This article contains SPOILERS for Predator: Killer of Killers
Predator: Killer of Killers has been released on Hulu and can be said to kick off a year of Predator, which will continue on Nov. 7, 2025, with the release of Predator: Badlands in theaters. Predator: Killer of Killers is co-directed by Dan Tractenberg, who also helms Predator: Badlands and directed the excellent 2022 film Prey, the movie that kicked off this new era for the Predator franchise. For years, fans have been hoping for a sequel to Prey, with star Amber Midthunder teasing the project for some time.
Yet instead of a direct sequel, Tractenberg opted to take the Predator in two unique directions by giving the franchise its first animated anthology with Predator: Killer of Killers and the first film with a Predator protagonist through Predator: Badlands. Despite being an animated project, Predator: Killer of Killers connects to Prey in a significant way, one teased towards the end of the film and one major one at the very end that could change the franchise’s future, including if fans can expect Prey 2 and if so, what will it look like?
‘Predator: Killer of Killers’ Mid-Credits Scene Explained
Shortly after the title card for Predator: Killer of Killers lands, the film shows one final scene before the credits roll. Two Predators escort one of the film’s serving warriors in a cryochamber into a hall filled with cryochambers. This scene is visually similar to the final shot of the warehouse in Raiders of the Lost Ark, which was revealed to be Area 51 in Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. In Killer of Killers, this hints at many more individuals the Predators have abducted and brought back to their homeworld.
Two Predators pass one cryochamber, and the camera zooms in to reveal Naru (Amber Midthunder), the protagonist of Prey. Predator: Killer of Killers teased some connection to the events of Prey when earlier in the film, in the arena where the film’s three protagonists meet, there is the flintlock pistol of Raphael Adolini, the Italian translator whom Naru encountered in her film. Ralphael Adolini was a reference to the larger Predator franchise, as he was previously alluded to in Predator 2 through this same pistol.
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Predator: Killer of Killers now fills a gap in the Predator timeline and solves a plot hole created in Prey. Prey ends with Naru in possession of Raphael Adolini’s pistol. However, in Predator 2, which is set 287 years after the events of Prey, the gun is in the possession of the Predators, who gift it to Lieutenant Mike Harrigan (Danny Glover) as a trophy. Many fans wondered how the Predators could have gotten Raphael Adolini’s pistol if Naru had killed one of their own in battle, a task that, until Predator: Killer of Killers, seemed to earn a human the respect of the Predators from being hunted.
Prey‘s end credits feature a series of caves that depict the events of the film and tease what might come after. The final painting shows three Predator vessels arriving over the tribe. While this initially seemed to set up Prey 2, now, within the context of Predator: Killer of Killers, it reveals that Naru herself was captured and taken prisoner by the Predators. With this big reveal at the end of Predator: Killer of Killers, what does that mean for Prey 2, or will there even be a Prey 2?
What Does This Mean for ‘Prey 2’?
Since Prey hit Hulu in August 2022 and earned some of the best reviews in the Predator franchise, fans have been hoping for a follow-up film. However, while director Dan Tractenberg was said to be working on follow-ups to Prey, a direct Prey 2 was never mentioned. In 2024, it was reported that Tractenberg was developing two Predator films, which were initially reported as Predator: Badlands and Prey 2. Prey 2 eventually turned out to be Predator: Killer of Killers, a top-secret project with the idea of a direct sequel to Prey being used to throw scoopers off the scent.
The reveal of Amber Midthunder’s Naru in the cryo pod container suggests that Predator: Killer of Killers is Prey 2, or at least a loose sequel to those events. Like Prey, Predator: Killer of Killers follows the Predator in different time periods, facing off against different warriors throughout history. Both films were released on Hulu, giving them a distribution link and a thematic and stylistic one.
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Now we have a loose two-parter that could pay off with a third spiritual sequel to make it a trilogy. This could be Predator: Badlands or something far bigger, bringing back an idea for Predator 3 that was pitched in the 1990s. This would open the door for various franchise leads like Arnold Schwaranegger, Danny Glover, Adrien Brody, and Alice Braga to return alongside Amber Midthunder’s Naru.
There is also the strong possibility that Predator: Killer of Killers might be teasing future developments and potential reveals in Predator: Badlands. With Dan Tractenberg directing both films and Prey, there are likely to be strong links between the three films. One of the species in the coliseum resembles one of the kaiju-like aliens seen in the Predator: Badlands trailer.
It is worth noting that the final fight in Predator: Killer of Killers occurs in an unspecified period. All we know is that it’s after World War II, but given the film never reveals how much, if any, time has passed since the last abduction to being awoken before battle, Predator: Badlands might be taking place in the Earth’s far future. Characters in Predator: Killer of Killers, potentially even the Naru tease, might pay off this fall when Predator: Badlands hits theaters.
- Release Date
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June 6, 2025
- Director
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Dan Trachtenberg, Josh Wassung
- Writers
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Micho Robert Rutare, Dan Trachtenberg
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
