ScreenRant got to visit the Disney edit bay to check out some of the previously released Predator films.

Killer of Killers offered unique challenges, which Trachtenberg explained during a Q&A after showing off one of the film's segments. Focused on a Viking shield maiden whose quest for revenge is thrown off by a Predator, the film looks to be a brutal, bloody, and brilliant addition to the franchise. During a wide-ranging conversation with of the press (including Screen Rant), Trachtenberg discussed why Killer of Killers was never considered as a TV project, the challenges of making Predator: Badlands at the same time, and why the movie was made for the "12-year-old" in all of us.

The following article has been condensed and edited for clarity.

Bringing Predator To Animation In Killer Of Killers

"I'm Very Driven By Characters Who Are Trying To Break A Cycle"

Killer of Killers is the first animated entry in the long-running Predator franchise (which is also getting another live-action installment later in 2025, Predator: Badlands) and looks to be a genuine series highlight. The film is an anthology movie set across three periods in human history. This allows the film to shift from perspective to perspective with ease, highlighting how well a Predator holds up in a fight against Vikings, ninjas, and World War II flying aces.

According to Trachtenberg, all three of them build off the naturally fun concept of seeing the Predators face off with "really unique challenges" from each of the time settings. "It's a really cool story," Trachtenberg explained, citing how each of the tales "is pretty emotionally charged, but also told in a very unique way... I'm very driven by characters who are trying to break a cycle. All of our characters are really dealing with generational stuff. All the chapters are different genres. Some are more fun than others. [Shield Maiden] has some fun to it, but it's also pretty intense."

He's not wrong, either. The Shield Maiden story, which of the press (including Screen Rant) got to view in its entirety, is a tight and intense battle. It's an absolutely gorgeous piece of animation, with a certain unflinching element that's ideal for Predator and frankly, a little surprising from the same overarching studio that released Moana 2. The animation feels reminiscent of Arcane, Netflix's critically acclaimed League of Legends adaptation, with a visual crackle and fluidity of movement that is mesmerizing to watch.

Trachtenberg confirmed that Arcane was "definitely an inspiration" for the film. "Some people who worked on Arcane worked on this. There's a whole host of studios that worked on the movie. Part of the inspiration for making it was my relationship with Third Floor. They've done a lot of work on a lot of movies you loved, but they've never done a full feature. I have a great relationship with one of the founding , Josh Wassung, who became the co-director on this movie." Their collaboration steadily developed into Killer of Killers.

Shifting From Live-Action Predator: Badlands To Animation With Killer Of Killers

"What I Realized As I Got To The End Of This Process Was How Much This Movie Gets To Be For 12-Year-Olds"

Dan Trachtenberg has primarily worked in live-action, with impressive episodes of The Boys, Black Mirror, and The Lost Symbol breaking up his feature releases like 10 Cloverfield Lane and Prey. Reflecting on his experience with animation, Trechtenberg recalled how "the only animated thing I'd done before this was a cinematic for a video game called Warfare... I was so struck by how in animation, on the one hand, you can do anything. But you also become just as limited as you do in live-action because the number of sets you have costs money. The number of characters you have, the number of wardrobes, at a certain point you have to lock it in because they have to become final."

Trachtenberg itted that "the process is a little bit different" between directing live-action and animation, partly because it's so front-loaded on the production side. However, by the end of the process, "you get to see shots get cooler and cooler. Visual effects in live-action movies sometimes get worse before they get better. Animation is sort of the opposite." One of the wildest facts about Killer of Killers is that the movie was in development at the same time Trachtenberg was on-set filming Predator: Badlands. When asked why he decided to do both at the same time, Trachetenberg itted that "it was just too tantalizing not to."

Writing up the screenplay for Killer of Killers while in the early stages of Predator: Badlands, Trachetenberg and his team ended up getting more time to focus on the animated film after delays hit the live-action film. "We were in New Zealand, and we would wake up early on the way to the location to shoot. We would be remote with everyone back here and seeing shots of the movie. Thanks to Starlink, we can be in very remote locations and still have internet.

"We may all have cancer now, like Ben insisted after we were in a van that was covered in all those satellites, but it was worth it for the art. The fun thing about trying to do two things at once... I didn't want it to be different from how I shoot a live-action movie so that it felt cinematic and from my voice. But we needed to embrace the medium and do things that you can't do otherwise.

"What I realized as I got to the end of this process was how much this movie gets to be for 12-year-olds. Even though it's for everyone... When I was 12 and saw Akira for the first time, I was like 'What did I just see?! I can't believe a movie can be like that!" Just that visceral nature of it. Now it gets to be at every sleepover forever. It is the same stuff that fueled me to make Prey and now Killer of Killers."

Why Killer Of Killers Is A Movie Instead Of A Show

"There's So Much Cool Stuff In This Movie"

According to Trachetenberg, there were some initial questions on how to follow up on Prey. One of the ideas became Predator: Badlands. One of the others, which eventually evolved into Killers of Killers, proved more challenging. While it was never a TV show during development, Trachetenberg did it that "I was kind of tripping on how cool it would be to do this stuff in different time periods, but I love the people I collaborate with at the studio. TV is a different thing. Nothing against [the TV production teams] but I want to do it with them."

Predator: Killer of Killers already looks to be a strong contender for the most exciting animated film of the year.

It was apparently Wassung who pitched doing it as an anthology movie, which quickly got Trachtenberg excited about that potential. "There's so much cool stuff in this movie," Trachetenberg gushed — and he's not wrong. Killer of Killers is a terrific-looking movie. The segment shown to the press was thrilling, grisly, and surprisingly emotional. The animation is top-notch and as brutal as fans of the Predator series would want. It feels connected thematically to Prey without feeling repetitive in the slightest. Predator: Killer of Killers already looks to be a strong contender for the most exciting animated film of the year.