 Producer Robert Rodriguez had developed a script for a third instalment as early as 1994, although it was not until 2009 that 20th Century Fox greenlit the project.According to Rodriguez, the title "Predators" is an allusion to the second film in the "Alien" franchise, "Aliens" (1986).The title also has a double meaning, referring both to the extraterrestrial Predator creatures and to the group of human characters who are pitted against them.