Like a laser sight emerging from the dark, Hulu has dropped a surprise trailer for the long rumoured secret Predator movie, Predator: Killer of Killers.
Confirming that the franchise renaissance director Dan Trachtenberg kicked off with 2022’s Prey is in full swing, the new movie “follows three of the fiercest warriors in human history: a Viking raider guiding her young son on a bloody quest for revenge; a ninja in feudal Japan who turns against his Samurai brother in a brutal battle for succession; and a WWII pilot who takes to the sky to investigate an otherworldly threat to the Allied cause. But while all these warriors are killers in their own right, they are merely prey for their new opponent – the ultimate killer of killers.”
And judging by the trailer – which you can watch below – the Predator’s journey through the ages looks like a bloody good time, with the historical carnage of Prey given a dose of animated excess.
It’s fair to say the Predator franchise has had its ups and downs. While the Arnie-starring original is a bonafide classic featuring the most macho handshake of all time, the sequel – which sees the titular hunter in the centre of an LA gang war – is less well regarded, although has built up a cult following over time.
While the franchise had a pair of crossover films with the Alien series in the 2000’s, it took two decades for another stand-alone Predator movie, 2010’s Predators. Produced by Robert Rodriguez, the film flipped the original on its head, seeing a group of mercenaries and various other ne’er-do-wells dropped into the Yautja’s game reserve. Despite a stacked cast featuring the likes of Adrien Brody, Topher Grace, Walton Goggins and Laurence Fishburne, the film received a lukewarm reception, leaving the franchise dormant until Shane Black’s 2018 effort, The Predator, which again, failed to reignite the franchise.
What can we expect from Predator: Killer of Killers?
Prey proved to be a shot in the arm for the Predator franchise, taking it in a bold new direction with its story of a young Comanche woman (Amber Midthunder) having to protect her tribe from a vicious Yautja hunter. The historical setting, fresh themes and shocking violence made for the best reviewed installment to date and Predator: Killer of Killers looks to be more of the same, albeit with the animated medium cranking things up a notch.
Taking an anthology approach, the new movie sees the fearsome extra-terrestrial warrior battling some of the best of the best from across the eras from blood spattered vikings to sword swinging samurais and ace WW2 Spitfire pilots, all brought to life in stunning animation courtesy of The Third Floor. If live action is more your thing, worry not, as Trachtenberg also has a third Predator film, Badlands, which sees the warrior become the hero, hitting cinemas in November.
In the meantime, we can’t wait for Predator: Killer of Killers to arrive on some of the best streaming services (Hulu in the US, Disney Plus worldwide) on June 6, when it’ll likely become one of the best Disney+ movies of the year.
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