the aliens have to face off against the world’s best detective and the largest prepper the comic book world has ever known.
Batman fights both Predators and Aliens in the DC comic book canon, and after setting the correct tone, Collora delivered exactly what fabs wanted. Batman: Dead End opens up during a stormy night in Gotham City, with the Joker escaping Arkham Asylum while Batman goes on the hunt to find him. Batman eventually finds the Joker, but before he can apprehend him, the Clown Prince of Crime is quickly dragged off by an Alien and presumably killed.
Behind the Mask: The Batman Dead End Story is a documentary about the making of the fan film, and everything that went wrong after its surprise success.
Another Alien emerges and attacks Batman, but this one is killed by a Predator, which Batman then fights and defeats. However, more Predators appear in that moment, just as more Aliens emerge from behind Batman. Batman: Dead End ends with a massive cliffhanger with the Dark Knight surrounded by both Aliens and Predators—the ending, though left unresolved, created a lasting impression on the audiences of 2003’s San Diego Comic-Con and the internet. The movie was a massive success among the fans, and it even got praise from Kevin Smith.
Unfortunately, nothing came of the film because its creator decided to squander this golden opportunity—his difficult personality got in the way of the feature film deal. It’s all well detailed in Behind the Mask: The Batman Dead End Story, a free documentary about Collora and Batman: Dead End.
