Predator: Killer of Killers, now streaming on Hulu and Disney+, is more than just an animated anthology of Predator hunts across time. Directed by Prey filmmaker Dan Trachtenberg, who is also at the helm of upcoming live-action entry Predator: Badlands, Killer of Killers takes exciting turns that expand the Predator universe in ways that could shape both live-action and animated entries to come.

Below, we’ll break down what happens at the end of the film, how it connects back, what it sets up for the future, and what Trachtenberg himself has confirmed about where things are headed.

SPOILER WARNING: The rest of this article contains major spoilers for Predator: Killer of Killers, including its final scenes and franchise implications. Read on at your own risk.

What Happens in the Ending of Predator: Killer of Killers

While Killer of Killers was promoted as an animated anthology, it sneakily includes a fourth narrative that ties all three main stories together. Set across three time periods—841 A.D. with Viking warrior Ursa, 1629 Japan with ninja Kenji, and 1941 with WWII pilot Torres—each tale ends with a human defeating a Predator. But after his victory, Torres is abducted by a Predator ship and awakens in a stasis pod.

Soon, Torres finds himself imprisoned alongside Ursa and Kenji, revealing that the Predators have been collecting powerful human warriors who’ve bested them. The trio are forced into an arena where they’re told only one may survive. Refusing to play the Predators’ game, they band together to escape.

Their plan partly succeeds. Kenji loses an arm, Torres pilots a stolen Predator ship, and Ursa destroys a harpoon tethering them to the ground—though she’s recaptured in the process. The Predator leader watches them flee and ominously growls, “Let’s go hunting!” before launching a fleet in pursuit.

Naru’s Surprise Cameo and Connection to Prey

The film doesn’t stop there. After the film’s title card, we see Ursa being returned to cryo-stasis—but as her pod is wheeled through a cavernous vault of stasis chambers, the camera zooms in on one in particular. Behind the glass is a young Comanche woman marked with distinctive face paint. It’s unmistakably Naru, the Comanche hero played by Amber Midthunder in Prey.

This confirms that, sometime after the events of Prey, Naru was also abducted by the Yautja. The cryopod scene suggests she suffered the same fate as Torres and the others—preserved as a “worthy opponent” for future use. It’s a major connective thread and major confirmation that Trachtenberg’s earlier post-credits tease in Prey—where Predator ships are shown returning to Naru’s tribe—was a deliberate setup for something more.

What Director Dan Trachtenberg Has Said About the Ending

Speaking at a Beyond Fest screening, Dan Trachtenberg confirmed the ending was part of a long-term plan.

“Three cool things came to mind. This one [Killer of Killers], Badlands, and another cool thing. […] Because Badlands is next, we wanted to make sure that people knew that there’s still something in store for that character.”

In an interview with Collider, Trachtenberg elaborated on the origin of the cryopod scene:

“That idea came pretty much on the heels of having that cryopod idea, which came pretty close on the heels of, ‘How do I make an anthology movie that’s more than just an anthology movie,’ which was the immediate attempt.

“The codename for the movie while we were making it was Warehouse, and so that concept of what’s in that room, I think, is one of the coolest things for a franchise to have.”

On the timeline of events, Trachtenberg noted:

“I very specifically didn’t label a year because I didn’t want to paint myself into that corner. But I do think Torres was asleep for quite some time.”

Speaking to Bloody Disgusting, he also confirmed Naru’s cameo isn’t setting up Badlands, but something further down the track:

“The fun is that now we have the end of Prey set up something, and then there’s this, and I love the slow play of it all… So, it is not a setup for what’s in Badlands, but it is a setup for what could happen afterward.”

Could Naru’s Story Continue in Live-Action?

Collider also asked whether Trachtenberg envisions the animated and live-action worlds eventually overlapping.

“Pie in the sky, in general, across the board. It would be cool to see animated characters in live-action, live-action characters in animation,” he said. “Some of the pleasure in what’s happening now in some of the Star Wars tales is seeing animated characters be live-action… it’d be cool to go back and forth if we should be successful.”

While nothing is confirmed yet, the clear implication is that Naru’s story is far from over—and may continue beyond animation.

The Return of the Flintlock Pistol From Prey and Predator 2

Another key franchise connection comes in the form of the flintlock pistol once owned by Raphael Adolini – an Italian pirate captain who appeared in Prey (played by Bennett Taylor) and in the comic book Predator: 1718. First seen being handed to Mike Harrigan (Danny Glover) by a Predator in Predator 2 and later given to Naru in Prey, the same pistol shows up again in Killer of Killers. When Torres is told he may use a weapon “from his tribe” in the arena, he’s given the antique pistol—which he finds both confusing and ineffective.

The moment confirms that the Predators likely retrieved the pistol from Naru during her abduction, and it fills in more of the timeline between Prey and Predator 2. Whether it ends up in someone else’s hands again remains to be seen—but it’s one of the clearest throughlines across the franchise.

What the Ending of Predator: Killer of Killers Means for the Future

With this animated chapter, Dan Trachtenberg has laid the foundation for a much bigger Predator universe. The idea of a cryo vault filled with warriors from across time and space opens the door to endless possibilities—live-action or animated, grounded or galactic.

Whether we see Naru again in her own sequel, as part of a time-jumping team-up, or in Predator: Badlands down the road, it’s clear Trachtenberg isn’t done. As he told Collider:

“There are so many different cool opportunities for a sequel to this movie, specifically. And once again, I’m fueled by how can it be not just what people are expecting, but so much more? I do think there are several cool things in the tank to do, for sure.”