Top 10 Things You Missed in Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Where some people view Godzilla as humanity’s savory, others have a hard time getting past the countless deaths and billions of dollars in property damage. In a news montage towards the beginning of this film, citizens rally in Washington, D.C. to express their concerns about the Titan population. One particular protester can be seen holding a sign that reads, “Destroy All Monsters,” a throwback to the 1968 film of the same name. In that classic kaiju movie, King Ghidorah is summoned in order to battle Godzilla and a slew of other monsters running amuck. Although both films share similar parallels, the kaiju in “Destroy All Monsters” fought against Ghidorah whereas the Titans in “King of the Monsters” worship the three-headed dragon as an apex predator.

Two years before this movie’s release, two figures who helped shape the “Godzilla” franchise into what it is today sadly passed away. In May 2017, we lost Yoshimitsu Banno, who directed 1971’s “Godzilla vs. Hedorah.” Banno returned as an executive producer on the 2014 “Godzilla” reboot and received a posthumous credit for “King of the Monsters.” Only three months after Banno’s death, the world said goodbye to legendary suit actor Haruo Nakajima, who portrayed Godzilla in the character’s 1954 cinematic debut and reprised the role eleven more times, that’s amazing dedication considering how uncomfortable the Godzilla suit was. Being giants of the monster genre, you can understand why this movie is dedicated to both Banno and Nakajima.

Having composed the musical score for 2018’s “God of War,” Bear McCreary is no stranger to giant monsters and epic battles. Where composer Alexandre Desplat brought a unique sound to 2014’s “Godzilla,” McCreary drew inspiration from the past for “King of the Monsters.” While not without original music, the film also features the classic “Godzilla” theme by Akira Ifukube. During the cocoon hatching scene, you can hear Yuji Koseki’s “Mothra’s Song,” which debuted along with the Queen of the Monsters in 1961. To cap off this monster mash, the film closes out with a cover of the 1977 Blue Öyster Cult song “Godzilla,” which Bear described in an Entertainment Weekly interview as “the most audacious piece of music I have ever produced.”

Whatever your thoughts on 2014’s “Godzilla” are, it’s hard to deny that the King of the Monsters has never looked better. Godzilla’s design remained mostly intact for this sequel, although sharp-eyed viewers will notice a few notable tweaks. In a prequel comic entitled “Godzilla: Aftershock,” Godzilla’s dorsal fins are damaged during a fight against MUTO Prime. It would seem the dorsal fins have grown back in “King of the Monsters,” except now they’re bigger and possess a maple leaf shape that’s closer to Godzilla’s earlier looks. Another new addition is Godzilla’s eye color, which changes bright blue when he uses his atomic breath. And just for good measure, Godzilla has been upgraded from 355 feet to 393 feet, making this iteration; the character’s biggest live-action incarnation.

2014’s “Godzilla” might’ve kicked off Legendary’s MonsterVerse, but “Kong: Skull Island” is chronologically the first film in this cinematic universe. In the film, actor Corey Hawkins played seismologist Houston Brooks, one of the lucky few that were able to get off of Skull Island alive. As our heroes learn at the end of that film, however, Kong was only the tip of the Empire State Building. An older Brooks makes an appearance in “King of the Monsters,” now played by Joe Morton. Brooks can be briefly seen as Mothra emerges from out of the waterfall. Between Kong and Mothra, Brooks can safely say that he’s seen Titans at their deadliest and their most majestic. We wonder when/if older versions of James Conrad and Mason Weaver will pop up.

When the trailer for “King of the Monsters” hit, fans immediately recognized the three-headed dragon encapsulated in ice as King Ghidorah. That’s not what Monarch initially calls the frozen Titan, however. For a good portion of the movie, this Titan is merely referred to as “Monster Zero” until Dr. Ilene Chen identifies it as King Ghidorah through ancient text. The code name “Monster Zero” stems from the 1965 kaiju movie, “Invasion of Astro-Monster.” In that film; human astronauts encounter an alien race known as Xiliens from Planet X. When King Ghidorah enters the mix, the Xiliens identify it as “Monster Zero.” For the film’s U.S. home video release, it was retitled “Godzilla vs. Monster Zero.”

Dr. Ilene Chen isn’t the only character Zhang Ziyi portrays in the MonsterVerse. In “King of the Monsters,” it’s revealed that she has a twin sister named Ling Chen. Third generation twins, Ilene and Ling followed in the footsteps of their mother and grandmother, who were also Monarch operatives. Ilene shows Mark images of her grandmother and grandaunt at on an expedition to Infant Island, Mothra's home island from the Showa Era of “Godzilla” films. The pictures are dated 1961, the same year Mothra’s first standalone movie came out. It’s possible that Ilene and her sister are this universe’s equivalent to the Shobijin, fairy twin priestesses who can summon Mothra through song. This would also explain why Ilene can sense Mothra upon arriving in Boston.

The end credits montage closes out with an ancient painting of Godzilla duking it out with King Kong, teasing their upcoming throwdown in 2020’s “Godzilla vs. Kong.” While that little preview was fairly easy to indicate, the credits contain another Easter egg that flew under the radar. Although Mothra perishes during the climatic fight against Ghidorah, the Queen of the Monsters isn’t necessarily down for the count. A news article seen in the credits reveal that another Mothra egg has been uncovered. This continues a cycle seen throughout the Toho films where Mothra often sacrifices herself, but her offspring always rise up to continue her legacy. So, we can count on seeing a new Mothra somewhere down the line in the MonsterVerse.

The climax sees Godzilla rip Ghidorah a new one, claiming his crown as King of the Monsters. Like Mothra, though, this doesn’t mean we’ve seen the last of Ghidorah. In a post-credits scene, Alan Jonah (played by Charles Dance) purchases one of Ghidorah’s severed heads that’s been recovered. Since smuggling Titan DNA is Jonah’s bread and butter, he’ll likely use the head to genetically engineer another Ghidorah. The head could even provide the basis for Jonah to create Mecha-King Ghidorah. This mechanically modified version of the character made its debut in 1991’s “Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah.” The OG Ghidorah is defeated in that film, but it makes a cybernetic comeback for a climactic battle against Godzilla. That’s a fight we definitely want to see with modern effects!

Godzilla’s nuclear stages in this film after being revived by an atomic bomb draw comparison to 1995’s “Godzilla vs. Destoroyah,” the movie where the Heisei era Godzilla died. In that movie, Godzilla’s internal radiation reaction overheats, giving him a fiery presence with increased radiation levels. It’s feared that Godzilla may explode, although it never comes to that. In “King of the Monsters,” however, Godzilla does go boom and emerges totally recharged. But that’s not all. Earlier in the film: The military used a missile called the Oxygen Destroyer in an attempt to defeat Godzilla and Ghidorah. This is the same weapon that kills Godzilla in the 1954 original, but it gives birth to Destoroyah as well. Given all these parallels, we wouldn’t be surprised if Legendary is foreshadowing Destoroyah’s arrival for a future MonsterVerse film.