WMG / Godzilla (2014)

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Pre-release theories

Godzilla will be CGI and a guy in a rubber suit

Duh. Just like the Hulk and Lizard. A guy in a rubber suit as base and using CGI to make a gigantic lizard. There's your Pandering to the Fanbase right there.

• So in other words, they'll use a mixture of Serkis Folk and People in Rubber Suits.

If the film is successful, the films will bring back classic characters

Mothra, King Gidorah, etc. Especially leading up to a remake of King Kong vs. Godzilla. The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny.

• Gareth Edwards has expressed interest in doing a Destroy All Monsters style sequel, so we may very well get to see several familiar kaiju.
  • There's been a rumor that Guillermo Del Toro has expressed interest in a crossover with Pacific Rim if the film is successful. If the rumor is true, and it happens, it would be interesting to see how Godzilla would fit into that world.
  • Maybe we could have a Jaeger inspired by the Showa- era Jet Jaguar
    • Or a Mechagodzilla-esque Jaeger, perhaps?
• Anguirus, Rodan, and some of the other more "natural" kaiju would fit in well with this world. However, with the more realistic tone that they're trying to establish, it'd be a lot harder to integrate fan favorites like King Ghidorah or Gigan without seriously re-imagining their backgrounds.
• Based on a theory, I'd like to see the Rhedosaurus appear. It was the inspiration for Godzilla, after all, and is pretty powerful on its own.

If the movie does well enough to merit a sequel...

... the sequel will be a Vs. movie (much like how the sequel to Man of Steel will be a Batman Vs. Superman movie) pitting Godzilla up against another famous monster (or Batman, because that idea, which was actually considered before at one point, sounds Crazy Enough to Work as a movie).

• KOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG!!!
• If they were to make King Kong big enough to fight this incarnation of Godzilla, how on Earth would he have been able to climb the Empire State Building?
  • ...Crap!
  • Perhaps he could fall into a vat of chemicals when he's attacking a MUTO lab or something. Cue Mass "Oh, Crap!", and a scientist muttering "Why the hell did we put that growth serum outside in the first place?"
  • Would they need to size up Kong? The male Muto was pretty small, and it still gave the big G a helluva fight.
• Note that Andy Serkis did the motion-capture acting for King Kong (2005), and is listed in the credits for doing motion-capture work on this as well. Which means a Kong Vs. Godzilla film would feature Andy Serkis in a motion-capture suit, beating himself up.

To help promote this film, they'll hire a contemporary rock band to do a cover of Blue Öyster Cult's famous song.

Except the cover version will be less tongue-in-cheek and more menacing in order to better match the movie's Darker and Edgier tone.

The whole Darker and Edgier atmosphere established by the marketing is just a ruse to draw in viewers; the film itself will actually be full of Showa-era goofiness.

Expect to see a tail-sliding Godzilla, two singing fairies, aliens in cheap gorilla masks, a talking Minilla who befriends children, and a human-sized robot that can inexplicably grow to kaiju proportions.

• Almost confirmed. While it defintely was much darker than the 1998 version and many of the later Showa era movies, it wasn't nearly as dark and grim as the advertising would lead one to believe.
• Wow, deja vu.
• I knew it was only a matter of time before someone noticed!
• Jossed. The film is actually quite serious.

The movie will have an anti-war theme

The original 1954 Godzilla was essentially a metaphor for the WWII Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings. It's likely that this movie, in going back to the roots of the original, will employ similar messages, condemning recent events such as 9/11 and the War in Afghanistan.

• Jossed. There is no anti-war or even much of an anti-nuclear weapon message in the movie.
  • The only possible theme is 'nature must balance itself' or 'take care of itself'. Which in this case is Godzilla, a force of nature, destroying the Mutos.

The film with end with Godzilla still alive

Unlike the original 50's film, the popularity of the creature is set in stone, now. This installment looks to (hopefully) be the polar opposite of the '98 American movie, too - so this film will take an approach like that of IDW's recent "Half-Century War" miniseries, where Godzilla can not only take everything human beings can throw at him (MechaGodzilla, anyone), but becomes something human beings will have to live with and in some instances, come to rely on.

• Confirmed by the soundtrack: "Godzilla's Victory" and "Back to the Sea" are the names of the last two songs.

Possible Stinger:

A exotic jungle is seen. We hear gunshots.A man in tribal outfit comes and he goes to a temple. He is dying of a gunshot wound. In the temple there is a giant egg. He says the native language word for help. He dies and the egg cracks. The screen goes black and we hear chirping.

• Jossed. Gareth Edwards says that he dislikes Stingers and other Sequel Hooks, and no other monsters beside Godzilla and the Mutos appear in the movie.

A version of Steve Martin will appear.

The american version of the original Gojira (A.K.A. Godzilla: King of the Monsters!) added in new scenes with an additional character named Steve Martin (not to be confused with the actor Steve Martin), played by Raymond Burr. He basically served as an Audience Surrogate, acting as an observer and commenting on the events throughout the movie and occasionally interacting with the original cast (thanks to some clever editing and use of doubles), with his character being a noir-esque Intrepid Reporter who was a college friend of Dr. Serizawa. When the american version was brought back to Japan, the Steve Martin character became highly influential, inspiring similar reporter characters in later Godzilla movies. When The Return of Godzilla was americanized as Godzilla 1985, the Steve Martin character was once again added in via new scenes with Raymond Burr reprising the role and delivering a thoughtful and dead-serious performance, despite the higher-ups wanting to give the movie a much lighter tone.

As a nod to King of the Monsters and possibly one of the best Mythology Gags they could pull off, the 2014 movie could include the Steve Martin character again (though it obviously wouldn't be the same Steve Martin since this movie is a reboot, and because Burr unfortunately died in 1993, they'd have to get a different actor to play the character). Should they do so, they could also use this opportunity to give the character more backstory than just "he's a college friend of Dr. Serizawa" and even expand on the backstory he already has. Also, since this is an entirely new movie made from scratch, there's also more opportunities for Steve Martin to interact with the rest of the cast (especially Dr. Serizawa, who he barely spoke with despite the two being college friends).

• Jossed. No one named "Steve Martin" appears in this film. We don't even get an expy or a mention of him.

The events of this film will cause the formation of G-Force, or something similar.

With humanity being hitherto completely unprepared to deal with the threat of kaiju, it makes sense that an organization would quickly be formed to specifically counter that threat. Depending on where the franchise goes, this organization may be responsible for the creation of MechaGodzilla.

• Perhaps M.U.T.O. is that group?
• Or an AU version of the Pan Pacific Defense Corps?
  • Jossed.

A few potential Mythology Gags

1. There will be a reference to stop-motion, even if it's just a blink-and-you'll-miss-it shot of a TV playing a stop-motion movie such as The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, as a nod to the fact that the original Gojira was originally planned to have Godzilla portrayed with stop-motion animation before settling on the more convenient rubber-suit method.
   • Jossed.
2. Godzilla will be portrayed as carnivorous by eating people and/or animals, as a nod to a scene from the original movie that had to be reshot, showing Godzilla with a dead cow in his mouth in an attempt to portray the monster as a carnivore (it had to be reshot because the cameraman thought it was too graphic).
   • Jossed, radiation is his sustenance.
3. A character in the movie will refer to Godzilla as an ancient beast awoken by nuclear weaponry, in a reference to Godzilla: King of the Monsters!, where Godzilla is given a similar description.
   • The three kaiju are referred to as ancient creatures (or something to that effect), but Godzilla awakes of his own accord—- in fact, the nuclear tests in the 50s are meant to kill him and fail.
4. The movie will end with, or at least have somewhere, a shot of the city in ruins, like it's been devastated by a nuclear/atomic bomb-a reference to the destruction of Tokyo in the original film.
   • Confirmed.
5. A kid could be seen playing with a T-Rex toy-perhaps smashing buildings as Foreshadowing or the 2005/1933 King Kong movie could be playing on a TV screen.
   • Former confirmed, latter jossed.
6. A classroom will be watching a documentary of the Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, with pictures of the atomic bomb explosions and J Robert Oppenheimer's quote playing.
   • Jossed.
7. Frankenstein and Germany will be mentioned, as a reference to the fact that the German releases of Godzilla films often referenced Frankenstein to the point where the monsters that Godzilla fought were explained as being experiments by Dr. Frankenstein.
   • Jossed.
8. One of the trailers will refer to Godzilla as if he were an actual living actor, as a nod to one of the american trailers for Godzilla 1985.
   • Not one of the trailers, but this interview with Bryan Cranston jokingly did.
9. Godzilla will be blamed for an attack on New York, but it will be dismissed as a completely different kaiju.
   • Jossed.
10. Godzilla will be revealed to have been seen and written about and filmed through multiple times in history-one such time will be World War 2.
    • Partially confirmed, there is references to him in cave paintings and medieval texts in the opening montage, and there is 'footage' of him from the 50s.
11. One of the trailers or TV spots will use the song "Superbeast" by Rob Zombie, as a callback to the theatrical trailer for Godzilla 2000.
    • Jossed.

The other two monsters will be puppets

If the rumors that Godzilla will be portrayed with a rubber suit along with CGI as per Toho's request are true, it probably wouldn't come as a surprise that, also at Toho's request, the other two monsters that Godzilla will fight would also be portrayed with similar methods such as puppetry and animatronics.

• Jossed. They're CGI.

Godzilla's rampage will be at least in part because his offspring is missing.

At least one Godzilla Jr. will be stuck somewhere in an American West Coast city, possibly taken by M.U.T.O. for research and/or experimentation.

• Jossed. It's implied that he doesn't really like the Mutos.

Godzilla will emerge from the Earth's mantle.

Screenshots have shown M.U.T.O. cordoning off various massive holes in the ground, including Turkmenistan's "Door to Hell," for research. It is possible that Godzilla (and maybe his offspring) emerged from one of these holes, having been dormant in subterranean magma since prehistoric times up until nuclear tests awakened him. Him having endured the high pressures found down there may be used in the movie's explanation of how he gets past the Square-Cube Law.

• Jossed. He emerged from the sea-we don't even know WHY they were sealing off the holes.

The Mutos were created by M.U.T.O. to fight Godzilla.

The original founders of what became M.U.T.O. may have encountered Godzilla in the past and realized that he could be a huge threat to humans. In response, they started making genetically-enhanced creatures called Mutos that they could control and use to fight Godzilla. Unfortunately, when Godzilla attacked again, the Mutos ended up being hyper-aggressive and uncontrollable, simply adding to the danger and destruction already brought by their intended target. This forces M.U.T.O. to lure Godzilla himself into a fight with the Mutos so that there would at least be two less monsters to deal with.

• Jossed. They were merely being studied by MUTO, but broke out.

This movie will result in more Godzilla movies being rereleased

So far, Godzilla vs. The Sea Monster, Godzilla vs. Hedorah, and Godzilla vs. Gigan have all been licensed by Section 23 Films and are set to be rereleased on May 6th under their new Kraken Releasing subdivision. There's also Universal rereleasing King Kong vs. Godzilla and King Kong Escapes on Blu-Ray, even though those are still just the American cuts. So far, the remaining Godzilla films that would need a rerelease are...

• Son of Godzilla
• Destroy All Monstersp
• Godzilla vs. Megalon
• Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla
• The Return of Godzilla

The centipede-like monster is actually the larval form of this movie's version of Mothra.

Material given so far seems to indicate that the winged, spider-like Mutos (hostile artificial creations) and the centipede monster are separate species. The teaser also had Oppenheimer's narration about Vishnu being said while the camera pans over this monster's corpse, and Mothra has traditionally been characterized as a Good Is Not Nice deity who puts humans in their place without being cruel about it. Plus, Gareth Edwards' pledge to make the film more faithful to the Godzilla franchise (as evidenced by things like the more faithful Godzilla design and the return of Daisuke Serizawa) may mean that he would want to reintroduce another staple Godzilla monster early on in this continuity, and who better than the franchise's most famous non-villainous monster besides Godzilla himself?

• Jossed: there is no centipede-like monster in the actual movie. Trailers Always Lie.

The Asylum will make a mockbuster of this movie.

As much as I hate to call it, it's pretty much inevitable, considering how much hype this movie is generating and The Asylum's track record of making rip-offs of popular movies. They'll probably try to disguise it as either a sequel to Monster (which was their rip-off attempt with Cloverfield), or a "remake" of an older monster movie such as The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, Gorgo, or The Giant Gila Monster.

• No word on the Asylum itself, but there is this movie called Poseidon Rex releasing the same year that features an amphibious dinosaur that goes around eating humans. There's even a subplot about hordes of offspring that threaten to make humans extinct, evoking Godzilla (1998).

The American military will start off trying to use a nuclear bomb on Godzilla to no avail.

The poster◊ shows what looks an awful lot like a massive, fiery blast crater in the middle of San Francisco. Of course, the poster also shows Godzilla alive and kicking, apparently indicating that this incarnation of Godzilla is invulnerable to nukes.

• The second trailer revealed that they already tried this. It was called Castle Bravo.
• Confirmed in the movie-they did that test, it failed.

One of Godzilla's attributes is that his radioactivity somehow unintentionally generates powerful storms in his wake.

The teaser shows the HALO jumpers diving through an enormous storm cloud, and the shot of Ford catching sight of Godzilla himself is portrayed with unusually frequent lightning strikes lighting up the scene. Furthermore, typing "storm" or "superstorm" into the M.U.T.O. Research website brings up a message about a major storm hitting the Pacific seaboard (i.e. the location of Godzilla's primary rampage), which may imply that the storm is a pivotal part of the plot that has something to do with Godzilla.

• Jossed.

The sequel will be titled "King of the Monsters."

This will continue the trend followed by The Dark Knight and Man of Steel, two other movies by Legendary Pictures, of eventually naming their films of Long Runner franchises after the iconic nickname of the central character.

The ever anticipated second trailer will be screened before the theatrical release of 300: Rise of an Empire

Both films are produced by Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures, and the second trailer has to be released eventually. It'll especially help to calm down the fans who were pissed off that the trailer wasn't released on February 14th.

Either the advertising or the film itself will feature "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons.

The song's lyrics about radioactivity, The End of the World as We Know It, mutations and "the new age," along with the harsh electronic style, would obviously fit in with the themes and the grim tone of this movie.

Possible songs for the movie's soundtrack

1. As mentioned in the above WMG, "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons.
2. Also mentioned above, "Godzilla" from Spectres by Blue Öyster Cult, or a darker and more serious cover version
3. "Killer of Giants" by Ozzy Osbourne (a song about the Cold War and the danger of nuclear weaponry)
4. "One" by Metallica (originally written for the film Johnny Got His Gun, a song about a soldier horribly damaged and scarred while fighting in World War I)
5. "Aces High" by Iron Maiden (a song about a British RAF pilot fighting against the German Luftwaffe during the Battle of Britain)

• All Jossed

The second or third trailers will reveal finally Godzilla's design

I completely understand that they want to keep the designs of Godzilla, the Mutos, and the centipede monster a secret so they can gauge interest in the movie, and so far in the case of the latter two, they've successfully managed to do so. However, Godzilla's design has practically already been revealed, starting with his head design◊ getting leaked, and then moving down to his upper◊ torso◊. And even if the design wasn't leaked, the concept◊ statues◊ and◊ models◊, toy◊ figurines◊, and this shot◊ from Godzilla Encounter already give us a good idea of what Godzilla will look like (and also confirm that he actually will look like himself this time). For the either the second trailer or the final trailer, they can still not show the Mutos and the centipede monster, but they might as well go ahead and show off Godzilla's final design. And who knows, it might attract even more attention, which could be a good thing.

• The design got revealed◊ on a limited edition collector's cover for an Empire issue featuring interviews with Gareth Edwards and other staff for the film. Granted, the issue was for the same week as the trailer's release.

M.U.T.O. stands for "Mutated Underground Terrestrial Organism."

Which fits in with all the sinkholes shown in the viral marketing material, and may be the origin of the Mutos themselves.

• Half-Jossed. Their name really stands for "Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism". Two out of four ain't bad.

The appearance of Godzilla and the Mutos is actually the result of a plot by the Xiliens.

It will be gradually unveiled over the course of this continuity that the Xiliens, using M.U.T.O. as a front organization, are involved in the creation and/or mutation of these giant monsters. Their plan is to have the monsters rampage across the planet to make it easier to Take Over the World. It is also possible that this is all only known to the higher-ups in M.U.T.O., while lower ranking individuals such as Serizawa and Wates think they're meant to combat the monsters.

• Jossed. The aliens do not appear at all, and the monster's appearance are due to the Mutos escaping and Godzilla having a grudge against them.

Godzilla is actually the true Big Bad of the movie

Yes, Godzilla's usually been portrayed as a very destructive anti-hero in the older movies, especially the Showa movies. However, it's important to remember that in the first movie, Godzilla was more or less the closest thing the film had to an antagonist, even if he was portrayed sympathetically. It wasn't until the fifth Showa movie that Godzilla started to act more heroically, and he was still eventually reverted back into an antagonist when the series was rebooted into the Heisei era. The Mutos and the centipede monster could serve as secondary antagonists (much like Anguirus did), but Godzilla will most likely be the film's main Big Bad. Also, in the bit of Joseph Brody audio that was released as a sneak peek for the second trailer, Brody is clearly referring to something pretty damn big, something that will "send us back to the Stone Age". The Mutos, while definitely big, are about as big as Godzilla's foot, and we know too little information about that centipede monster to draw any conclusions about it, so just who else could Joseph Brody be referring to?

• Jossed. The Mutos are as big as Godzilla, and they're both the Big Bads.

Rodan will appear in the movie as the third Kaiju.

As seen in the official trailer, the Jets falling out of the sky can't seem to be caused by Godzilla, as he's probably busy wrecking the city. Could Rodan be making them fall down? You can see something swoop out of the sky and into the ocean at 1:32. And at 2:06, you can see what appears to be a massive talon slam into the ground. Rodan appearing would also make sense, because Godzilla's most recognized opponents are Rodan and Mothra, who had their own movies and form the Classic Trio for Toho. Perhaps the Mutos are reimagined versions for Mothra's larvae?

• It's been made clear that no Toho monsters other than Godzilla himself will be appearing, and that the two other monsters in the movie will be original creations (though with that being said, it wouldn't be unlikely for the original monsters to, at the most, be Expys of monsters from Toho's library). As for those scenes where the jets fall into the water and the claw slams down, it could just be the Mutos, which are separated into ground and flying variants.
  • At the most they could have attributes derived from Rodan or Mothra.
  • Jossed-they don't seem to have any.
• A few references have been made to electromagnetic interference. Maybe Big G has an EMP-style affect on the environment around him, bringing him even more in line with nuclear attacks? That could be what brought down the planes.
  • Jossed-it's the Mutos who do that in the movie.
  • I think I remember Godzilla shooting down planes with his radioactive beam breath at one point...

When the movie is released on DVD and Blu-Ray...

... the back of the cases will have Godzilla's copyright icon◊, as well as newly created copyright icons for the Mutos and the centipede monster.

• Jossed.

The Mutos are possibly Expys of the Meganulon and Meganula

In a sense, they're both giant insects that terrorize and are "created" by humans (the Meganulon were prehistoric insects that were awakened by nuclear testing, while the Mutos are the result of scientists and the experiments they conduct), as well as face off against a much larger and more formidable foe (the Meganulon fought both Rodan and Godzilla, while the Mutos will most certainly fight Godzilla).

• And the winged Muto is the Megaguirus expy!
  • Jossed. They aren't created by humans, and were only discovered in 1999.

There will be a Take That! aimed NOT at the 1998 remake...

... but at Pulgasari, that 1985 North Korean Godzilla "remake" that was directed by a South Korean director who, along with his wife, was kidnapped by Kim Jong Il and forced into directing the movie (and also had none other than well known Godzilla suit actor Ken Satsuma as the suit actor for the title monster). It will most likely involve Godzilla absolutely destroying North Korea more so than he does the other cities and countries.

• Jossed.

Serizawa was assigned to Janjira by M.U.T.O to cover up the damages

Serizawa will use the Oxygen Destroyer... just not on Godzilla

He will probably use the Oxygen Destroyer on one of the Mutos in the final battle in order to give Godzilla an upper hand, killing himself in the process while telling Ford something similar to what the original character told Ogata.

• Jossed. He lives, and the Mutos have their asses kicked by Godzilla.

Godzilla will, at the very least, be a Sociopathic Hero.

• Jossed. At worst it's a Destructive Savior.

One of the Mutos will either be an explicit update or an Expy of Gigan.

At least one of the Mutos looks very similar to Upgraded Gigan with a bit of the Cloverfield monster in him. Imagine Gigan if he lurched over and used his hooks as arms in the same way a bat does. Logically, he'd store his wings in the 'hooks' and use them more than normal Gigan uses his wings. More than likely, the Muto will just mutate and be Gigan-like, as a nod to the character, and not actually very Gigan-ish at all otherwise. Although, the idea of a possible strange alien creature getting mutated/empowered by science DOES sound a whole lot like Gigan, so maybe...

• Jossed.

The Rhedosaurus will be one of the enemies Godzilla will have to fight.

And he will have the remains of a lighthouse on it's back and a fog horn-like roar. After all, The Rhedosaurus is so old, its copyright is almost over, to the point that no one would even try to start a lawsuit.

• Unfortunately, it's been confirmed Godzilla will be only facing the Mutos. However, it's an excellent idea, and it could work for the next movie. It would be awesome to see it appear, too. The Rhedosaurus being the monster that inspired Eiji Tsuburaya to make Godzilla would be a very nice reference. On the other hand, they would have to make Rhedosaurus bigger, but I'm guessing that he could be pretty lethal, with his poisonous blood and massive temper.

The centipede monster will be a part of the 1999 incident

The 1999 incident that M.U.T.O. is covering up could be a fight between Godzilla and the centipede monster that caused massive collateral damage to their surroundings, and ended with Godzilla as the victor, obviously. That giant skeleton seen in the main trailer could be that of the centipede monster, rotting for 15 years after Godzilla killed it.

• That giant skeleton is actually the remains of a Godzilla. The King's apparently the Last of His Kind.

Legendary's Dr. Serizawa is a relative of the original and possibly someone else from the Showa series

New viral images from Monarch Research identify Dr. Serizawa's first name as being Ichiro rather then Daisuke. Perhaps a certain latchkey kid obsessed with kaiju had a mysterious uncle that he decided to follow into science.

• It's implied that he was a relative.

Sandra Brody isn't actually dead.

Privately screened scenes from the movie, along with other promotional materials, make it out that Sandra died at Janjira in 1999 after Joe was forced to lock her and other workers behind a door to keep toxic gas from leaking out. However, it's possible that Joe only thinks she died then, but she actually exploited the incident to go undercover for Monarch.

• No, she survived and was taken by Monarch for experimentation, she will be released by the end of the film and have a slug match with the Gojira.
• Nope, she's dead.

Godzilla will only use his thermonuclear breath once in the entire film

This way, it will emphasize how dangerous Godzilla is just by his sheer physical power and give proper weight to his most famous ability. He will use it as Finishing Move at the end of the movie and this will show how bad things have really become for humanity as a whole.

• Almost true. He uses it twice - both of which as finishing moves.

Godzilla will possess a Size Shifting ability

Therefore simultaneously explaining his humongous size on the poster and hanging a lampshade on the ridiculous incongruances present in the original movie.

• Maybe he was substantially smaller at one point, but then grew to freakishly huge proportions after being mutated by the nuclear attack that was meant to kill him. This may also be where he got his atomic breath from.
  • While that appears to have been confirmed, I meant the poster where he towers over every building in a city.
  • Jossed. He doesn't have one-he's just that big. And fat.

Toonami will help promote Godzilla (2014)

The Snickers commercial has already aired during Toonami, and Toonami has already helped promote another Legendary Pictures movie. They could produce and air a P.I.E. (Paid Immersion Event) for the movie on May 3rd, coinciding nicely with the dub premiere of Attack on Titan. It helps that Toonami usually gets plenty of viewers.

• Jossed.

The Mutos are alien in origin.

Just look at their design. They're vertebrates, but they've got bizarrely angular bodies and at least six limbs—in general they're structured like no other creature on Earth. Godzilla, at least, barring the incredible size, could have conceivably evolved on Earth. But there's no way anything on the planet could have evolved into a Mutos.

• Jossed. They seem to hail from the time of the dinosaurs.
  • Time of the mammal-like reptiles actually. According to the Manual they hail from the Permian Era,

Toho will jokingly commission an international dub for this movie

• Jossed, sadly.

This movie will produce at least one scene as infamous as the "Flying Godzilla" moment

Like Godzilla using the excess heat released through his spinal plates to burrow like a subterrene.

• Confirmed if you count the Muto courtship scene.

If King Ghidorah appears in a sequel

He'll be portrayed as a genuine Eldritch Abomination and God of Evil, perhaps as a personification of mass extinction.

There will be in fact 3 Mutos! Instead of 2!

Godzilla dwarfs the two mutos we previously seen. With the question towards Serizawa being if the Alpha predator stands a chance. I personally don't believe that a winged Muto or a landcrawler that comes up to his knee to be really threatening Godzilla.

• Jossed. It's just two, and one of them is nearly Godzilla-sized.
  • Though, one of the Mutos was pregnant, so in a way there were more than 2 Mutos.
• Wings are a very noticeable advantage, and so is the fact that there are two monsters against one Godzilla. In fact, do check notes about things that prey on spiders - on that list is a bug, much smaller than the spiders, that happens to be dangerous to them because it can fly.
• Technically confirmed if you count Godzilla: Awakening. Shinomura is referred to as a Muto.
  • Yeah, Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism. Shinomura isn't a Member of the MUTO species.

The sequel will feature an extraterrestrial colonization project

The threat of Kaiju like Godzilla will lead Earth's governments seriously consider the possibility of extinction, and make serious efforts to sponsor a voyage into deep space to locate a habitable planet. Said voyage will eventually lead to a doomed spaceship crew investigating the charred remains of a once-inhabited alien planet...where a mysterious three-headed dragon still lurks among the ashes, waiting to devour another planet. Cue "Godzilla vs. Ghidorah" showdown.

Joe was not talking about Godzilla in his "send us back to the Stone Age" speech

He was talking about the Muto.

• Confirmed.

The majority of the urban destruction is caused by the Mutos, not Godzilla.

Godzilla is still going to do his share of damage to buildings and suchlike, but does so in his zeal to destroy his enemies.

• Confirmed.

This Godzilla is a prehistoric crocodylomorph that was heavilly irradiated in the K/Pg extinction, not a dinosaur; and the Muto are human anti-kaiju measures gone awry. Also, a guessing plot...

This Godzilla, moreso than any other, looks very crocodylian in design; he has armor-plated hide (mutated from his natural osteoderms, maybe), back scutes, and his arms look very crocodyle-esque, as does the tail, legs and head; so it's possible that Godzilla in this canon is a crocodylomorph (like Kaprosuchus, for instance) that was heavily irradiated by the Cretaceous/Palaeogene extinction event, but somehow managed to survive it (possibly he wasn't matured at the time?), absorbed the radioactive energies from the impact and began mutating; within 3 million years he had mutated into a 40-metre high titan.

When he was discovered in late Feburary of 1954 (likely already in-around 100 metres tall and having the Atomic Heat Ray), the United States Military launched Castle Bravo at him in March, hoping to vaporize the mutant before any damage could be done to them or another nation. Alas, this only aroused Godzilla's ire and further increased his power; he grew to 110 feet tall, let off so much radiation he could kill a man of radiation sickness in 48 hours or so if untreated, and generally became even more dangerous and pissed-off than he was before.

So, in November of 1954, Godzilla made landfall in Kyoto. Unprepared for the leviathan's appearance, the JSDF were totally helpless as Godzilla's thunderous footfalls echoed, his march unopposed. His Atomic Heat Ray melted anything that tried to stop him, and by December of that year, Kyoto was rendered uninhabitable from the enormous radiation output. Very few are known to have survived the incident, and Godzilla was seemingly destroyed with the prototype of the Oxygen Destroyer, the only one to exist, by Dr. Daisuke Serisawa.

Alas, it was not to be. January of 1985 saw Godzilla return with full force, and Kyoto was no longer the target; now it was Tokyo itself that was the target. Once more, the JSDF attempted to stop Godzilla, to no avail; he again marched unopposed to Tokyo. This time, though, the JSDF had a new anti-nuclear weapon; the Super-X.

Alas, eventually Godzilla managed to destroy the Super-X in a ball of flame. Unopposed once more, Godzilla again marched unopposed, destroying the metropolis. However, recordings of bird calls managed to lure Godzilla into the active Mt. Mihara, once more seemingly destroying the titan.

Again, they were wrong.

When 1994 came, Godzilla celebrated the new year by assaulting Miami, once more catching the world off-guard. He had endured not only the Oxygen Destroyer, a weapon that painfully asphyxiated animals and destroyed their molecules, but he had survived being trapped under a tectonic plate and being surrounded by boiling magma for 10 years. Was this creature truly indestructible? The creature, this time, left of it's own accord.

2014 comes, and the UN has decided that Godzilla is not just a Japanese threat, but a threat to the world. They begin the 'Massive Undesireable Terrestial Organism team, and the Mutos are created as a measure to counter Godzilla. But, unfortunately for the MUTO team, their creations go berserk and begin assaulting the world. Due to being made to rival Godzilla in every way and being reproductive, the Muto are now the biggest threat.

(This following part is coming from the Strike Zone game:)At this point, the M.U.T.O team consists of Ford, Serizawa, Sandra, Graham, Stenz and Joe; and Elle joins them when Godzilla makes landfall and begins severely injuring people in his fight with the berserk Mutos as a nurse for the wounded. Whilst Godzilla duels with the Mutos, the M.U.T.O team are trying to save as many lives as possible and get them aboard helicopters to rescue them from death. (And back to the possible film plot:) The omnipresent threat of Godzilla and the Muto are looming, their battle cries echoing across the city, as the M.U.T.O group must avoid being crushed, incinerated, devoured or otherwise killed by the two giants using the city as their battleground. Godzilla's fight with the Muto is turning for the worst as the speedier, more agile Muto zip around Godzilla and cut into his hide with their claws.

Eventually, the M.U.T.O team (along with Elle) must journey into the Muto's hive in an attempt to destroy the menaces; a wounded and bloodied Godzilla eventually triumphs over the Muto, destroying their corpses with his thermonuclear heat ray and returning into the ocean. He collapses as he enters the ocean, the severe wounds and blood loss causing Godzilla to faint.

Waltz, the Master-Seargent of the troop, contemplates if they should kill Godzilla or let him live; on the one hand, he did decimate major cities...but on the other hand, he did save them from the Muto... Ultimately, the army prepares to fire at Godzilla's severely wounded neck, but Elle grabs the helicopter controls from Stenz and places the vehicle in front of the heavilly wounded Godzilla, and tried to reason with Waltz; to no avail. Running out of options, Elle has to threaten Waltz; if he and his troop fire on Godzilla, she was willing to have the helicopter - and everyone inside - taken with him.

Waltz prepares to fire, but the idea of killing Ford lurks in his mind. Godzilla's low, pained roars also dig under his skin; bringing to mind not a monsterous destroyer, but a wounded person. Godzilla's eyes make contact with his, and Waltz tries to ignore any emotion present...but Godzilla's pained, weak roars and heavilly-wounded body keep making him think of a wounded soldier fighting for his country or a samurai protecting those he is loyal to from threats.

Finally, Waltz orders the troops to stand down, and Godzilla slowly gets to his feet and wades into the ocean to recover from his wounds. The kaiju turns back to the beach and lets out a roar, almost as if he was thanking them for sparing his life. Elle and Joe share a kiss and the others congratulate themselves for the success. Elle ponders if Godzilla really is the last of his kind; what if more of his kind exist somewhere out there? They laugh it off, but the idea lingers...

• Semi-confirmed, Semi-jossed.

Post-release theories

Joe and Godzilla may be after the Mutos for the same reason.

Joe lost his wife due to the Hok-Muto's incursion in Janjira's nuclear facility. The skeleton found in the Philippines could have been Godzilla's mate, meaning that Godzilla might have had a vengeful motive against the Mutos as well as a purpose to restoring balance.

• Note, I might not be the only person to have wondered this.

Godzilla and humanity.

It may be worth mentioning that Godzilla didn't explicitly attack humans directly as the Mutos were his primary objective and the humans were not. Now this may give us a hint of what would happen if humans decided to screw things up and start damaging the environment even more?

In the sequel there will be a new religion that worships Godzilla.

Serizawa already speaks of him in reverent terms, and the news broadcast at the end paints Godzilla in a heroic light. It'd be similar to the reveal of the kaiju-worshipping cult in Pacific Rim, except those believed the kaiju were divine wrath and the Godzilla ones will believe he's a divine savior.

In the inevitable Godzilla / Pacific Rim crossover...

• The Jaegers will initially try to stop Godzilla but they'll end up teaming up with him to fight the other kaiju.
• There will be new Jaegers named "Jet Jaguar", "Moguera", "Mechagodzilla", and "Cybersaur".
• Someone (either Ford or one of the scientists) will drift with Godzilla.
  • The drift (accidental or intentional) will cause Godzilla to gain a level of empathy for humans having seen his kind through their eyes.
• Ford will become a Jaeger pilot.
• There will be a Retcon that reveals that Godzilla's fight with the MUTO's is what inspired the creation of the Jaegers.
  • In a similar likeness King Ghidorah will appear as an ally of the Precursors, but it will be a subversion of of the Brain Washed And Crazy Ghidorah and the Hive Mind of the Kaiju in Pacific Rim, taking him back to the Omnicidal Maniac he was originally.
• It will be revealed that it wasn't actually unfavorable atmospheric conditions that kept the Precursors away for 250 million years, but rather the local wildlife.
• Gypsy Danger and Godzilla will have a Combination Attack with their plasma and radioactive weapons.

The events of the original 1954 movie happened in the universe of this movie

It's a pretty easy theory. The movie points out that many of the bomb tests in the 50s were actually a cover story for trying to kill Godzilla. The director has said the Dr. Serizawa in the 2014 version is a descendant of the one in the original movie. That should be enough. But it isn't a stretch to believe that the events of the first movie happened and were covered up. In fact, this could explain why Serizawa in the 2014 movie believes so much in Godzilla as a creature. It is possible that the Godzilla in this movie is a different monster than the one in the original, making this movie/series the same as the Toho versions.

• Half a million people died and Godzilla's rampage was cause for (inter)national debate and live broadcasting. Thus, we can assume something like "Godzilla is actually the name of a hurricane. There never was a giant monster." or some other bullshit. After all, the destruction of a major city by a giant monster is not something that can just be covered up. You need to explain how the destruction happened so you have to go with natural disasters or some of the like.
• A main theme of the movie is that governments have known about Godzilla the whole time, but have been covering its existence. The world of the 1950s is not the same as the world of 2014. Considering the movie postulates that the US and Japanese (and surely other) governments have been hiding the existence of Godzilla since at least the 1950s, it doesn't seem too crazy to think that the events of the original are also being covered up. Broad strokes for sure, but Word Of God also says that the Serizawa of the 2014 movie is a descendant of Serizawa of the 1954 movie, which should be enough on its own to confirm this theory. The Return of Godzilla (the original pre-Raymond-Burr version of Godzilla 1985) implies that Japan had covered up the 1954 incident.

The 1954 movie is 2014!Serizawa's recollections from his childhood

Maybe the 1954 movie was an overblown re-telling of the events that made it seem like there was a lot more destruction then there actually was, like a story 1954!Serizawa told a young 2014!Serizawa that got stretched by exaggeration and a child's imagination. This would explain why Godzilla looks silly up close (like someone's halloween costume) and why some of the destruction scenes look like toys-it was 2014!Serizawa acting out what his ancestor told him.

Godzilla will become a father in a sequel

Or at least an adoptive father of some sort. Given the film's emphasis on the importance of family, this seems like it could be plausible.

Godzilla resides on Monster Island

And that where he was going at the end of the film. Back home.

Hedorah will be the villain of the sequel

Pollution is a very serious/important issue of today's world. What better way to use it than to have a monster that is living pollution as the major threat to the world? It could be likely if Yoshimitsu Banno (who directed Godzilla vs. Hedorah and was planning a sequel to that movie) is allowed to stay.

Mothra will appear in the sequel

Let's count the signs, chronologically:

• First of all, the moth in young Ford's classroom.
• Second, the images of moths in Joe Brody's house.
• Third, the scratched sign Mothra on the aquarium in abandoned Jijira.
• Fourth, typing Mosura (Japanese for Mothra) in M.U.T.O. Research site gives us the following information:
  THE REQUESTED COMMAND HAS BEEN DISABLED BY MONARCH.

This would imply that somebody's covering something... Anyway, that's quite a lot of signs for a simple Easter Egg. Or maybe producers are just toying with us.

• Also MONARCH itself is a type of butterfly. Probably a coincidence, but it could be a tongue-in-cheek nod to something in the organizations past.
• The logo also seems to emulate a butterfly.
  • Confirmed

The Zilla from "Godzilla" (1998) was Godzilla's mate.

The movie goes out of it's way to claim that the MUTO's are just massive animals, and the two monsters that Godzilla fights are trying to mate in his territory. It even shows how the male and female members of the same species can look slightly different. This means that Godzilla has his own species.

• The 1998 film stated that "Zilla" was capable of asexual reproduction but this can be retconned into Science Marches On. After all, do real-life dino researchers definitely know everything about about dinosaurs?
• The last surviving creature from the 1998 film became the star of Godzilla: The Series. It calls film Zilla the father of the Godzilla seen in the show. This could mean that the statement at the end of the 2014 film is incorrect. What we just witnessed was the "Queen of Monsters''"

The M.U.T.O.s don't actually have eyes.

Those red-orange Tron Lines that look like eyes are simply that: just Tron Lines. The way they actually "see" is through a mix between echolocation and a "radar" for electricity, electrochemical impulses, and radiation.

• they do look suspiciously like the white patches behind an orca's eyes.
  • Or some other form of detection. Maybe Thermal?

This Godzilla will appear in a Toho film alongside the original.

Just like Zilla did, although likely in a much more flattering role.

Some organization will attempt to devise an anti-kaiju weapon built on the skeleton from the beginning of the movie

And that's how we will get Mecha-Godzilla.

• And this organization will be called the Pan-Pacific Defense Corps, starting the Pacific Rim crossover.

Later movies will feature materials reverse-engineered from the bodies of the MUTOs.

Being the source of the materials used to build the obligatory giant robots.

The sequels will possibly be co-produced by Universal

As stated on the main page, Legendary Pictures' contract with Warner Bros. ended with Godzilla (2014), and they're now producing movies with Universal. Whether or not it would be a good thing is debatable, but it would certainly lead from one case of Hilarious in Hindsight to another.

Angurius will appear in the sequel...

... assuming that Toho gives permission to include Toho monsters other than Godzilla. It'd only be fitting that the first Toho monster they'd bring back would be the very first monster that Godzilla ever fought.

Godzilla is Jesus

He appears only to fight the sins of man. He saves mankind, dies, resurrects and leaves. And humans rejoice and claim him as the King. The sins of humans are nuclear power/weapons/waste and excessive mining. (Overusing the resources which is in pretty much every post-apocalyptic movie nowadays.) These activities create/wake up/release the M.U.T.O.s.

• Mostly correct or inferrable, though Godzilla didn't die after he fought the pair of Mutos, though; he passed out from the amount it took out of him, but he didn't die.
  • Well maybe Jesus passed out and nobody noticed.

Mechagodzilla or Mechaghidorah will appear in the sequel.

In the first film, Serizawa says that the arrogance of mankind is thinking that we can control nature. The sequel will involve us trying to do this literally by controlling monsters through technological means.

• Going with this, Godzilla's reason for fighting Mecha-Godzilla will have a bit of a Tear Jerker, as Godzilla will either initially mistake it as one of his kind or will consider it a mockery.

Possible DVD features

The most apparent would be a short film called Godzilla vs. the MUT Os, which is basically the whole movie entirely through the monsters' perspective while cutting out all the unnecessary human drama, with Godzilla as the hero battling the evil MUT Os in a battle to the death. The whole thing would a glorious throwback to the over-the-top monster fights of older Godzilla films with plenty of Showa wackiness, not to mention a LOT shorter.

• As well as satisfying critics, audiences, and some of the dumber members of the fanbase who found the whole film "rubbish."
• Oh, how about a version of that, but with voice actors (with bad Japanese accents) giving the monsters dramatic dialogue! Like for example:

(When Godzilla arrives at Hawaii)
Godzilla: Muto! Come and face me!
Male MUTO: (mockingly) So, the "mighty king" has come to reclaim his throne. You were a FOOL to come here, old one!

(Godzilla's closing monologue)
"I am Gojira. The king of monsters. But here, they call me by a different name. Godzilla. And this world is my domain. All who seek to harm it...will face the wrath of nature.

Confirmed Kaiju roles and appearance

• Mothra, Much more wild looking and less cartoony. Will be a Heroic Character but will be opposed to Godzilla throughout the entirety of her appearance. Introduced as an egg, hatches at the end of the first act. Stays a Larva until the end of the second act before pupating to fight Ghidorah but is killed to show his power.
• Rodan retains his Fire Rodan abilities but is in general bigger. Covered in a Downy Fur and has a crest similar to an Azdarcho. Most Minor Role of the Monsters, Introduced in the opening scene, plucking an Aircraft Carrier out of the sea. Reappears in the Second act fighting Godzilla before fleeing. Makes another reappearance near the end to fight Ghidorah alongside Godzilla. After Ghidorah's defeat, flies off into the sunset,
• Ghidorah is The Heavy, with his arrival being built up and the source of Mothra and Rodan's emergence. Enters Cloaked in fire after decimating Tokyo upon his landing. Makes way to America and lands in Vancouver, fighting and killing Mothra. Goes on a Rampage throughout North America before being fought and killed by Godzilla and Rodan in seattle.

The Sequel..

... Will contain the following:

• people having an "oh shit" moment as they realize Godzilla is not the only Kaiju.
• Mothra being the one to land the final blow on King Gidorah. (a nod to Mothra's own films)
• aliens
• human's starting to build anti-Kaiju weapons.

The Mutos are reptiles, or at least are closely related to them

• Despite both individuals possessing more than four limbs (the supposed "extra pair" of forelimbs present in the female are also present in the male; the only difference is that they are designed as wings in the latter), the Muto species seems to possess many characteristics that are present in vertebrates (most specifically, reptiles) as opposed to arthropods like insects and spiders.
  • They appear to have a scaly and/or leathery hide that is a common trait of modern and extinct reptiles. Although not quite as rugose and crocodile-like as the hide of Godzilla, it still appears very reptilian.
  • They both have a distinctive rostrum and mandible (upper and lower jaw, for you non-scientists out there), in which the latter opens vertically.
  • The jaws are studded with sharp teeth, which is not a trait found in invertebrates.
  • They have vertebrate-like feet which are tipped with claws.
  • The male's wings specifically move much more reminiscent of a bird, bat, or pterosaur, not to mention they are very pterosaur-like in morphology.
• However, it is still possible that they may be a completely new type of creature overall due to them having both vertebrate and invertebrate features, leading to the idea that they may be still closely related to true reptiles, but still a completely different kind of animal. Some of the invertebrate characteristics include:
  • Compound eyes.
  • More than 4 limbs.

The sequels will each be a Spiritual Successor to the other Gamera sequels

The 2014 movie is seen as a Spiritual Successor to Gamera: Guardian of the Universe. Perhaps Legendary will likely decide to continue this idea to an extant.

• The first, being one to Advent of Legion, will depict King Ghidorah arriving on Earth via meteor. While it might have some similarities to Ghidrah the Three Headed Monster, namely the title monster as well as Rodan and Mothra, it follow a similar structure, complete with an end where humans fear the idea of Godzilla seeing humanity as an enemy.
• The second could be one to Revenge of Irys. Tonally, it may come as a slight remake of Godzilla x MechaGodzilla, using the skeleton of the other Godzilla-like creature as a base. Though, since that MechaGodzilla had a pilot, the pilot this time is one who religiously hates Godzilla. MechaGodzilla, possibly being controlled with a neural handshake like the Jaegers of Pacific Rim, could base its thoughts on the pilot and run amuck, thus the very creature MechaGodzilla was made to destroy must save humanity from it.

Biollante will appear in a sequel

Scientists try to mix Godzilla's DNA with those of plants to create a new breed of crops or to restore forests. However, they accidentally create the monster Biollante who begins to terraform the Earth in a hostile jungle world. She would still have the powers of her Heisei counterpart: corrosive acid, a croc-like jaw, and snapping tentacles. It would fit the themes of tragic monster and misuse of nature.

Destoroyah will appear in a sequel

Legendary is trying to turn their Godzilla to The Dark Knight Trilogy. If they're introducing a giggling For the Evulz villain in the second installment, why not introduce the ultimate Hero Killer villain in the final film? Here, it would be Destroyah, the equivalent of Batman's Bane and Superman's Doomsday.

• That's highly unlikely seeing as the Oxygen Destroyer wasn't even mentioned in the film.
• Alternatively, Destoroyah could be given a new origin to avoid the problem of the oxygen destroyer's absence.

King Ghidorah/Ghidorah/Ghidrah will appear in the sequel

When you want an evil, cackling, psychopathic, colorful contrast to Godzilla, accept no substitutes. In addition, I foresee the character having visited Earth before, and being the real reason for the near-extinction of Godzilla's race and the MUT Os' race. Get into the King's head, have some traumatic flashbacks to long ago, and bam, easy. Also, this version of the golden dragon will both generate and feast on electricity, creating storms to make himself comfortable. Ghidorah will be significant in showing the world (presumably watching and hunting the Big G like a hawk) that while a bunch of gigantic wild animals are scary, a full-blown gigantic psychopath and sadist is incalculably worse.

• Crossing fingers.
• Confirmed

This movie shares an Alternate Universe with Back to the Future

Lone Pine, California is next to Hill Valley - Lone Pine mall is there. It would have been three pines if Marty hadn't have taken the other two out in 1955.

The Cloverfield monster was a baby M.U.T.O.

It was another spore found, and subjected to radiation. It grew into Clovvie and trashed New York City.

Mothra is already active

If they were able to cover up two MUTO eggs for decades it's not outside the realm of possibility that there could be a Mothra Larva awake and being studied. As long as it wasn't in danger and was being fed properly the Larva would have no reason to leave and go on a rampage.

King Ghidorah's arrival by meteor will by taken up to eleven

It will be revealed his first arrival on Earth was in the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs, with him finishing off what his impact didn't kill.

When he begins heading back to the planet in a similarly sized meteor, humanity will manage to blow it up...only for King Ghidorah to descend from what's left and begin his rampage. Though doing so might be WHY he's able to be defeated this time around.

Godzilla and the MUT Os were the first truly sentient earthen life-forms.

They show evidence of emotions like sadness, anger, happiness, and even love. The way the female acts towards Ford after he destroys her eggs is grief stricken rage, and Godzilla's roar at the end is that of triumph and pride.

Godzilla 2 will be directed by Guillermo del Toro

It was recently announced that Gareth Edwards will not return for Godzilla 2, and earlier than that, it was announced that Guillermo Del Toro won't return to direct Pacific Rim 2 (that one will instead be directed by Steven DeKnight). Perhaps Del Toro could take over for Edwards on Godzilla?

• Jossed. It will be directed by Michael Dougherty.

Fallout from the nuke was a non-issue

The blast probably still should've damaged the city, and certainly should've downed the helicopter, but it makes perfect sense that Godzilla simply soaked up all the radiation, inadvertently saving San Francisco again. He may also have stayed down a lot longer had the nuke not gone off.

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