Summary

Carl Weathersfronted an underseen action gem as his follow - up toPredator , and it ’s one that really should have set off a franchise . Carl Weathers croak on February 1st , 2024 at the historic period of 76 , which led to an outpouring of tributes from friend and cooperator , including Sylvester Stallone and Adam Sandler . In recent years , the actor had become best known asGreef Karga fromThe Mandalorian , a recurring ally of the titular bounty hunter . Of course , Weathers left behind an unbelievable body of workacross his decades - long career .

After starting his vocation with appearances inDirty HarrysequelMagnum Forceor blaxploitation film likeFriday Foster , Weathers land the role of Apollo Creed inRocky . This execution would make the actor ’s career , and he would reprise the function in the next three sequels . He would go on to a levelheaded trial of movies and television set roles , includingForce 10 from Navarone , Adam Sandler comedies likeHappy Gilmoreor his to a great extent memed appearance as himself inArrested Development . He also voiced Combat Carl inToy Story 4and the shortToy Story of Terror .

Carl Weathers , the Emmy - nominated star of the Rocky and Predator franchises , as well as The Mandalorian and Happy Gilmore , has die out at the age of 76 .

Carl Weathers in The Mandalorian

The 1988 action movie promoted Carl Weathers to leading man status

Another famous Weathers role isPredator’sDillion , who is fundamentally the co - conduce alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger ’s Dutch . weather infused his apostate CIA agent with a muckle of depth , with Dillion also receive a memorable demise at the hand of the foreign hunter . atmospheric condition ' show inPredatorled toAction Jacksonbeing greenlit , with the film being inspired by the blaxploitation movies of the ' LXX . natural action Jacksoncasts Weathers as the titulary Detroit cop , who is framed for murder by an old enemy and has to go on the run to clear his name .

legal action Jacksonlacks the bombast of the Arnold Schwarzenegger / Sylvester Stallone action movie of the era , but it ’s very much in that vein . Weathers has the ripped build and piquant one - liners of a classic ' 80s action hero , but he also convey vulnerabilityto the main character reference too . Jacksonisn’tdestined to bring home the bacon every fight or always do out on top , but his greatest asset is that he never yield up . Reviews for the 1988 filmwere conflate , but many still praised Weathers ' leading man turn .

Action Jackson Reunited Weathers With Most Of His Predator Crew

Action Jackson was one big Predator reunion

According to a Q&A with Weathers ( viaRenegade Geek),Action Jacksonwas born out of a conversation withPredatorproducer Joel Silver . The latter has a vast raiment of legal action favorites to his name - includingCommando , Die HardandThe Matrix- and it was his love for blaxploitation cinema that led him to ask Weathers to issue forth up with a unique spin on the musical style . Weathers say he pen the story while filmingPredator , and it was catch a gang member saying " I was in like Action Jackson ! " while talking about a date that led to the title .

The Predator franchise consists of 7 oddly - identify films . With Prey exchange the biz yet again , we rank every movie in the series from risky to good .

outdoors of silver medal producing and Weathers star , Action Jackson’screw was made up ofPredatorvets . Jackson ’s tempestuous genus Bos is fiddle by Bill Duke - who portrayed Mac inPredator- while a confederate the claim character conflict is act by Sonny Landham , who was Billy in the 1987 sci - fi actioner . Action Jacksonwas also helm byPredator’ssecond - unit theater director Craig R. Baxley , who impart his panache for large explosions to the movie . EvenPredator’seditor Mark Helfrich return to cut the Carl Weathers picture .

The Predator Movies Ranked

Why Action Jackson 2 Didn’t Happen Despite The Original Being Such A Hit

Action Jackson should have become a franchise

Action Jacksongrossed $ 20 million during its initial theatrical ladder ( viaBox Office Mojo ) , and an estimated $ 45 million on place video . In all , Action Jacksonmade a account $ 65 million on a budget of $ 7 million , which are the sort of phone number that would invigorate most studio to quest for a continuation . The movie does n’t on the nose end on a cliffhanger , but there ’s nothing to say Jericho " Action " Jackson could n’t have gotten involved in another wild casing . While the motion picture obtain all - around poor reviews , that ’s rarely been a roadblock to studios pursuing continuation either .

Weathers was go for for continuation too , specially considering the movie ’s fiscal succeeder . In the said chat with Renegade Geek , the actor explain that Lorimer - who distributed Action Jackson - was sell to Warner Bros around this flow . This meant WB had the right to Action Jackson 2 , but Weathers believes the studio ’s interest in producing martial arts picture with another , unidentified actor - peradventure Steven Seagal , free-base on Weathers ' verbal description - is one reason a follow - up in the end went unmade .

In 1990 , Weathers would co - star with Billy Dee Williams in television movieDangerous Passion of Christ . The movie itself was ill received , butit speaks to how popularAction Jacksonwas oversea that in some European countries , Dangerous Passionwas sold asAction Jackson 2 . uncalled-for to say , the two havenothingin coarse in terms of plot or type , but this underlines how much of a need there was for a sequel during this time .

Kaitlyn Santa Juana as Stefanie looking horrified in Final Destination Bloodlines

atmospheric condition follow upwith the standardised action movieHurricane Smith , a U.S./Australian conscientious objector - yield , which find out Weathers ' oil field doer heading to Australia in lookup of his sis . The script was written for a bloodless lead assume a cattleman lid , but to make it more commercial-grade , it was rewrite for atmospheric condition to capitalise onAction Jackson(viaFilmInk).Hurricane Smithitself was plan as a likely serial , but according to director Colin Budds , “ It came and expire in a week at the film . ” Arriving in 1992,Hurricane Smithwas just too late to cash in onAction Jackson’ssuccess .

Action Jackson Is Now A Cult Favorite

The Carl Weathers action flick is primed for rediscovery

UnlikeRockyorPredator , Action Jacksonhas largely faded from computer storage . The moving-picture show has an incredible mold - include Craig T. Nelson , Sharon Stone and Robert Davi - and all the passementerie of a Joel Silver blockbuster , but it never reaches the same heights of aLethal Weaponor aRoad House . Action Jackson’stone can sheer from balmy clowning in one panorama to brutal violence the next , and many jest precipitate flat . Outside of a playfulness chase involve Jackson run after a cab , it ’s lacking in a killer setpiece too .

natural action Jackson’sfaults aside , it gave Carl Weathers a great star vehicleand is worth find out for him alone . It ’s a solid shamefaced pleasure action moving-picture show of the salmagundi that is n’t made any longer , which is why its repute only appears to grow with each passing yr . Weathers was a one - of - a - variety star , and the moving picture only foreground why that was .

Action Jacksonis available to rent or purchase from DIRECTV , YouTube , Amazon Video or iTunes from Leontyne Price starting from $ 2.99 .

Carl Weathers as Dillion from Predator alongside Weathers and Vanity from Action Jackson’s movie poster

Custom image by Simone Ashmoore

Source : Renegade Geek Youtube , Box Office Mojo , FilmInk

predatory animal is an action sci - fi franchise created by Jim and John Thomas , begin with the original film released in 1987 . The franchise follows a warrior alien race acknowledge as the Yautja who travel the far reaches of space look for worthy target to track down , constantly fetch them to Earth due to the sheer amount of conflict harbored on it . The serial has spin out off into comic books and animise feature article and has even enjoyed several crossover events via cinema and video games with the Aliens franchise .

Carl Weathers' Dillion talks to Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch in Predator

Carl Weathers as Hurricane Smith in 1992’s Hurricane Smith

Predator Franchise Poster

Predator is an action sci-fi franchise created by Jim and John Thomas, beginning with the original film released in 1987. The franchise follows a warrior alien race known as the Yautja who travel the far reaches of space looking for worthy prey to hunt, constantly bringing them to Earth due to the sheer amount of conflict harbored on it. The series has spun off into comic books and animated features and has even enjoyed several crossover events via film and video games with the Aliens franchise.

Predator - Franchise