Dan Trachtenberg’s animated anthology movie Predator: Killer of Killers pushed the Predator franchise forward with three riveting stories about human warriors from across time defeating Predators, and a new change to the movie’s coda is set to completely change the trajectory of the franchise.

Predator: Killer of Killers’ final act revealed that the three previously-shown warriors from the past (a Viking warlord, a Japanese samurai, and a WWII fighter pilot) were all captured by the Yautja and kept in suspended animation. They were freed at the same time and forced to fight for a Yautja warlord’s entertainment, only to break free and attempt a daring escape.

The movie ended with a stunning mid-credits scene that showed the recaptured Viking warrior Ursa in suspended animation again, with her stasis pod being moved through a mᴀssive facility housing thousands of warriors of different species from across the galaxy, each of which fought against a Predator and won. Among the warriors was Naru, the 18th-century Comanche warrior from 2022’s Prey.

Naturally, once audiences saw that Predator: Killer of Killers was not a stand-alone anthology, but rather a connected piece of the established Predator mainline universe, speculation began to fly about who or what else might be hidden in that archive of Predator-killers. That question was just answered by the franchise’s new de facto point man Dan Trachtenberg.

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch & Danny Glover’s Mike Harrigan Join Naru In New Predator: Killer Of Killers Scene

They Join The Ranks Of Captured Predator-Killers

Trachtenberg revealed during San Diego Comic-Con 2025 that there were some scenes from Predator: Killer of Killers that he left on the cutting room floor. However, he believed the time was right to actually reveal one of the scenes in an extended cut of the movie that would be uploaded to Hulu.

The addition is little more than a few seconds, but it’s incredibly important for the franchise’s future. In the mid-credits scene that revealed Naru to be one of the captured warriors, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Dutch and Danny Glover’s Mike Harrigan both now appear next to Naru, evidence that their surviving characters from Predator and Predator 2 were also captured.

That makes at least six human warriors that we know of that have been captured by the Yautja after killing Predators in their own time. Chances are good that there are more humans in there who have killed Predators; at the very least, it seems safe to ᴀssume Royce (Adrien Brody from Predators) is in there somewhere, and possibly Quinn McKenna (Boyd Holbrook from The Predator).

The fact that all these characters could plausibly return to the franchise now to battle the Predators once more is incredibly exciting, and provides a bit of guidance on where the franchise might go next. For example, it now seems inevitable that Prey 2 will either deal with Naru’s capture, or perhaps pick right up when she is woken from her stasis.

Will Arnold Schwarzenegger & Danny Glover Return For More Predator Movies Now?

It Seems Like A Baffling Choice To Leave Them Out The First Time Around Otherwise

One question remains after the reveal of Dutch Schaeffer and Mike Harrigan in Predator: Killer of Killers: why not show them the first time around? Trachtenberg specifically chose to include them now, nearly two months after the movie was initially released, which seems as though it isn’t a coincidence, or the product of him changing his mind.

If they were included the first time, it would have been exciting, but it would have accomplished very little that wasn’t already accomplished by the reveal of Naru in the warrior archive. Seeing all three would have driven the same point home: that any of the surviving past characters from the franchise could return in some capacity.

It’s possible that Trachtenberg held it back as a fun reveal specifically to make a splash at Comic-Con, knowing that the Predator franchise, and specifically Predator: Badlands, had a panel at the iconic Hall H to utilize in promotion. As exciting as it was to see Naru in the pod, the acknowledgment of iconic characters like Dutch Schaeffer and Mike Harrigan is simply a bigger thrill.

The more likely scenario is that they were held back intentionally so as not to ruin a potential surprise. Schwarzenegger’s Dutch in particular seems likely to return in future movies, especially after Trachtenberg noted at Comic-Con that “we can continue to cook with that character.” With Schwarzenegger’s involvement in the Terminator franchise over, the Predator franchise could be the next big thing for him.

Trachtenberg choosing to leave Dutch and Mike Harrigan out of the first cut of Predator: Killer of Killers feels like an attempt to curb speculation about their involvement in something more immediately imminent, like Predator: Badlands. There are already theories that Predator: Badlands is a stealth Alien vs. Predator reboot, so the addition of past Predator characters is far from unthinkable.

Dutch Schaeffer and Mike Harrigan’s inclusion in the latest cut of Predator: Killer of Killers can only be a good thing for the franchise, as it’s clear that Dan Trachtenberg and the other minds behind the franchise’s renaissance are intent on moving forward. I trust that Dutch and Harrigan will be meaningfully worked into the greater narrative as opposed to sprinkled in for fan service.