It makes no difference to whose generation you belong. Dutch, the personification of masculinity and testosterone, would likely be the first name that comes to mind if you were asked to name a character from the Predator franchise.
Major Alan “Dutch” Schaefer, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, is the driving force behind the Predator series even though he only appears in one movie. Without a doubt, Dutch is one of the most morally upright and powerful characters the franchise has ever seen.
Even though Dutch’s journey is concluded in the first movie, a video game later makes available tapes featuring Arnold himself that highlight Dutch’s journey following the events of the 1987 movie. While this may not have been enough for the fans, it did provide some closure for Dutch’s character arc.
We will go through everything we know about Dutch’s involvement with the Predator and AvP franchises, as well as a comic book series that stars his brother, in this video. We will also discuss why Arnold Schwarzenegger chose not to reprise his role as Dutch in this iconic franchise. Shall we get started?
Who is Dutch? – backstory and adventures of the heroic soldier from Predator lore
Predator, the first instalment of the famed franchise, is a science fiction classic from 1987 that was directed by John McTiernan and written by brothers Jim and John Thomas. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays Major Alan “Dutch” Schaefer in the movie. The rescue mission for a cabinet minister and his assistant, who have been missing for a while and may have been held captive by rebel guerillas, is taken on by Major Alan “Dutch” Schaefer, a veteran of the Vietnam War. Al Dillon, a CIA man who served with Dutch in the Vietnam War, is tasked with joining Dutch and his squad on this assignment in spite of Dutch’s misgivings.
As they set out on their mission, the crew comes across the wreckage of a chopper and three bodies that Dutch recognises as Green Berets, leading them to immediately question Dillon’s motivations. However, Dutch is taken aback by the fact that Green Berets are nothing less than a highly skilled military force, and the savagery with which they had been killed suggested that something evil was hiding in the dark forests.
When the crew arrives at the guerilla camp and discovers a hostage being executed, things only get worse. This triggers a high-stakes ambush in which several rebels are killed. Dutch realises it’s finally time to confront Dillon about his true intentions.
The objective was neutralizing the rebels, but after the previous unit to carry out the mission got eliminated, Dillon tricked his friend and an uber-cool commando Dutch into accepting the same mission. We did expect better stuff from the Rocky star, didn’t we? Dillon reveals that his mission was to stop a planned Soviet-backed invasion and that the CIA sent the Green Berets weeks earlier for the same task, but they never make it back alive.
As the team continues their journey, they are followed by an entity using a cloaking device and soon kills one of the members. Dutch and his remaining team members panic when they realise they are all being hunted down by a strange creature, quite possibly unknown to this world.
Although this film was nothing short of a bloodbath, it is essential to note that Dutch had several improvised methods to try and kill his creature, some of which included an elaborate booby trap constructed from the forest itself. The sequence only proves how well-trained and able our masculine war veteran was.
Towards the end, Dutch was one of the only surviving member of his team and even made a stand against the Predator, who hunted down his entire team, even though he was outmatched by the end of it and lost most of his equipment. However, a lucky accident led to Dutch being covered in mud, rendering him invisible to the Predator’s heat vision.
Dutch used this new found piece of information to his advantage later and constructed traps and weapons, proceeding to cover himself in mud to hide his thermal signature, and went ahead to confront the predator one last time. Even though the Predator did fall into some of Dutch’s traps, he did not die, leading to combat between the Predator and Dutch. This hand-to-hand, without the help of many weapons, is probably one of the greatest duels of its kind in the history of American cinema.
However, even though Dutch was undoubtedly strong, he wasn’t more robust than the Predator and was subjected to a brutal beating. And if we come to think of it, the Yautja is nature’s killing machine, while Dutch saw himself as a protector instead of a killer.
In the end, Dutch manages to overpower the beast, but the Predator activated his self-destruct device, levelling everything in a large area. But despite this, Dutch managed to escape in time and was picked up by a helicopter, although, he wasn’t out of harm’s way, at least, not yet.
But his journey doesn’t end here. In fact, this was possibly the beginning of a much larger role in the predator franchise. After he was rescued, Dutch began suffering adverse health effects, similar to radiation sickness, from exposure to the explosion of the Predator’s Self-Destruct Device, which Dutch barely managed to escape.
Dutch was hospitalised briefly, but he managed to escape from the hospital and then disappeared. He soon became sort of a legend after the incidents that had taken place. He was even known amongst the Yautjas, who were well aware of his valour and might. Some information revealed to the Yautja tribe led to them having a deep respect for Dutch, and his achievements, which by extension led them to have a higher regard for the human race in general.
He later reappeared in a futuristic Earth in 2025, and stories of his whereabouts had also been discovered, with Dutch talking about his encounters in tape recordings. In 1987, Dutch kept recording his experiences with the Yautja species as insurance in case he was harmed.
It turns out that when Dutch had escaped from the hospital where he was being treated after the mission, he began the arduous journey back to South America to the site of the encounter, hoping to hear more of the native stories, desperately wanting to know more about what killed his entire team. In 1991, he began living under an assumed identity, masquerading as an author, eager to learn more about the Predator.
He eventually found some information that matched his own experiences with the creature, which made him realize that aliens had been coming to Earth to hunt for a while now. And this fact was proven by the statements of Anna, the rebel girl whom Dutch had held captive. He also understood that in most of these stories, these alien species loved the heat, a piece of information he knew would be helpful to him at a later point. By 1992, Dutch’s health had worsened due to radiation exposure.
He also ran into Agent Keyes from the CIA and two other agents. They all had a drink together like they were old friends and exchanged stories about aliens and technology, and that’s when Dutch learned that Keyes was still obsessed with wanting to recover the Yautja technology and that he was only a few steps behind Dutch in learning about the alien hunters.
Before leaving, Keyes also warned Dutch to stay out of the jungle because that’s where the Predator might get him. It wasn’t until 1996 that Dutch set up a private military company dedicated to performing search and rescue operations. The men he recruited were called “haunted soldiers” and were unaware of what they were working towards, and they considered Dutch a legend, which is exactly what he needed them to think of him. Dutch was doing precisely what Dillon did to his team years ago.
He was using these men as bait in his hunt for alien life. After waiting a long time, the Predator finally arrived, and Dutch and his team immediately engaged the alien. However, after an expected explosion, the entire team and the beast were all killed, and the only person to survive was Dutch. However, he allowed himself to be counted amongst the dead, but before he did so, he gathered blood samples and all the technology he possibly could before burning everything in sight.
In 1997, Dutch returned to the US, but because he had plenty of contraband, he had to travel through Mexico before making his way to Los Angeles when he realised it was the perfect time for a hunt, considering the heat and the gang wars. However, he was a little too late because a detective who worked for the LAPD had already caught the Predator and killed him. Do we have any fans of Mr Harrigan here?
Dutch was then captured by the CIA team, OWLF, working on investigating otherworldly life forms and was forced to barter his stolen Yautja technology in return for his bail. Together, they made a deal to work together to hunt down the Predators. Dutch was officially their consulting advisor; instead of working for them, he would work with them.
The OWLF and Dutch working together proved beneficial for both of them. Every time a hunt would finish, they would come back with more alien technology, and the team’s funding would also increase significantly. Together, they were more potent and more efficient.
Dutch had been successfully hunting down Yautjas for almost twenty years now and was currently in Laos tracking down a female Yautja. However, things didn’t go as planned, and he was ready to accept his fate as she pinned him down with razors cutting into his face, knowing that his time had finally ended. Shockingly, the female Yautja decided to show him mercy and let him go as she escaped.
Dutch wondered if this was because she recognised him from the stories amongst their people. Nevertheless, he had been granted another chance at life along with his first failed mission in a very long time, which made him question many things.
Dutch had reached the age of 78 and was still hunting these alien species, and an encounter with a Yautja left him severely wounded. However, he wasn’t going to give in to death that easily, so he agreed to an experimental treatment that would mix his DNA with that of a Yautja.
After this experiment was a success, he returned to service yet again, and the number of alien encounters had only grown and continued to grow. Dutch decided that he would continue to hunt the hunters and work with anyone who shared the same goal as him for as long as he was alive. He hoped that everyone would rise together and face these species.
Alan Schafer, or Dutch, will always go down in history as one of the most intelligent and resourceful leaders liked and respected by his team and the men who worked for him. Dutch was a lethal opponent in battle and always fought his hardest even when the one he was fighting wasn’t human; nothing deterred him from his goal. Sometimes you would think that Dutch was almost invincible after several of his near-death experiences in the first film in the franchise.
Predator comic series, the sequel spin-off to the 1987 film// What happened to Dutch – narrative from his brother’s perspective
In the year 1989, Dark Horse Comics published a four-issue limited comic book series which was initially titled, Predator and was officially the first comic in the now widespread Predator comics line. This comic series was originally intended to feature the character of Dutch; However, the lead character of the comics series was ultimately changed to Detective John Schaefer, who was the brother of Dutch from the 1987 film.
The comic begins in New York, which is melting with scorching heat and a secret meeting between two bosses of their respective gangs is broken up by an unknown attacker. Detectives Rasche and Schaefer have been ordered to stay out of this mess, but they ignore the orders and look at what’s happened as they make their way to the location.
They see that everyone present has been massacred, apart from one of the gang leaders, Carr, who manages to escape just before the detectives can question or capture him. The detectives are both reprimanded by their captain for not following some simple orders and are given the warning to stay out of this case at all costs. The captain also lets them know that the feds will handle this case.
However, Rasche and Schaefer are not satisfied. These attacks don’t stop as a few days later, something similar occurs at the New York Police Department firing range, and the only person who makes it out alive is the desk clerk, who was also the only one unarmed there. Once again, Rasche and Schaefer know that this isn’t something they should look into, especially after the previous warning from their captain, but that doesn’t stop them.
As they enter the investigation scene without authorization, they are stopped by General Philips of the US Army, who takes them aside, making it very clear that they should not be involved in these killings. The detectives might have listened to him and apologised, but General Philips made it a point to mention Dutch and that he must drop this case for him and that these killers are connected to Dutch in some way, keeping in mind that this was the time when Dutch was missing.
After this meeting, the detectives return to the scene of the first attack, looking for clues, but Schaefer makes the mistake of heading inside alone and is instantly attacked by the killer. There is absolutely no competition between the two. The second issue begins where we left off, as the killer is a giant figure with a helmet on and manages to kick Schaefer out of the building, but just before that, Schaefer manages to rip the helmet off the face of the killer.
As the detectives make their way to the hospital, they learn that a mysterious metal device has been attached to the back of Schaefer’s neck and threatens to cut his carotid artery if it is removed. Schaefer tells Rasche to take a vacation with his family for his safety when he realises that this killer has specifically tagged him. Meanwhile, he will travel to Central America, following up on information given by his brother Dutch before his disappearance. Now the readers know who the killer is, but we see Schafer getting closer to realising precisely what is going on and how these killings link to his missing brother, Dutch.
Schaefer retraces Dutch’s steps, leading him into a jungle, where he finds a destroyed rebel encampment and a huge blast crater. Soon enough, he is attacked by a Predator, which he recognises as the suspect from New York, and barely manages to kill the creature by kicking it over a cliff, impaling it on a branch, and assuming that this is the end of his journey and that the problem in hand was now solved.
However, on the way out of the jungle, Schaefer is captured by Eschevera, a drug dealer from New York, who takes Schaefer back to his base and prepares to have Schaefer tortured, but a group of Predators soon attacks his base. Luckily, Schaefer manages to escape the slaughter and returns to the jungle, where General Philips recovers. The third issue of the comic begins in New York, where Rasche discovers a fleet of Predator ships hovering over the city when he looks through the helmet Schaefer recovered in the first comic.
As Rasche tries to convince his superiors, he is captured by Philip’s men. He learns that Philip intends to hand Schaefer over to the aliens because he believes that the aliens are here to settle the score after Dutch killed one of their members in Central America and hopes this will convince them to leave Earth in peace. Rasche learns where this deal will be made and heads towards it, trying to save Schaefer from being transferred to the aliens. There, he finds Schaefer holding his captors to gunpoint, and the two detectives flee the scene immediately.
Now, Schaefer is determined to take down these aliens, so he recruits Carr and his men, arming them with heavy weapons taken from the New York Police Department. It was time for one showdown. They manage to get the Predator’s attention as a war breaks out. However, a huge storm suddenly breaks over, signalling the end of the heatwave in the city and in response, the creatures return to their vessel, departing Earth with their ships.
Undoubtedly, this comic was incredibly popular amongst fans and made way for several comics that built the franchise. However, one can’t help but wonder how different it would have been if they had stuck to their original decision of having Dutch as the protagonist of this particular comic.
Speaking of Dutch’s life in the later part, his great-granddaughter Psi-Judge Schaefer was a psychic who used her abilities to find out the location of the Predator. All this happened in the crossover comics Predator vs Judge Dredd. You can check out our video of ten crazy Predator crossovers. We’ll leave a link in the description.
Why Arnold Never Returned As Dutch?
The first film ended with Dutch surviving every attack in the 1987 film. So, it was only expected that this character, played by Arnold Schwarzenegger, would return in future films, but that wasn’t the case, and there were several reasons for this. Although this character has appeared in comics and video games and has been mentioned several times, he never returned the way the fans wanted him to.
During interviews in the 2010s, Arnold was asked about his life and success in Hollywood and eventually, the questions moved towards his absence in the Predator franchise. Arnold’s response is a direct attack on the studio and how sometimes they tend to spend less money on hiring the right cast and crew while still wanting to earn a lot of money from the film. He also compares the first Predator movie to the ones that came after and how they were barely satisfactory, and none of them was as good as the first one.
Although Arnold was offered a role in Predator 2, he declined because of the money and then made some great films, including True Lies, Total Recall, Kindergarten Cop and many more. For the producers, the reason for not having Arnold came down to financial disagreement, but for Arnold, it was all about making good movies and good choices about the franchise.
There is no doubt the franchise saw a dip after Arnold walked away from it, and after every Predator film was announced, the fans hoped he would return, but sadly, he never did. As the franchise continues to be alive, nothing can be compared to the 1987 classic, and the fans will never see Arnold return to this franchise, but Dutch’s name might pop up here and there, and maybe that will be more than enough.
There is no doubt that Dutch as a character has been missed for years now, and while the studio could have replaced Arnold with someone else and continued Dutch’s story, they chose not to. It would have felt wrong seeing someone other than Arnold play Dutch, who, despite only appearing in one film, has become a favourite character and is still remembered after all these decades. Shaefer’s character was supposed to appear in the film Predators, where he would have been the leader of the Predators in the Game Preserve Planet. However, this could never see the light of day.