If you’ve watched The Killer ending you might well have a few questions about the direction the assassin took as his journey to get revenge reached its conclusion.
The Killer might not be the cosy family film you want to curl up with your best electric blanket to watch on a chilly Sunday afternoon but it certainly delivers on the action scenes. The titular killer, known only as The Killer, is played by Michael Fassbender is extremely skilled at what he does but even he isn’t immune to mistakes. One in particular sets off a chain of violence and a quest for vengeance that leads up to an intriguing twist in The Killer ending. Based on a graphic novel series like Netflix’s Bodies, if you’ve ever wondered where to watch Luther, this also has a high level of intensity that will soon draw you in.
Here we explain The Killer ending, including whether or not The Killer retired and all we know about a sequel...
*Warning: spoilers ahead*
The Killer ending explained
The Killer ending ultimately sees The Killer get his revenge on his former handler, Hodges, as well as on the two assassins sent to take him out. Instead of finding him at his sprawling and more than a little luxurious home in the Dominican Republic, the assassins - known only as The Brute and The Expert - found The Killer’s girlfriend Magdala. They attacked her and she ended up in the ICU, receiving blood transfusions and medication.
From this moment on, The Brute and The Expert’s fates were sealed as The Killer was intent on nothing more than identifying them and killing them for what they’d done to Magdala. As might have been expected given the Netflix movie’s title, by the time viewers had reached the final stages of The Killer ending there had been quite a few deaths, some far more grisly than others.
After tracking down and killing Leo the taxi driver who helped the assassins, The Killer tried to get the assassins’ names out of his handler Hodges. Unfortunately for The Killer, Hodges died before he could get the truth out of him but his secretary Dolores ended up bargaining with the assassin for the information he needed.
In return for killing her in a way that wouldn’t raise suspicions (allowing her children to claim her life insurance) she gave him the other killers’ names and The Client’s name - Claybourne. After tracking down and killing both The Brute and The Expert, The Killer’s attention turned to The Client. He managed to bypass the wealthy businessman’s security and gain entry into his home late at night, threatening The Client with a gun.
Claybourne claimed not to know who The Killer was - or why he was there and eventually the hitman produced the card with his name on it that had led him there.
From this point on The Client knew who he was dealing with and desperately tried to reassure The Killer that he had “no problem” with him personally. Instead, The Client had agreed to Hodges’ suggestion of a mop-up job after The Killer had botched the assassination he’d paid for but in The Killer ending he claimed that he hadn’t known exactly what that would entail.
The Client shared that this had been his first time hiring a hitman and so “eventually” he and Hodges had agreed that for an additional $150,000 the “trail could be scrubbed”.
The Killer listened quietly and although he expressed scepticism that The Client had truly had no idea why he was there after paying the extra money, he let him go. Some might not have been expecting this from The Killer ending but the hitman did deliver a chilling threat as he wrapped up his quest for vengeance.
“If I have to come back - maybe a radioactive speck on the lip of your favourite coffee mug,” he warned. “A slow death, mind you, from painful facial necrosis. Or a tragic mis-step into your penthouse elevator shaft. But I promise, I’ll find something fitting.”
The final moments of The Killer ending saw the titular killer back in the Dominican Republic with Magdala by his side, seemingly accepting his break from his dangerous profession.
Did The Killer retire?
The Killer certainly appeared to have retired by the closing stages of The Killer ending, but it’s up for debate whether someone who’d been involved in such an intense illegal profession for so long could truly ever give it up. In the final scenes he made Magdala a coffee and sat down with her in the picturesque Dominican Republic and for the first time The Killer’s eyes twitched. Throughout the movie Michael Fassbender’s portrayal of the ever stoic, totally in control hitman meant that he wasn’t often seen blinking and was largely expressionless during his work-focused interactions.
Even throughout The Expert’s last supper before he killed her, it was her who did pretty much all the talking whilst he listened intently but didn’t really respond. This outwardly shows how controlled he is and how he’s able to be so successful in his career, whilst The Killer’s narration and repetition of his key mottos including “trust no-one” give more of an insight this way. The twitch of his eye at the end could therefore be particularly significant and might be a sign that The Killer did actually retire and he’s starting to be able to let go.
By this point he’s also been reunited with Magdala and has taken out his handler and the others who were threatening him, putting him in a slightly safer position.
Will there be The Killer sequel?
After The Killer ending some might be wondering if this is the last we’ll see of The Killer and right now there’s currently no word on if they’ll be a The Killer sequel. However, The Killer is based on a French graphic novel series of the same name by Alexis Nolent and so if not all of it was adapted into the movie there could be opportunities to take the story further. The Killer ending also left the door slightly ajar for the hitman’s story to be picked up again too.
Although it looked as though The Killer retired, this could potentially be reversed if the demand was there for a The Killer sequel. In their intriguing conversation moments before he killed The Expert, she raised a very interesting point about his commitment to his career.
The calm and collected character played by the brilliant Tilda Swinton was speaking of herself but likened their experiences when she said, “Money was motivation, which, once there was enough, could be used to buy another life. Another lie we told ourselves.”
It seems as though The Killer has enough money to retire and enjoy his “other life”, but the fact that he still got drawn into his dangerous world perhaps suggests The Expert was right about the “lie” and that he will always feel tempted to return to it.
“You’re here because you couldn’t help yourself,” she added, discussing why he’d taken the risk of potentially killing her so publicly in the restaurant.
All of these impulses might have faded by The Killer ending when he’d reunited with Magdala but then again, if a potential The Killer sequel needed it, these could drive him to get back in his old career. Alternatively, a sequel could follow his life outside of this but given the high-octane drama and The Killer’s identity only being known by his hitman experience, fans might prefer to see him back to his old ways as at least it would mean a lot of exciting scenes.
The Killer is available to watch on Netflix now.
