Minor Spoilers for Predator: Killer of Killers are below!
Summary
Predator: Killer of Killersis a unique film in thePredatorfranchise, and the anthology features a Yautja battle unlike anything fans have seen before. Director Dan Trachtenberg reinvigorated thePredatorseries with his 2022 filmPrey, which followed Naru, a Comanche warrior played by Amber Midthunder, who battled a Yautja hunter in 1719. Trachtenberg has since been entrusted with the franchise, with the director behind two new films releasing this year,Predator: Killer of KillersandPredator: Badlands.
Predator: Killer of Killersrecently debuted on Hulu, with audiences streaming the animated anthology movie, which has proven to be one of the highest-rated films in the franchise. The movie tells three separate stories, seeing a Viking, a Samurai, and a WWII pilot battling Yautja hunters at different times throughout history.Predator: Killer of Killersis oneof the franchise’s most unique entries, embracing elements that have worked for the series in the past while adding new thrills fans haven’t seen before.
The PreviousPredatorFilms Have Thrived On Similar Concepts
ThePredatorfranchise has thrived on standalone sequels that feature various types of human warriors battling Yautja hunters.The firstPredator, starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, followed a team of soldiers. 2010’sPredatorsfeatured numerous military types, as well as a Mexican cartel member, a serial killer, and a Yakuza member. Trachtenberg’sPreywas the first to step back in time, seeing a Comanche warrior fighting a distinct Yautja hunter, giving the franchise a female protagonist. The series has successfully brought thePredatorback to battle new people in new places, as each sequel embraced similar concepts.
Predator: Killer of Killerstook what fans loved aboutPreyand picked three other warriors from throughout history to battle Yautja.Each story also featured distinctly different Yautja, varying the encounters. The Viking story featured a Brute Yautja, with the Samurai story seeing a leaner, stealthierPredator unlike any presented in prior films. However,the WWII story gave thePredatorfranchise something it had never done before.
Predator: Killer Of KillersSets Itself Apart In More Ways Than One
Predator: Killer of Killersis easily the most distinct film in the franchise, as it is the first animated movie and anthology.It also sets up a finale that could see prior characters returning, as an expanded lore introduces a conceit full of possibilities.While the Viking and Samurai stories are thingsPredatorfans have yet to see, they share similarities with earlier films in the series.The Samurai story, in particular, has elements reminiscent of Hanzo inPredators, with the same actor, Louis Ozawa, also voicing the characters Kenji and Kiyohsi inPredator: Killer of Killers.
The WWII pilot’s tale in the film’s third storyoffers thePredatorfranchisea new battle that no other movie has featured.The pilot, Torres, finds himself and his fellow airmen embroiled in an aerial dogfight with a Predator ship.While Predator ships have played integral roles in prior movies, as 2018’sThe Predatorfeatured a finale that saw characters on one of the ships, trying to bring it down, andPredator 2’sconclusion plays out on one,audiences have never been treated to a dogfight.The scene sees planes downed by the Predator ship, with Torres performing a death-defying feat to keep his aircraft aloft as he figures out the Yautja’s heat-seeking technology.
The scene also sees Michael Biehn voicing the character Vandy, who perishes, making him the second actor in history killed by a Terminator, a Predator, and a Xenomorph (or at leastin anAlienmovie), alongside the late Bill Paxton. Still, the entire dogfight showsPredator: Killer of Killersflexing the advantages of its animation to thrill audiences with a scene a live-action movie could shy away from due to budgetary constraints, giving the franchise a battle audiences likely never thought they would see.
Killer Of KillersIs The First of Two Unique 2025PredatorMovies
Trachtenberg has been invigorating thePredatorfranchise with fresh ideas.After the success ofPrey, the director has continued to find new ways for the series to continue in ways fans never expected. WhilePredator: Killer of Killerssets itself apartas an animated anthology movie, the director may give the franchise one of its most distinct outings later this year withPredator: Badlands.
Predator: Badlandswill feature the first Yautja protagonist in the franchise, following Dek, an outcast who teams up with Elle Fanning’s Thia.The trailer’s other twist is that Thia is a Weyland-Yutani android, which connectsBadlandsto theAlienfranchise.It may also be setting upanotherAlien vs. Predatorfilm, potentially expanding the franchise with a new crossover movie. Given what Trachtenberg has set up with the finale ofPredator: Killer of Killers, and whatPredator: Badlandspromises to bring to the series, the alien hunters look to have a bright future in the director’s hands, with numerous ways to continue.
