The Killer’s Game ending explained: What is really wrong with Joe?

The Killer’s Game, the action comedy film starring Dave Bautista in the lead role, was released in the United States on September 13, 2024. Directed by J. J. Perry, the film is based on the 1997 novel of the same name by Jay Bonansinga.

Bautista plays Joe Flood, a veteran assassin in the film, and much of the plot of The Killer’s Game hinges upon Joe’s initial apprehension that he is suffering from a terminal illness. However, as the plot moves forward, it is revealed that Joe has been merely suffering from an injured neck all the while.

The synopsis of the film reads:

"When top hitman Joe Flood is diagnosed with a terminal illness, he decides to take matters into his own hands – by taking a hit out on himself. But when the very hitmen he hired also target his ex-girlfriend, he must fend off an army of assassin colleagues and win back the love of his life before it’s too late.”

The ending of the film not only provides clarity about Joe’s physical condition, it also leaves the door open for a sequel.

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The Killer’s Game reveals Joe suffering from neck issues

Towards the beginning of the film, Joe meets Maize (Sofia Boutella) with whom he falls in love. A professional killer, he decides to quit the “game”. However, his health starts showing signs of illness.

Headaches, double vision, and other symptoms plague Joe, and he visits the doctor. The doctor runs several tests on Joe, and it is found that he is suffering from a terminal illness that will claim his life in three months.

Joe, in a bid to claim his life insurance, issues a contract on his own life, through Marianna (Pom Klementieff). However, after this, Joe is informed by his doctor that the previous diagnosis was the result of a labeling error in the lab. Joe is completely fine, and the terminal illness belongs to someone else.

Joe tries to call the offer off but it is too late. Further, Marianna also wants him dead. As a result, Joe has to team up with Zvi (Ben Kingsley) and kill all the assassins that come his way.

It is Zvi’s wife, Sharon, a massage therapist who discovers that Joe’s symptoms are the result of certain injuries in his neck. In fact, Sharon works on Joe’s neck for a while, and his symptoms vanish overnight.

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The Killer’s Game ending: Does Joe retire?

By the end of The Killer’s Game, Joe, with the help of Zvi, has defeated all the assassins who set out to take his life. Joe and Maize marry in the end. However, Joe is not planning to retire anytime soon.

As the couple gets ready to welcome their first baby, they joke about setting up a college fund for their child. This could mean that Joe is far from retirement. Further, Maize now knows about Joe’s profession, and she does not seem too upset, in case Joe wants to go back to it.

Further, with Marianna and her assassins out of the picture now, Zvi remarks that he has more opportunities in the business of professional killing, and he wishes to have Joe’s help. Thus, the ending of The Killer’s Game suggests that Joe is not retiring just yet. Moreover, this means that a sequel is possible.

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Why does Marianna want Joe dead?

Joe issues a contract on his own life for $2 million, and this contract is spread via Marianne. Once the misunderstanding regarding his diagnosis is cleared up by his doctor, Joe wishes to withdraw the contract.

Marianne, however, is unwilling to draw the contract back. This is because she herself has been thinking about killing Joe for years since he killed her father. The Killer’s Game makes it clear that he killed her father only because he had violated the law of the “game” by using hired mercenaries.

Finally, Zvi has to kill Marianna for breaking the same law as her father did, she hired mercenaries to kill Joe.

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The Killer’s Game is currently playing in theatres.