Predator: Killer Of Killers Brings Back An Easter Egg That Spans The Entire Series
by Jeremy Mathai · /FilmWarning: This article contains major spoilers for "Predator: Killer of Killers."
Show of hands: Who else assumed that "Predator: Killer of Killers" would be a simple, standalone, one-off movie that otherwise did little to push the franchise into new territory beyond its visually stunning animation? I sure did, and I sure was proven wrong when I feasted my eyes on everything it had to offer. Not only did its end-credits scene overtly connect back to the last movie in the series, "Prey," but the anthology film also threaded that impossibly fine needle of making viewers invested in the new and original characters introduced throughout each chapter. That combination made it the perfect place to incorporate one other significant piece of franchise lore — one that should be familiar to even the most casual of "Predator" fans.
Diehards have always been preoccupied by a certain flintlock pistol introduced way back in 1990's "Predator 2." The centuries-old weapon first ended up in the hands of Danny Glover's LAPD cop Mike Harrigan, gifted as a trophy of mutual respect by a Yautja elder with no other explanation of how it got there or who it once belonged to. Fortunately, those questions were given a definitive answer with 2022's "Prey," which explained the pistol and its engravings of "Raphael Adolini 1715" by setting the action in that century and having the Comanche protagonist Naru (Amber Midthunder) actually cross paths with that very same Frenchman who originally owned the gun.
Now, this unexpected origin story continues in "Killer of Killers" as we see where that pistol ends up next — a gladiatorial arena on some misbegotten Yautja planet light years away from Earth.
Predator: Killer of Killers brings back the flintlock pistol from Predator 2 and Prey
The catspaw dagger from "Game of Thrones" and "House of the Dragon" might feel like one of the most well-traveled items in fantasy, but the flintlock pistol from "Predator 2," "Prey," and now "Predator: Killer of Killers" certainly has it beat — and by quite a bit of mileage, too. "Predator 2" famously took place in the streets of Los Angeles, bringing the Yautja into an urban environment for the first time. That only made the anachronistic appearance of an 18th-century pistol all the more jarring near the end of the sequel, hinting at the aliens' presence on Earth going back hundreds and hundreds of years. When "Prey" unexpectedly decided to turn that hanging thread into an Easter egg and provided an entire origin story, fans likely figured that would be the official close of that loop. Well, think again! "Killer of Killers" keeps that plot point going, moving the action an indeterminate amount of time into the future (post-1942, at the very least) in its final segment and bringing back that pistol one more time.
But what about that timeline? This portion of "Killer of Killers" likely takes place before the events of the 1990s-set "Predator 2," meaning that the pistol begins on Earth during the events of "Prey," makes its way into outer space after Naru is taken prisoner and whisked away by returning Yautja (as hinted at in the ending credits montage of that film and subsequently confirmed in the end-credits scene in "Killer of Killers"), factors into the events of "Killer of Killers" during the gladiator fight to the death, and comes all the way back to Earth in time for "Predator 2."
With "Killer of Killers," that pistol's interstellar journey has become a fun storyline taking place in the background of these various movies. As far as crass exercises of IP brand management and connectivity go these days, we could do a lot worse than this harmless Easter egg. Maybe we should keep an eye out for it during this year's upcoming "Predator: Badlands," which is vaguely set "on a remote planet" and due to hit theaters November 7, 2025.