Warning: Contains SPOILERS for The Killer's Game!Dave Bautista's 2024 action movie follows his character, Joe Flood, as he is diagnosed with a terminal illness, which results in him ordering a $2 million contract for an assassin to kill him. However, Joe learns that he was misdiagnosed due to a lab error and attempts to cancel the contract, but it is too late. Multiple other assassins are already coming for him, and Marianna (Pom Klementieff) is unwilling to lift the order.

This leads to Joe fighting for life, killing multiple rival assassins in the process before working with Zvi (Ben Kingsley) to coordinate a trap for any remaining assassins. Little does Joe know that arguably his biggest rival, Lovedahl (Terry Crews), has captured his girlfriend Maize (Sofia Boutella). The good news is that Maize manages to save Joe from near death, allowing them to reconcile and profess their love as they continue to try and survive. Watching The Killer's Game and its explosive ending leaves Joe's future and a possible franchise in an uncertain spot.

Is Joe Really Retired From The Game?

He Doesn't Want To Be An Assassin Anymore

The big question from The Killer's Game's ending is whether Joe is still part of the "game" as a hired killer. He wants to retire from this line of profession early on in the movie once his relationship with Maize begins to get serious. Joe then thinks he'll retire the non-peaceful way through death as part of the contract he orders. But once he kills everyone coming after him, Joe tells Zvi he is retired so he and Maize can begin a happy life together, as shown by their having a proper wedding before the birth of their first child.

The wedding festivities end with Joe affirming that he is retired to Zvi, but The Killer's Game suggests this might not be permanent. Zvi mentions how he'll have more opportunities to work now that Marianna and her assassin network are out of the picture, which is why he wants Joe to come back to work for him. Surprisingly, Maize does not seem completely against the idea of Joe returning to the life of a hitman, as she jokes about how much he could make for just hurting people instead of killing them.

With Maize and Joe joking about the need for them to start a college fund for their kid, The Killer's Game's ending implies that Joe's retirement might not be permanent. For now, he is retired and ready to spend some time living life with his new wife. However, the door is left open for Joe to return to being a killer, especially now that Maize knows the truth and could be becoming more comfortable with the idea that this is his line of work.

Why Marianna Wanted To Kill Joe So Badly

She Holds A Grudge Because Of Her Father

While much of The Killer's Game's plot is the direct result of Joe's decision to ask Marianna to put a hit out on him, most of the movie could've been avoided if she complied with his request to cancel it. She is eager for Joe to die, as she even mentions that she's thought about doing it herself for years and that she might have done it if it would not have ruined her career. The reason why Marianna wants Joe dead is brushed over in the story, but the movie does provide some details.

Dave Bautista and Pom Klementieff previously starred together in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies

The root of Marianna's hatred for Joe is because he was responsible for killing her father. Marianna suggests that Joe was quite close to her father, and she felt betrayed that Joe would kill him. It's not until later on that The Killer's Game reveals that Joe only killed Marianna's father because he broke the rules by hiring mercenaries for a contract job. Ironically, it was breaking the same rule that led Zvi to kill Marianna in the finale, while Joe killed all off the mercenaries that she hired to kill him.

What Was Really Wrong With Joe?

His Health Issues Are Resolved

The Killer's Game makes it clear early on that Joe is not in perfect health, as he has horrible headaches, double vision, and other symptoms during his first mission. After the doctor rules out tumors as the cause, Joe is told that he has Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). He's given just three months to live after the rare illness diagnosis and believes he is getting more symptoms of it once his hands start shaking. However, the lab mislabeled the tests, so Joe did not have CJD, and the doctor never correctly diagnosed what was wrong with him.

In a somewhat unexpected development, the cause of Joe's headaches and double vision is rooted in his neck. Zvi's wife, Sharon, who worked as a massage therapist before, begins working on Joe's neck one night, and his symptoms are cleared after she's done. This means that Joe was never close to having any serious disease. He just needed a good massage to help his neck back in order after 20 years of taking hits and punches.

Why Joe & Maize Didn’t Help Lovedahl

They Leave Him At The Church

The Killer's Game's ending does see Joe and Maize make a potentially curious decision not to help Lovedahl once all the shooting and fighting has come to a close. Lovedahl finds himself in the crosshairs of Marianna's mercenaries, and he and Joe briefly work together to stop them in the end. However, it ends with Lovedahl stuck on the ground and injured by scaffolding on top of him. He asks Joe and Maize to help him get free, but they refuse. While he is shown to have gotten free on his own, Joe and Maize's decision sticks out.

The reason why Joe and Maize do not help Lovedahl is likely the result of the role Terry Crews' character played in the danger they found themselves in. Lovedahl only stopped trying to kill Joe because Marianna would not raise the bounty to $6 million as he requested. He was also the one responsible for putting Maize in danger since he kidnapped her. Joe gives Lovedahl the professional courtesy of not killing him, but he also won't help him because of his role in what happened. That's why Joe even suggests Lovedahl should retire.

How The Killer’s Game Sets Up A Sequel

The Assassin Landscape Has Changed

The Killer's Game does not directly set up a sequel in a traditional sense. Instead, it opts to leave the door open to a potential follow-up, but it still has an ending that works if this is ultimately a standalone movie. There might not be a The Killer's Game post-credits scene promising what could come in a sequel, but the movie's ending still drops a few clues about what another installment could be about.

The biggest way that The Killer's Game 2 is setup through the finale is by how different the assassin landscape is now. Zvi mentions that Marianna's death opens up more opportunities for him and his assassins to have work. This would potentially broaden the pool of targets that Joe could go after in a sequel. Furthermore, Marianna's death at Zvi's hand could lead to other handlers coming after him to try and take some of the newfound power for themselves. Joe could even be targeted again due to the various assassins he killed.

The story of The Killer's Game 2 would also surely mean Joe comes out of retirement in some form. This would also likely put Maize and their child in some sort of danger. It would be up to the sequel to explore how Joe and Maize's relationship has progressed. Perhaps The Killer's Game's sequel could even bring Maize into the action a bit more after she killed Max and possibly got a taste of the assassin lifestyle.

The Real Meaning Of The Killer’s Game

The Movie Is About Finding Happiness

The Killer's Game might just seem like a mindless action movie, and it is that to some degree, but there are still larger themes at play. The biggest is the idea of finding happiness and love. Joe always put the job before making a life for himself, but that changes with Maize. He finally finds happiness and is ready to walk away from that lifestyle to be with her. Even if he ultimately winds up as an assassin again, The Killer's Game still shows he is in a much better spot after finding the love and happiness he deserves.