Remember that time Jean-Claude Van Damme was the Predator?

Believe it or not, 2011's “The Expendables 2” wasn't the first time Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jean-Claude Van Damme ever faced off on the big screen.

Back in 1987, filming was about to begin on director John McTiernan’s sci-fi actioner “Predator,” starring Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, and Jesse Ventura. However, the film still needed to find a performer to fill the shoes of the titular alien monster.

Enter a then 25-year-old Jean-Claude Van Damme, a rising martial arts star from Brussels, Belgium. Van Damme, who would go on to a great action movie career of his own, was a virtual unknown when he was hired to play a very different version of the Predator than the one audiences now know.

As described by special FX and creature makeup wizard Steve Johnson (“Ghostbusters,” “Blade 2”) in the video interview above, the original version of the Predator was far more insect-like than the menacing alien that the filmmakers eventually settled on. With that in mind, McTiernan and the producers hired Van Damme, a performer with both the strength and agility required to wear the cumbersome suit.

The aspiring action star may have had the physical chops to play the villainous role, but apparently there was plenty of friction with the cast and crew due to Van Damme's general demeanor on-set and well-founded concerns about the clunky original Predator costume. Van Damme, who according to Johnson believed the film would be a chance to show off his martial arts skills, repeatedly complained to others that the suit was "too clumsy and too hot." He left the project after only a few days of filming.

Van Damme was ultimately vindicated, though, when the producers decided to start over from scratch. Consulting with creature FX legend Stan Winston (“The Terminator,” “Aliens”) and director James Cameron, McTiernan had the Predator completely redesigned. The Muscles from Brussels was replaced by “Harry and the Hendersons” actor Kevin Peter Hall and the Predator took on its now iconic appearance.

Though it would have been very cool to see Arnold and Van Damme face off when they were both in their action movie primes, the behind-the-scenes video above demonstrates that it probably would have looked pretty corny. Things clearly worked out for the best.