Killer of Killers’ Finally Reveals the Fate of This Beloved ‘Prey’ Character

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Predator: Killer of Killers.

The new CG-animated feature, Predator: Killer of Killers, marks the next chapter of the Predator franchise. Dan Trachtenberg returns as co-writer and co-director, expanding his storyline from his hit 2022 franchise installment, Prey. Prey showcases the Feral Predator hunting Comanche warriors and fur trappers in the Northern Great Plains region of North America in the early 1700s. The story follows the young Comanche warrior, Naru (Amber Midthunder), who ultimately defeats the Feral Predator.

But whatever happened to Naru after the events of Prey? In a shocking reveal, Predator: Killer of Killers reveals Naru’s ultimate fate!

‘Predator: Killer of Killers’ Reveals the Yautja Race Has Been Hunting Humans Across Earth’s History

Still of a Viking standing in an open gateway in Predator: Killer of Killers — Image via Hulu

In the original 1987 Predator movie, Anna Gonsalves (Elpidia Carrillo) shares a story about finding men butchered and skinned, noting that in the hottest years, they would find men, “Sometimes without their skin…and sometimes much, much worse. ‘El que hace trofeos de los hombres’ means ‘the daemon who makes trophies of men.'” Anna’s chilling monologue implies that creatures like the Jungle Hunter have been visiting Earth and hunting humans for years, if not decades. Prey confirms that creatures of the Yautja race have been visiting Earth for hundreds of years. Predator: Killer of Killers expands on that idea, showcasing members of the Yautja race hunting Earth’s deadliest warriors across history, specifically: the Viking warrior, Ursa (Lindsay LaVanche); the disgraced samurai, now ninja, Kenji (Louis Ozawa); and the hotshot WWII Era fighter pilot, Torres (Rick Gonzalez).

Each of these humans manages to best their Yautja opponents, making them prime candidates for the Yautja’s gladiatorial combat games. The Yautja kidnap and abduct Ursa, Kenji, and Torres, taking them to the Yautja’s home planet and keeping them in frozen cryostasis until they are needed. Then, the trio is thawed out and were forced to take part in a deadly game of armed combat, a fight to the death. The winner receives the honor of fighting the Yautja’s clan leader. Despite their language barriers, the humans form an unlikely alliance, finding a way to escape their captivity. Torres and Kenji manage to purloin a Yautja spacecraft and escape the combat arena. However, Ursa sacrifices herself to aid their escape. The Yautja retake her as their prisoner while the Yautja chief orders the rest of his clan to hunt the escaped humans. An epilogue scene then reveals the ultimate fate of Naru following the events of Prey.

The Predator, as seen in the trailers for Predator: Badlands, baring its teeth against a khaki backdrop of old Predator designs.

Sure, the Predator Looks Really Different in ‘Predator: Badlands,’ but There’s a Good Reason for That

This isn’t any ordinary Predator.

The Ultimate Fate of Naru Is Revealed

An epilogue scene depicts Ursa being placed in frozen cryostasis and stored with other living frozen subjects. The storage area in the Yautja chief’s collection depicts frozen warriors, some humans, and some non-humans. Among the stored warriors is none other than Naru. She’s still alive, frozen in time, but asleep. Naru has apparently been in storage on the Yautja’s home planet for hundreds of years! It seems that the Comanche hide painting from the credit sequence in Prey was accurate, and Yautja ships did return to Earth and Naru’s homeland. However, rather than hunt Naru, she was abducted and taken prisoner, kept in frozen storage for centuries.

The Yautja are a warrior race. Their entire culture is based on survival of the fittest and creating the most cunning hunter, or, as the Yautja Codex states at the beginning of the movie, “the Killer of Killers.” A sentient being strong or cunning enough to beat a Yautja hunter makes them a “worthy” opponent to be kept in the collection, where they are frozen and later thawed out, forced to take part in the Predator race’s deadly gladiatorial games. However, even if they manage to survive the gladiatorial combat, they would still be forced to fight a Yautja clan chief. Therefore, it’s not much of a reward if they manage to come out of the combat game alive.

What Is Next for Naru?

Amber Midthunder as Naru wearing face paint and looking anxious in Prey (2022). — Image via 20th Century Studios

Although Naru only makes a brief appearance in Killer of Killers, her big reveal teases that Trachtenberg still has plans to use her again in the future, and hopefully, signals her eventual return. However, the revelation means that Naru’s family members are all long dead, and her way of life is a distant thing of the past. How Naru might make her escape, or how she might figure into future Predator franchise installments, remains to be seen. But if the Yautja abduct human warriors they see as worthy, does that mean they abducted Dutch Schaefer (Arnold Schwarzenegger) from the original movie? What about Mike Harrigan (Danny Glover) from Predator 2? Who knows how deep this goes?!

The next installment of the Predator franchise is the live-action feature, Predator: Badlands, due out later this year. The new sequel depicts the story of an exiled Predator warrior, Dek (Dimitrius Schuster-Koloamatangi), who travels to a death planet to restore his lost honor. It remains to be seen whether Dek’s story ties into Killer of Killers and possibly revisits Naru on the Yautja planet, where she’s being kept in storage.

Predator: Killer of Killers is streaming now on Hulu. Predator: Badlands hits theaters in the U.S. on November 7.