Predator fans were given an unexpected blessing of neon green blood today in the form of some first look footage at director Dan Trachtenberg’s finally revealed Predator: Killer of Killers. This formerly secret project, distinct from his upcoming feature theatrically released film Predator: Badlands, is now revealed to essentially be a sci-fi horror anthology … and an animated one at that. In truth, this project feels almost like fan fiction, albeit in a good way: An excuse for Trachtenberg, the director of 10 Cloverfield Lane and Prey, to engage in some ridiculous Predator historical speculation, courtesy of screenwriter Micho Robert Rutare. The film seems to depict various Predator visits to Earth across many time periods, as the interstellar big game hunters drop in on the human race from time to time to test their mettle by hunting the deadliest human warriors of various cultures. It’s set to hit Hulu on June 6, 2025.
Which is to say: Predator vs. samurai/ninjas? That’s in Killer of Killers. Predator vs. Viking warriors? In there. Predators vs. WWII American GI’s? Perhaps, although judging from the footage that segment might also involve some air combat between cloaking Predator space vessels and American fighter planes. They all get to participate in deeply unfair battles against high-tech aliens, with the animated format–evoking Netflix’s Blue Eye Samurai a bit in terms of its aesthetic–allowing for even more graphic carnage.
It’s an interesting departure for Trachtenberg, considering that Badlands is still coming on Nov. 7, 2025, and represents the director’s first foray into animation. You might say that Killer of Killers will still represent the more traditional installment for the Predator series, in the mold of Prey, which pitted a young native American woman (Amber Midthunder) against one of the hunters. Badlands, on the other hand, looks as if it will diverge pretty significantly, taking place on a foreign planet other than Earth and potentially making a Predator into a de facto protagonist for the first time in the series. No footage has been released from that project yet, but 20th Century Studios responded to the acclaim for Prey by pushing Badlands to theaters after Prey was frustratingly a Hulu original. Killer of Killers, on the other hand, feels much more comfortable in the streaming world for hardcore fans. You can check out the extraterrestrial action below, as we wait for Killer of Killers to de-cloak on June 6, 2025.
