This article was originally published on SFFGazette.com.
In Predator: Killer of Killers, we're introduced to Ursa, Kenji, and Torres, three warriors who hail from three distinct time periods. Ursa is a Viking, Kenji is a ninja in feudal Japan, and Torres is a World War II pilot.
After each of them is shown to have survived encounters with the Yautja, we learn that they were taken from Earth and placed in suspended animation by the alien warriors. They're woken up by the "Grendel King," the apparent leader of the Predators, who forces them to do battle before he faces the victor.
They ultimately decide to work together and form an escape plan; Ursa ultimately stays behind, and Kenji and Torres escape in a spaceship with the Yautja army in hot pursuit.
With Predator: Killer of Killers, filmmaker Dan Trachtenberg has finally explained why the Yautja go on these hunts. Whether it's to track humans or their fellow aliens, the endgame seems to be testing the species they consider beneath them and then battling those they deem worthy in the name of honour and entertainment.
As the movie ends, hundreds of warriors of all species are revealed to have been put in cryogenesis by the Predators. With Ursa placed back among them, the camera pans to Amber Midthunder's Naru, the protagonist of 2022's Prey. We last saw her gearing up to lead her people against an invading army of Yautja, and the stage has now been set for her return.
That could be in Prey 2, this summer's Predator: Badlands, or another animated movie remains to be seen. It's also unclear how Predator: Badlands will address any of this, but we'd be shocked if it isn't all tied together somehow.
The synopsis for the movie has revealed that "a young Predator...embarks on a treacherous journey in search of the ultimate adversary." Then, there's the small matter of what now looks to be an inevitable Alien vs. Predator crossover somewhere down the line. We'll have to wait and see.
The reviews are also in for Predator: Killer of Killers, and it currently sits at 96% on Rotten Tomatoes based on 28 reviews. Trachtenberg is on a roll, and Predator: Badlands can't get here soon enough.
The anthology story follows three of the fiercest warriors in human history: a Viking raider guiding her young son on a bloody quest for revenge, a ninja in feudal Japan who turns against his Samurai brother in a brutal battle for succession, and a WWII pilot who takes to the sky to investigate an otherworldly threat to the Allied cause.
However, while all these warriors are killers in their own right, they are merely prey for their new opponent: the ultimate killer of killers.
Predator: Killer of Killers is now streaming on Hulu and Disney+.