Explaining the Ending of ‘Predator: Killer of Killers’: Uncovering the Hidden Symbolism in the ‘Prey’ Easter Eggs

In 2022, the release of Prey on Hulu brought about a significant change to the Predator franchise. Director Dan Trachtenberg is now presenting his latest project following the success of Prey. Predator: Killer of Killers is a concise 90-minute animated film that expands the Predator universe while also hinting at a potential sequel to Prey.

What is the plot of Predator: Killer of Killers? How does the story of Killer of Killers unfold? And what clues do the hidden references to Prey provide about the comeback of Naru, played by the effortlessly cool Amber Midthunder?

**Spoilers for Predator: Killer of Killers, now streaming on Hulu**

Predator: Killer of Killers is presented as a collection of stories, following the journeys of three elite warriors from distinct time periods and backgrounds. First is Ursa (Lindsay LaVanchy), a fierce Viking from 841 AD who crosses paths with a Predator while on a hunt for a different kind of adversary. Then, we are introduced to brothers Kenji and Kiyoshi (both voiced by Louis Ozawa from Predators), who are in the midst of their samurai training during the early Edo era. Lastly, there’s John Torres (Rick Gonzalez), a pilot and mechanic from the World War II era who relies on his intelligence rather than brute strength in battles. Yet, it becomes evident that these three tales are intertwined in a more intricate manner.

The final chapter of Predator: Killer of Killers reveals that the Predators have a vested interest in the various humans over the years who have managed to defeat them. They kidnap these fighters, put them in cryosleep, and thaw them out at leisure to first pit them against each other in a battle to the death. The last warrior left standing gets the “honor” of facing a Predator leader.

Predator: Killer of Killers culminates in Ursa, Kenji, and Torres forced to fight each other in the arena. Of course, after spending an hour getting to know and like these incredible characters, we don’t want to see them kill each other! We want to see them kill Predators!

What happens at the end of Predator: Killer of Killers? How is Killer of Killers connected to Dan Trachtenberg’s first Predator movie, Prey? Will Naru return? What does the Raphael Adolini 1715 pistol mean for the film and its timeline? Here’s everything you need to know about the end and the Easter eggs in Predator: Killer of Killers…

What happens to Ursa, Kenji, and Torres at the end of Predator: Killer of Killers? And what does it have to do with Prey?

Well, when the Predators shuffle our heroes into the arena to fight to the death, becoming the titular “Killer of Killers,” they give each of them a shot in the form of a weapon from their “tribe.” Ursa and Kenji are thrilled to get their respective axe and sword, but Torres is stymied by an 18th century pistol engraved with “Raphael Adolini 1715.”

Predator fans know all too well the significance of that gun, though! The Raphael Adolini 1715 pistol first appeared at the end of Predator 2. The Predators gift the gun to Danny Glover’s Detective Mike Harrigan as a sign of respect for surviving their hunt.

The Raphael Adolini 1715 gun also plays a key role in 2022’s Prey. We learn that Raphael Adolini was an Italian-born translator working for French Canadian fur trappers in North America. While the colonizers are systemically destroyed by a Predator in that film, young Indigenous girl Naru (Amber Midthunder) manages to defeat the “Mupitsi” using her skills and smarts. Prey ends with Naru in possession of the pistol, so how does Torres get it?

Well, in the final scene of Predator: Killer of Killers, we discover that Naru is currently in cryosleep on the Predators’ planet. This means that she, too, was abducted after the events of Prey. The Predators are saving her for her own trip to the arena. This little Easter egg seemingly confirms that director Dan Trachtenberg isn’t done with Naru yet!

What we don’t know, though, is if Trachtenberg intends to make a direct sequel to Prey or if he’s planning to add Naru to another story. Putting her in cryosleep means that she could very well appear in this fall’s future-set Predator: Badlands. (That film is already weaving in lore from the Alien vs. Predator stories with Elle Fanning set to play a Weyland-Yutani Corp android.)

This stinger also makes us wonder when exactly the final act of Predator: Killer of Killers is set. It could be set in between World War II and 1990’s Predator 2, in which case, the pistol passed from Adolini to Naru to the Predators to Torres to the Predators again to Danny Glover. Or maybe the implication is that Detective Harrigan was also kidnapped and put in cryosleep for a future arena date. Only Dan Trachtenberg knows!

Back to Predator: Killer of Killers! Kenji immediately realizes that the only way they can survive is by teaming up to defeat the Predators. The language barrier makes this difficult, but eventually, Ursa, Kenji, and Torres team up. Ursa and Kenji use their fighting skills to battle back, while Torres is briefly presumed dead. (He was just swallowed whole for a beat, which gave him the opportunity to get his hands on some alien tech.)

Just as the lead Predator — “Grendel king” — moves to kill Ursa and Kenji for refusing to fight, Torres comes to the rescue. The pilot then manages to get the three of them on board an alien space craft, but the Predators hold the ship back with a chain. Ursa decides to sacrifice herself to let the other two escape, telling her new “boys” not to avenge her.

Kenji and Torres fly off to time and place unknown. The Grendel king tells his army of aliens, “Let’s go hunting!” Ursa believes she has made her final stand, but instead, the Predators spare her. Our last glimpse of her is in cryosleep, being moved through a massive warehouse full of other imprisoned warriors in slumber. And that’s when the camera closes in on one such cryo-coffin…holding Naru.