Spoiler Alert: Final Scene in Predator: Killer of Killers Leaves All Fans Speechless—Here's Why
"Whoa!" It's the one word that slipped off my lips when the last shot of Predator: Killer of Killers hit the screen. After a gripping and action-packed story already, the last shot arrived with a twist, leaving us in suspenseful anticipation. Of course, we had to clarify things with the makers of the film.
⚠️ Warning: Spoilers ahead. If you haven't seen the movie, go watch it and come back and examine it with us.
Right from the beginning of the film, we are presented with Ursa a Viking warrior woman played by Lindsay LaVanchy; Kenji a feudal Japanese ninja played by Louis Ozawa; and Torres a World War II pilot played by Rick Gonzalez. All of them had already taken down a Predator in their own time frames. Instead of just surviving, however, they are inexplicably taken away and taken to a different alien world. No time traveling whatsoever. Cryogenically frozen in their own times and awakened whenever needed.
Director Dan Trachtenberg elaborated in an interview, explaining, "That's why we put in that line where Torres goes, 'I feel like I've been asleep forever.' We wanted to clarify the premise so people would not be confused."
Once resurrected, they are forced to battle in a fight to the death against deadly alien beasts most likely a subspecies of the Predator aliens and to find ways to survive. Torres and Kenji get away, at least temporarily. Keep in mind, however that's an alien world, and they're on a spaceship with absolutely zero experience with space travel. Even if you did go off-world, the odds of ever getting back to Earth would be next to zero. And in pursuit are what look like an army of Predators. Chances of an ending in safety? Highly unlikely.
Ursa does however serve another function. Her sacrifice is granted Torres and Kenji a brief amount of time to survive. In return, she's reinstated into stasis. We then see where she's held vast, gallery-like complex that reminds us of the ending shot in Raiders of the Lost Ark, with stasis pods in rows and rows.
Here's where things get wacky.
One of the final pods we see is Naru's the heroine of Prey played by Amber Midthunder. That reveal moment reset the entire story of Predator: Killer of Killers and where it fits in the larger Predator canon.
Director Trachtenberg validated the theory: “Now we can finally admit it those that beat a Predator get taken and frozen.” This opens huge doors. Does this mean that characters like Mike Harrigan in Predator 2 or even Dutch, the Arnold Schwarzenegger character in the first Predator, are in a facility somewhere? Even if we never see them on-screen, the inference is obvious dozens of people who killed a Predator are probably in this alien holding facility.
And a further connection Torres is handed the same flintlock pistol handed to Harrigan in Predator 2 and also in Prey, and another strand is integrated into the developing lore.
This colossal discovery opens a new perspective with regard to Predator society. As it turns out, Predators not only respect defeat but also retain their enemies perhaps to study, to prepare for future combat, or even trophies. Training equipment? Toys? Recreation for A class hunters? We are only told so much so far, but future releases will likely clarify it further.
And so the natural follow-up is: where does this leave Prey 2? Is the next game going to be the capture of Naru? Or is it simply going to leap forward to where she wakes up to something greater? Remember, Naru's story occurred years ahead of Torres,' so the time period here is far in the future perhaps even millennia in the future.
Bringing Naru back was an early development choice, co-director Josh Wassung adds: "We were stoked," he said. "We were aware that it would excite fans. Dan wanted everyone to be aware that he never abandoned her storyline."
So then what? Do we get an Avengers-style crossover movie event, à la Avengers: Endgame albeit with Pred survivors banding together? Can the Preds be defeated? And is anything being said about the franchise by having the next film, Predator: Badlands, center on a Predator hero? There's a lot to absorb and it's thrilling to wonder what's next.
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