In the crowded landscape of streaming, it takes something special to truly surprise audiences. This weekend, Hulu (and Disney+ internationally) did just that, dropping a brand-new, feature-length animated film into one of cinema’s most iconic sci-fi/action franchises. If you’re reading this and thinking, “Wait, there’s a new Predator movie out right now?” you are not alone. With minimal fanfare and a marketing campaign that felt more like a whisper than a roar, Predator: Killer of Killers has arrived, and it demands your attention.
After the stunning success of 2022’s Prey, director Dan Trachtenberg proved that the nearly 40-year-old franchise still had fresh, vital stories to tell. Yet, the announcement of an animated follow-up, even with Trachtenberg at the helm, was likely met with a healthy dose of skepticism by many fans. We’ve been burned before. The words “animated spin-off” can often be code for a low-budget cash-in or a creatively bankrupt afterthought. One need only look at the lukewarm reception for last year’s The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim to understand the trepidation.
Let me be unequivocally clear: Predator: Killer of Killers is not that. This is not a cheap imitation or a disposable side story. This is a brutal, breathtaking, and brilliantly conceived love letter to the Yautja, one that not only stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Prey but, in some ways, surpasses it in sheer, unadulterated ambition. It leverages the medium of animation to deliver a Predator experience we’ve only ever dreamed of, one that would be financially and logistically impossible in live-action. This is a must-see for fans, a bloody good time for action lovers, and a powerful statement that the Predator franchise may finally be on the winning streak it has long deserved.
An Anthology of Apex Predators: A Perfect Premise
At its core, Predator: Killer of Killers is built on a concept so perfect, it’s astonishing it’s taken this long to be officially realized: pitting the universe’s ultimate hunter against Earth’s greatest historical warriors. The screenplay, penned by Mo Robert Rutar, cleverly structures the film as an anthology, with three distinct chapters that eventually converge into a stunning finale. These segments are titled “The Shield,” “The Sword,” and “The Bullet,” and they transport us to vastly different arenas of combat.
The Shield: We are thrust into the harsh, unforgiving world of a Viking warrior. This isn’t the romanticized version of Norsemen, but a raw, visceral depiction of survival against both the elements and a technologically superior foe. The clash here is one of brute force against tactical stealth, of cold iron against otherworldly plasma.
The Sword: The film then shifts to feudal Japan, a setting fans have clamored for since the first time they saw a Yautja’s code of honor. We follow a conflict between rival samurai and ninja clans, only for their deadly dance to be interrupted by an uninvited third party. This chapter explores themes of honor, discipline, and the stark difference between a warrior’s code and a hunter’s instinct.
The Bullet: Finally, we are catapulted into the skies of World War II, following an ace fighter pilot locked in a deadly dogfight. The battle for air superiority takes on a terrifying new dimension when a craft that defies all known physics joins the fray. It’s a thrilling blend of historical warfare and high-concept science fiction.
The genius of this structure is that it avoids the pitfall of repetition. While the basic premise of each chapter is “human vs. Predator,” the execution is wildly different. The warriors, their environments, their fighting styles, and crucially, their Yautja opponents are all unique. The Viking faces a hulking, almost feral Predator, while the one in Japan is more sleek and surgical, and the WWII-era hunter utilizes advanced aerial combat tactics. This variety keeps the narrative consistently engaging and exciting, ensuring the audience is never just watching a re-skin of the same fight.
For anyone who grew up reading comic books, the film’s structure will feel wonderfully familiar. It’s the cinematic equivalent of a prestige limited series, like Marvel’s classic What If…? line. It takes a core concept—the Predator’s hunt on Earth—and explores its most thrilling possible permutations without being shackled by the continuity of a single protagonist or timeline. Honestly, the Comanche-centric story of Prey could easily have been a fourth chapter in this film, which is the highest compliment I can pay to the quality of the stories told here. Each segment is a fully realized, high-stakes battle that honors the essence of what makes this franchise great.
Why Animation Was the Only Way: A Spectacle of Blood and Steel
This is the central thesis of the film’s success: Predator: Killer of Killers is a story that could only be told through animation. Co-directed by Trachtenberg and VFX veteran Josh Wassung (making a stellar directorial debut), the film understands that animation isn’t a lesser form of filmmaking; it’s a different one, with its own unique strengths. To attempt to film this story in live-action, with its three distinct historical periods, massive set pieces, and non-stop, gore-filled action, would have required a budget well north of $150 million. It would have been a financial risk that no studio would likely take.
By embracing animation, the filmmakers are unshackled. The world is truly limitless. The action sequences are not bound by the laws of physics or the limitations of practical effects. We witness battles that are more dynamic, more creative, and more brutal than anything seen in the franchise before. We see a Predator and a warrior battling in the crushing depths of a frozen lake, the shimmering cloaking effect interacting with the water in a way that is both beautiful and terrifying. We see a high-speed chase across the ornate rooftops of a Japanese castle, with acrobatics that would make a stunt coordinator weep. We are placed in the cockpit during a mid-air dogfight where a P-51 Mustang is pitted against a Yautja vessel capable of impossible maneuvers.
The weaponry is another area where animation allows for unrestrained creativity. The Predators in this film feel genuinely alien. Their technology is intricate, complex, and designed with a singular, horrifying purpose: intergalactic murder. We see new variations of the plasma caster, the smart disc, and the wrist blades, each tailored to the specific hunter and their environment. This is perhaps the most extreme and varied depiction of the Yautja’s arsenal outside of the expanded universe of comic books and video games, because the creators weren’t limited by the question, “How can we physically build this and make it work on set?”
And then there’s the gore. Let’s be clear: Killer of Killers is unapologetically R-rated. The violence is frequent, visceral, and creatively staged. Spines are not just ripped out; they’re torn out with grotesque, alien-like tendrils. Bodies are bisected, limbs are severed, and plasma bolts leave gaping, cauterized wounds. Animation allows the filmmakers to push the violence to its stylized limit, creating a symphony of carnage that is both shocking and, for fans of the genre, deeply satisfying. It fully delivers on the “horror” aspect of the sci-fi/horror blend that the best Predator films embody.
More Than a Spinoff: Weaving Itself into the Predator Canon
One of the most pleasant surprises of Killer of Killers is that it is far from a disposable, one-off adventure. Trachtenberg is clearly a devoted student of the franchise, and the film is packed with references, callbacks, and thoughtful expansions of the established lore. This isn’t just fan service; it’s world-building. The film respects what has come before while confidently planting its own flag in the Predator mythology.
Familiar sound cues—the iconic clicking vocalization, the electronic whir of the targeting system, the sound of the cloaking device engaging—are all present and used to masterful effect. But the film goes deeper. It subtly expands our understanding of the Yautja culture. Through the actions of the different hunters, we get a sense of different clans, different hunting philosophies, and a hierarchy within their society. The film implies a rich, complex history of their interactions with Earth that goes far beyond what we’ve seen on screen.
By the time the explosive finale arrives, tying the disparate threads together, Killer of Killers has firmly established itself as a canonical and essential piece of the puzzle. It leaves the door wide open for future stories, both in animated and live-action form, and enriches the tapestry of the universe in a meaningful way.
Furthermore, the film continues a fantastic tradition by inviting a key figure from the franchise’s past to join its ranks in a new way. There is one voice actor in the film whose inclusion will be a delightful and fitting surprise for die-hard fans. Without spoiling it, this actor gets to join a very elite club of performers who have appeared in multiple, distinct Predator projects. Many will likely guess it could be an Arnold or a Glover, but the choice is far more clever and in-line with the new Trachtenberg era. It feels like a beautiful nod to the physical performers who bring these creatures to life, offering a chance for Dane DiLiegro, the actor who so brilliantly embodied the Feral Predator in Prey, to punch his ticket in the franchise once again, this time with a voice role. It’s a wonderful, meta piece of casting that deepens the film’s connection to the series’ DNA.
Minor Glitches in the System: A Look at the Film’s Flaws
As spectacular as Predator: Killer of Killers is, it is not without a few minor imperfections. No suit of Yautja armor is completely flawless, and this film has two noticeable chinks.
The first, and most immediate, is the animation style itself. The film employs a stylized, low-frame-rate approach to character movement, similar in concept to what audiences saw in Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. For the first five to ten minutes, this can be incredibly jarring. It can look “glitchy” or “stuttery,” as if your internet connection is struggling to keep up. This is a deliberate artistic choice, meant to give the film a unique, comic-book-panel-come-to-life aesthetic. While it is a bold and ultimately effective choice, it requires an adjustment period. Some viewers may find it difficult to get past this initial hurdle. My advice is to stick with it; your eyes will adapt, and once they do, the fluidity and dynamism within that style become apparent.
The second issue lies with the film’s finale. While the individual anthology segments are masterclasses in tension, suspense, and bleak, brutal storytelling, the concluding act—where the stories converge—loses a bit of that raw edge. It falls victim to some more conventional Hollywood action movie clichés. The narrative becomes a little more predictable, and the stakes, while technically larger, feel slightly less personal than the life-or-death struggles of the individual warriors. It’s a testament to how difficult it is to weave an anthology together into a cohesive whole. Crafting three perfect, standalone shorts is one challenge; making their sum greater than their parts is another entirely. The ambition was clearly to create more than just a collection of shorts, but in doing so, the finale doesn’t quite live up to the brilliance of what preceded it. However, this is a minor stumble, not a catastrophic fall. The final sequence is still epic and engaging, and it doesn’t derail the immense goodwill the film has built.
Placing ‘Killer of Killers’ in the Pantheon of Predator Films
As a long-time fan of this franchise, my relationship with it has been one of peaks and valleys. John McTiernan’s original 1987 Predator is a perfect film—a masterwork of action, horror, and suspense that has never been equaled. For decades, the sequels have struggled to escape its shadow. I can appreciate what the defenders of Predator 2 and Predators see in those films, but they never fully captured the magic for me. The Alien vs. Predator films are largely a misfire (the less said about Requiem, the better), and 2018’s The Predator was a franchise-derailing disaster.
For 35 years, it felt like we were chasing the high of the original. Then came Prey. Dan Trachtenberg’s film was a revelation, a back-to-basics approach that understood the core appeal of the concept. It was, without question, the best Predator film since the original.
Now, I can confidently say that Predator: Killer of Killers joins Prey in that esteemed upper tier. There is now a new “holy trinity” for the franchise: Predator, Prey, and Killer of Killers. A significant gulf separates these three films from the rest of the pack. With Trachtenberg also slated to direct the upcoming live-action film Predator: Badlands (due in November), there is a palpable sense of hope. If he can deliver a live-action experience on par with the quality he has shown with Prey and now this animated epic, this nearly 40-year-old franchise may have finally found the creative steward it needs to sustain a true winning streak.
The Verdict: A Must-See Hunt
Despite the stigma that often comes with both animated franchise spin-offs and direct-to-streaming debuts, Predator: Killer of Killers shatters all preconceived notions. It is a triumphant, exhilarating, and essential entry in the series. It’s a film made by fans, for fans, but with enough universal action and artistic flair to appeal to a much wider audience.
This is a must-see for any Predator fan. It is a strong recommendation for general animation enthusiasts who appreciate bold, adult-oriented storytelling. And really, it’s a recommendation for anyone who enjoys inventive, ultra-violent action, with the only exceptions being those who simply have no taste for the franchise or for graphic gore.
At a lean, mean runtime of about 80 minutes, it is a quick and incredibly rewarding watch. Pair it with the action-packed Ballerina hitting theaters this weekend, and you have the recipe for a perfect double feature. Predator: Killer of Killers easily, and emphatically, falls into the “It’s Good” category. In fact, it’s great.
What are your thoughts on Predator: Killer of Killers? Have you already streamed it? Are you planning to check it out this weekend? Let us know your favorite warrior-on-Yautja matchup in the comments below!