Interviews
‘Predator: Killer of Killers’ Directors on the Anthology Format and Historical Accuracy [Interview]
Director Dan Trachtenberg (Prey) teams with co-director Joshua Wassung on a stunning animated anthology that expands the universe further by exploring the Yautjas’ pursuit of a worthy hunt across time in Predator: Killer of Killers, now streaming on Hulu.
The original animated action-adventure film follows three of the fiercest warriors in human history: a Viking raider guiding her young son on a bloody quest for revenge, a ninja in feudal Japan who turns against his Samurai brother in a brutal battle for succession, and a WWII pilot who takes to the sky to investigate an otherworldly threat to the Allied cause.
It’s a premise that suggests a straightforward triptych, but playing with the anthology format allowed for more surprises in Killer of Killers’ franchise expansion. Trachtenberg tells Bloody Disgusting that it was making three distinct tales into one cohesive whole that cracked this anthology open.
“That was really when this unlocked for me, and I was toiling over exactly what to do and what the take could be. Once we had that little nugget of like, ‘Oh, actually, we could be doing more.’ That the movie wouldn’t just be Twilight Zone as an anthology. That it would be Pulp Fiction as an anthology. That these stories could really be interwoven and build to something incredibly special.”
A scene still from 20th Century Studios’ PREDATOR: KILLER OF KILLERS, exclusively on Hulu. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Trachtenberg further explains, revealing a surprising source of inspiration in the process.
“So to be under a spoiler umbrella about the ending, if you want, the thing that I’ve always been chasing was a feeling I had watching Best In Show, the Christopher Guest movie. Normally, when you’re watching a contest movie or a sports film, you’ve got one character that you’re rooting for and hoping for them to win. Something crazy happened as a byproduct of just the nature of that movie that you’ve connected with all of these people. You weren’t thinking about who’s going to have to win the competition. You were just enjoying them, and all of a sudden, the competition builds to a climax. It’s like I’ve never had more stakes for the winner of a contest because I’ve really connected to the characters equally. That was what I knew would be so special about this structure. So, that was a huge piece of figuring out the movie was the format.”
Though Predator: Killer of Killers does tie each distinct story together eventually, each of the three stands apart with its own style, cadence, and action matching the era. Each brings a cultural specificity, too, bringing depth and pathos to the protagonists featured in each.
A scene still from 20th Century Studios’ PREDATOR: KILLER OF KILLERS, exclusively on Hulu. Photo courtesy of 20th Century Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
“I credit Amy Carter,” Wassung says. “She is one of our production designers. She has this special superpower that she can just really drill down on historical cultures. She came from that background. She was a researcher on Lincoln and many other films. She grew up through art, and her dad was a production designer. She was just so great at finding these pieces of history and these photos from this museum or this book or whatever, and she would coalesce them in a way that was very authentic. Then, 20th was able to bring in professional cultural advisors.”
That extended to the action itself; Wassung explains, “There was just a lot of input even down to we had stunt consultants, some of whom were trained in really advanced Sword Mastery, and they were able to video for us little tutorials on how to properly hold a sword, what is the proper form for a situation, and we were able to give that to every animator on the project. So they got this tutorial on how to be a proper samurai and how you hold and what you do. It was just so many elements that went into it, but it was a very high priority for us all.”
Read Bloody Disgusting’s review of Predator: Killer of Killers.
As the inaugural season of Apple TV+’s stellar new series “Widow’s Bay” barrels toward its finale in two weeks, the latest episode gives Kate O’Flynn the spotlight as her character revisits her trauma with the Boogeyman.
“Your Baggage“, directed by Andrew DeYoung (Friendship), sees O’Flynn’s scene-stealing Patricia once again renew her fight with the Michael Myers-like stalker that slaughtered her peers during her adolescence. Thrillingly, it makes for one extended chase sequence that sees Patricia trying to warn others, while evading the undead killer.
In short, this episode’s incredible riff on Halloween and the slasher subgenre transformed Patricia into a fierce Final Girl.
“Well, that felt like a bucket list that I didn’t know was on my bucket list until I did it, but when I did it, I just lapped up every minute,” O’Flynn tells Bloody Disgusting of her triumphant turn this episode. “It felt fantastic for her to get that moment where she is becoming a badass. That was amazing.”
The actress turned to a few notable references for her performance. “Horror-wise, I go back to my youth, which was referenced in some of the episodes: Wicker Man, Carrie, and Rosemary’s Baby, that sort of thing is my kind of vibe.”
O’Flynn also notes how the series’ unique tone allows for so much creative freedom to make bold swings. “There’s something very freeing about it. Every moment is up for grabs, so it’s like we don’t have to totally land in one direction or another. It keeps it alive.“
Patricia is the eccentric assistant to Matthew Rhys‘ Mayor Tom Loftis, who’s at the forefront of trying to solve the island’s pesky curse predicament. Rhys felt the same about “Widow’s Bay” and its rare ability to make you laugh and scream in equal measure, stemming from series creator Katie Dippold.
“The mandate was, ‘It’s a real world with real people. You play for real.’ There’s no playing for comedy or horror,” Rhys echoes O’Flynn’s sentiments on how freeing the series’ tone has been.
New episodes will release every Wednesday through June 17 only on Apple TV+.
Kate O’Flynn in “Widow’s Bay,” now streaming on Apple TV.
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