A New Predator Movie Comes Out In 2 Months, And It Might Just Be The Best Thing The Franchise Has Ever Done
Predator: Killer of Killers has the potential to be an all-time great entry in the Predator franchise, but it isn’t the only reason fans should be excited for 2025. Debuting in 1987’s The Predator, the hulking alien hunter has been a mainstay of pop culture since the extraterrestrial first battled Arnold Schwarzenegger during the height of his career. However, few entries in the series could match the highs of that bombastic action movie until 2022’s Prey, which shifted focus to a Comanche woman from centuries ago who faced off with one of the aliens. Prey was an instant critical hit.
Luckily, the impact of that film seems to have influenced the franchise going forward in a big way, with Predator: Killer of Killers taking that period-setting approach and applying to an anthology format. The movie will feature three vignettes about Predators hunting different warriors from across human history. It’s a very cool premise that builds off the success of Prey, which comes with some clever ways to speed up the stories and highlight the thematic underlying concepts of the entire beloved sci-fi franchise. Here’s why Predator fans should be very excited for Killers of Killers and 2025 as a whole.
Predator: Killer Of Killers Is An Anthology Film Following Three Different Stories
Killer Of Killers Will Be Set In Different Regions And Time Periods
Predator: Killer of Killers takes the concept of Prey and runs with it, setting up an anthology film that brings some fresh visuals, brutal action, and unique perspectives to the franchise. Similar to Prey, Killer of Killers is set in the past. While Prey was a feature-length story about a young Comanche woman facing off with a Predator in untamed 16th-century North America, Killer of Killers will shift focus between three different settings and characters. These changes will pit the predators against Viking shield maidens, Japanese samurai, and American fighter pilots, each highlighting different approaches to combat and human culture.]
Each of them has great potential as a setting for a Predator story, but the shorter run-time and anthology format ensures that each sequence will be lean and mean. Similar to Prey, this tight focus on characters and era instead of getting bogged down in lore is the perfect way to highlight the versatility of the franchise. Each of the stories can have their own themes that build to a single shared throughline, adding connective tissue to the story. The anthology approach allows the filmmakers to embrace all their good ideas without sacrificing other potentially compelling settings in the process.
An Anthology Set In Different Eras Is What Predator Should’ve Done A Long Time Ago
Killer Of Killers Is An Inherently Great Concept
Killer of Killers is a great idea, in part because of how it effectively cuts out any of the material that would otherwise slow down the action in a Predator film. Instead of spending a great deal of time meeting the cast of characters who are about to be reduced to pieces by the alien hunter, the anthology format forces the stories to be more efficient with character beats and introductions. This allows the meat of the story to be at the forefront of the film, kicking the audience into the action quicker than in previous films in the series.
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During a preview of Predator: Killer of Killers, Dan Trachtenberg reflects on inspirations, animation, and making two Predator movies at once.
The inherently versatile nature of the Predator franchise makes it ideal for an anthology that pits the hunters against different kinds of targets. There’s no single villain stalking people like Jason or Freddy, and they aren’t feral creatures like the Gremlins or Xenomorphs. There can be countless Predators, whose twisted code of honor and brutal tactics invite natural invention and contrast against the human warriors they encounter during their universal hunts. A Predator anthology is a great idea on paper, with Killer of Killers highlighting how effective the concept can be at showcasing different settings, styles, and styles of action.
Killer Of Killers Looks Like It Could Be One Of The Best Predator Movies (If Not The Best)
Killer Of Killers Having Three Stories Means It’ll Have To Be Lean And Mean
Killer of Killers might become one of the best entries in the franchise, in part because of the film’s artistic potential. The animated nature of Killer of Killers highlights the alien qualities of the Predators and can quickly establish tone through setting. While a film like Prey was able to use the natural landscape, the different time periods of Killer of Killers make that approach more difficult. Instead, by shifting from setting to setting in the anthology, the film can have the potential fun of the story without being bogged down by the price and challenges of making them feature-length.
What might really give Killer of Killers the edge over the other Predator movies is the way the anthology approach allows the filmmakers to focus on the themes of the series. The best Predator movies have been about skilled people forced to confront their limitations and overcome them. With their lives on the line, the heroes of Predator films are pushed to the brink. An anthology could underscore that theme by showcasing different responses to their interactions with the Predators and contrasting them against each other. This could make Killer of Killers the most surprisingly powerful film in the series.
Predator Is Set To Have A Great 2025 Between Killer Of Killers And Badlands
Two Predator Movies For The Price Of One
Predator is set to have a fantastic 2025, not just because of Killer of Killers. At the same time as that animated film was in production, director Dan Trachtenberg was also on location shooting the overtly sci-fi Predator: Badlands. Both films highlight the storytelling potential of the franchise and underscore how it can be about all sorts of things. Badlands will focus on a Predator in the lead role, giving audiences a clearer idea of what their culture is and how it compares to humanity. This will be especially relevant after seeing how different human cultures respond to the Predator.
The fact that both [Predator: Badlands and Predator: Killer of Killers] seem to be building from the heights of [Prey] only makes them more tantalizing.
For fans of the franchise, the confirmation that they’ll be getting two movies in the series from the same filmmaker who revived the franchise with Prey is a dream come true. The fact that both movies seem to be building from the heights of that project only makes them more tantalizing. The differing concepts but shared focus give both approaches a thematic connection. While there’s no way to know for certain how good the projects will be in the end, the released footage and reactions to Predator: Badlands and Predator: Killer of Killers give fans plenty to be excited about.
- 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
