Where does Predator: Killer of Killers fit into the franchise’s timeline? Details explored

Dan Trachtenberg's secret Predator film isn't a secret now. In fact, it's the best film in the franchise as of this writing. Predator: Killer of Killers currently boasts a 97% Rotten Tomatoes score, surpassing Prey (2022), which is sitting with a 94% critics' approval. These are the only films having a 90% score at the reviews aggregator platform.

Not just that, it also brings us the fact that Predators have been there for a long time. Since 841 A.D., to be precise. So that makes it the first movie if we go by the chronological order. Well, first, second, and third, because it brings us three stories from three different eras: the Viking era, the feudal Japan era, and the World War II era.

Before we see this closely, know that before this film, it was Prey that served as the beginning of this timeline, as no movie in the franchise was set prior to that. We can take into account the flashbacks from Alien vs. Predator, where Predators first appeared on Earth and humans saw them as gods. It was mainly set up in a modern-day setting.

Predator: Killer of Killers is a complicated fit in the franchise

The film brings three different stories from different times. (Image via Hulu)

We'll go by the chronology to avoid any kind of confusion here. So, with Predator: Killer of Killers, we first have the Viking era, where Ursa and Anders are the protagonists, where the former is seeking revenge for her father's death by a tribe leader. Her story is taking place in 841 A.D.

Then the narrative shifts to 1619, in feudal Japan, where Kenji and Kiyoshi are at the core. They both fight a Predator and manage to defeat him, though one of them dies like in the previous story. Who are they? Well, you should watch it yourself, as we don't want to spoil it.

While these two stories are a part of Predator: Killer of Killers, the next in this chronology is Prey, where the events of the film are taking place in 1719, with Naru in focus. In case you haven't seen the latest installment in the franchise already, know that she is in there somewhere.

And then again, we come back to Predator: Killer of Killers in this chronology, where the third story is happening around World War II. Here, we have a new protagonist who encounters a Predator spacecraft. He manages to survive this encounter.

They are then transported to a Yautja arena, so we cannot tell what time it is in the Predator world. A bit like this happened in Predators (2010) too, where this group of proficient killers finds themselves on a different planet. We still can't say what day or year it was in that place.

So here's where Predator: Killer of Killers fits in. It's before and after Prey. In case you are wondering how the rest of this chronology goes, we are leaving you the list here.

Predator
Predator 2
AVP: Alien vs. Predator
AVPR: Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem
Predators
The Predator

While Predator: Killer of Killers goes back in time, the next film in the series, Predator: Badlands, seems to be more futuristic, so we may see a new addition on the future end of this timeline.