WMG / Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)

Pre-release theories

Possible directors for the movie

• Guillermo del Toro
  • Jossed
• Michael Dougherty
  • Confirmed.

The film will be a loose remake of Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster

In the sense that Godzilla, Mothra, and Rodan will fight amongst each other before having to team up to fight King Ghidorah, a monster from outer space.

• Jossed.

In the 5 Years since the San Francisco Incident, there will have been a spike in monster activity, causing a boom in "anti-monster technology"

Several minor-card/original monsters (if it's ones we know, say, Kamacarus or Kumonga) will have shown up in the five years since Godzilla and causing world governments to begin developing a variety of counter-measures.We will see examples of technology that is obvious references to old Godzilla weaponry/defenses. For example: several port cities will have erected gigantic, electrified pylon barriers ala the original Godzilla, and militaries will have developed some form of energy tank, like we saw in Showa, Heisei, and Millenium films.

• Well it is confirmed that oxygen destroyer will be involved.
  • Semi-Jossed. While Anti-Titan weapons have been developed, there has been no notable activity since 2014.

King Ghidorah will play up the Cosmic Horror Story aspects of the character.

To fit with the darker feel of the movies, King Ghidorah will be played up as less a force of nature like Godzilla, the MUTOs, and Kong, and more akin to an Eldritch Abomination in the shape of a three headed dragon, with the build up to his arrival being like something out of a Lovecraftian horror story.

• Oddly enough the trailer may be implying the series is going that route. While there's some skepticism on if the trailer's hiding some parts, the narration is playing up the kaiju as titans and makes them really sound old godish.
• Sort of confirmed. Ghidorah is described as a malevolent extraterrestrial who is attempt to terraform the planet Earth to something of his liking.

King Ghidorah will be a Composite Character

Specifically, he'll be a space monster like he was in the Showa films, his infant form will be revealed to be similar in appearance to the Dorats, his full-grown appearance will draw comparisons to Orochi, and he will be a four-legged quadruped like Keizer Ghidorah.

• Failing that, rather than standing upright he will have two legs and two wings but a quadrupedal posture a la Smaug from the The Hobbit films.
  • The idea of him having a Smaug-like posture appears to be jossed by the cave paintings revealed in Skull Island.
    • The near end scene of Ghidorah in the first trailer shows him unfurling his truly massive wings and standing completely erect, so this seems to be jossed.
    • Ghidorah actually does mainly walk in a Smaug-like posture but can stand erect when he needs to.
    • Also Orochi is confirmed to exist in the Monsterverse, could be interesting to see where they go with that.

The film will start with Godzilla, Mothra, and Rodan all awakening at once and being perceived as the main threat by humanity

Similar to how Godzilla and Rodan were in the original Ghidorah film. However, either due to Mothra's heralds or other means, it will be discovered all three are heading to confront King Ghidorah rather than simply rampaging, with humanity having a Mass "Oh, Crap!" at the realization three kaiju all view a single being as that huge of a threat to converge on it at once.

• Jossed.

Mothra's Shobijin will not be in the film

Because of the focus of realism in the film series, the magical tiny twin fairies, the Shobijin, will not appear. Not the first time this has happened. Though, there are ways to incorporate something like them however.

• Making them human-sized priestesses of a tribe that worships Mothra.
  • They would fill the same role, being her herald, giving information about Kaiju to the protagonists, and singing her song.
• Not having them at all, but including small homages to them.
  • Like having a pair of twins stare at awe at Mothra, just like in GMK.

• Chances are pretty good Zhang Ziyi's role is whatever the equivalent to the Shobijin are going to be. The idea they haven't named her character yet and only played with the idea it connects to Monarch leaves it kind of open. I would not rule out possibilities she as a Monarch employee learns of her family connection to Mothra or Mothra's followers infiltrated Monarch for Mothra's protection. Regardless whether they are actual fairies or some kind of cult in a monastery there will probably be a Shobijin equivalent.
  • That being said we should also openly admit at least part of this fanbase will be kind of upset if Mothra loses some of her classic splendor in the name of Hollywood realism. Especially when we've got someone like Michael Doughtery as director here who based on his previous work seems like a solid fit.
  • Her character description now makes mention her family has been studying the mythology of the Titans for generations. This seems like this WMG is at least in the right ballpark so far.
• Confirmed. Zhang Ziyi's character(s) essentially plays their role.

Unlike Godzilla and the MUTOs, King Ghidorah will be actively malevolent towards humanity.

Even if he's given the same 'giant animal' explanation as the rest of the kaiju were. Namely, he will be compared to a surplus killing animal that kills far more than it needs to, or like how cats often kill just for fun. It may go further and show him like a cat that likes playing with a mouse before killing it.

• Somewhat confirmed by the trailer, as he seems to be stalking Madison in particular. There is something utterly evil and malicious with the way a Physical God of death and destruction would be so interested in killing and tormenting a single individual human, reminescent of Onibaba of Pacific Rim going out of its way just to chase down and kill a defenseless little girl desperately fleeing for her life.

• If he IS a space monster, he may be portrayed as an invasive species that is completely malignant to the environment he's placed in.

• Confirmed. King Ghidorah is not only shown to be actively malicious, but is also a hostile alien entity attempting to use his powers and control of the titans as their new Alpha to terraform earth into a more suitable environment for himself.

All natural reasons for Ghidorah to be the sadistic monster of a kaiju he normally is.

If Serizawa appears again, he will refer to King Ghidorah as the devil

In contrast to how Godzilla was referred to as a god in the first film. Perhaps Serizawa noting King Ghidorah is NOT part of nature's order, or an extremely destructive part of it akin to an asteroid impact or other mass extinction event.

• Semi-Confirmed. A Monarch Time Video revealing King Ghidorah says the 'Devil has three heads'.

Mothra will be portrayed as Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane

Monarch will assume she's just another natural kaiju, but others will outright say and worship her as a goddess, and her abilities will reflect this. They won't be explicitly supernatural, but could be either or. Perhaps Serizawa will note that, whether she's natural or supernatural, like Godzilla, it's not inaccurate to call her a goddess either way.

• Jossed. While the Titans are described as "the original gods", it's mainly referring to ancient humans worshiping them as gods rather them a reference to them being supernatural in any way.
  • The part about humans debating it is Jossed but Mothra's nature itself is portayed as ambiguously mystical, with her death powering up Godzilla and her cry and wings able to be seen and heard during Godzilla's final burst attacks.

Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra will not fight at all before confronting Ghidorah

Based off the ancient cave mural in Kong: Skull Island, the three have fought off King Ghidorah before. As such they will already know there is a bigger threat and it'll be a twist for the humans involved that they don't target each other. Perhaps there will be a scene with two being lured together under the assumption they'll battle like Godzilla and the MUTOs did in the last film, only for everyone to be surprised when nothing happens.

• Confirmed. The only fights are Godzilla versus Ghidorah (three times), Rodan versus Ghidorah (where Rodan gets his ass kicked and bows before Ghidorah), and Mothra assisting Godzilla against Ghidorah, before Rodan comes in to keep Mothra off of Ghidorah.

The fight between the monsters in this movie will cause MONARCH to take a more militant approach to Kaiju which will push them to create Mecha-Godzilla

• While not explicitly confirmed to be MechaGodzilla, a newspaper during the end credits mentions MONARCH beefing up security around Skull Island. In the article it mentions MONARCH "Developing a mechanized giant" that is all but stated to be MechaG.

At the end of the film, Ghidorah is mortally wounded but not quite dead, and it will be implied that the eco-terrorist group is planning to rebuild him into a cyborg Mecha-King Ghidorah

• Possibly. An end credits scene shows Alan Jonah purchasing one of Ghidorah's severed heads from a fisherman in Mexico.
• Alternately, Ghidorah will be rebuilt as a mecha, but not as Mechaghidorah. Instead, he'll be rebuilt into Mechagodzilla. That would explain how Mechagodzilla can gain independent thought and go after Godzilla and humanity. Bonus points if the technology they're using is somehow linked to the Jaeger technology. Maybe have Mechagodzilla be the first Jaeger ever built, with its neural link attached to Ghidorah's brain. That would explain how they said "to fight monsters, we built monsters of our own", because the first Jaeger is indeed made from a literal monster.

There will be Kaiju Cults

People in the past had been witness of the Kaijus or the battles they did between themselves and began to pray to them, but hadn't many members until Godzilla and the MUTOs revealed themselves. The major religions and some gobernments are alarmed afther discovering thousands of people eagerly converting to worshiping Godzilla and other Kaijus but Serizawa will point that unlike every religion's god(s) Godzilla and the others are obviously present and can really change the face of the world at will. Since they have a lot of internal fights about who is the most powerfull god those people think they can relax ... until King Ghidorah arrives and the main trio of Kaijus(Godzilla, Rodan and Mothra)fight against it until it's killed or have to flee again, unifiying all the cults into an oficial religion that worships the Triad as Gods and call King Ghidorah their Devil. This would serve as Foreshadowing for the next film, when the great cult discovers about the existence of the fourth god, Kong. This could also made easy the introduction of the Shobijin as twin Supreme Sacerdotises of Mothra that know whats coming and help MONARCH warn the rest of the world, even if they are not believed at first.

• Would the tribe in Skull island count?
  • Of course!

• Not modern-day cults, but a sunken city belonging to an ancient kaiju-worshiping civilization is discovered in the Hollow Earth.

An aged Conrad, Weaver, Brooks, and Lin will appear.

Conrad and Weaver joined Monarch at the end of Kong: Skull Island, and all four of them are young enough to live until the events of this movie.

• Or maybe Marlow's son will appear to reminisce on what his dad (might have) told him on his Skull Island adventures and compare it to the events of the film. Or if he didn't believe those stories, he will by the time this movie turns up.
• That being said, a super-aged up Marlow himself might appear. It's not entirely implausible; assuming he's in his twenties (or at least eighteen) by the time of the opening scene in Skull Island, plus the fact that there ARE Chicago Cubs fans over a hundred in this day and age, AND considering the fact that he survived twenty years in a veritable primordial swamp island full of kaiju, this miiiight just happen.
• Confirmed. Joe Morton portrays an aged-up Brooks.

The film will not be set in the present

Rather, it will be set in the ancient past, showing the battle that is depicted in the cave paintings shown at the end of Kong: Skull Island.

• Jossed. The film takes place in the years following Godzilla (2014). However, that being said, an opening set in the ancient past before the title appears, similar to how Kong: Skull Island opened with Marlow and Gunpei near the end of WWII, is not out of the question.

Ghidorah will survive the film.

The Stinger for Kong: Skull Island suggests that Ghidorah was a major threat in the past that will be returning, as well as continuing the track record of Ghidorah being Godzilla's archenemy. This effectively places him in Greater-Scope Villain or Big Bad territory of the Monsterverse. So what will Ghidorah's survival lead too ?

When Godzilla Vs Kong was announced and in early planning, there was a suggestion that the film could lead to a team up between the two monsters as a possibility. Now so far, Godzilla and Kong are presented as protective monsters to for world, be it against the Mutos or the Skullcrawlers. Now if both monsters are protectors, and the possibility of a team up was suggested, so what could they team up against ? A malevolent omnicidal dragon that was a recurring threat to the world.

• Alternatively, Ghidorah will show Kong an inexplicably-existent video of his parents' death and he'll immediately forget the villain and fight Godzilla.
• Possibly. An end credits scene shows Alan Jonah purchasing one of Ghidorah's severed heads from a fisherman in Mexico.

Rodan in the movie

Rodan will be presented as a semi-aggressive scavenger, like a massive vulture or seagull as opposed to an active predator. He will also be shown to be a species that lived on the scraps of the Godzilla species much like a raven does with wolverines, where the raven scopes out prey or food sources and calls getting the attention of its "partner" to come rip it apart so they can get the scraps.

• Rodan will act very parrot like and harass Godzilla in playful but annoying ways. Rodan will also be shown making tools from objects.
  • He will also pick parasites of Godzilla and preen him like a cleaner bird does for crocodiles.
  • This could lead to an interesting scenario in which one of the characters has to climb onto Godzilla to attach a homing beacon, like in Godzilla vs Megaguirus. Cut to Rodan seeing something crawling on Godzilla's back...

If Conrad, Weaver, and some of the other characters from Kong: Skull Island appear in this film or future films, they will find some way to have them remain young.

Because, let's be honest, it would probably look awkward to see Hiddleston, Larson, and the others in old makeup.

• Flashbacks, maybe?
• Jossed. Brooks makes an appearance but is appropriately aged up.

King Ghidorah will be trying to destroy earth

Given how he's called the World Destroyer, it's entirely possible that he originally came to Earth to destroy it and drain its core for fuel, encountered and fought Godzilla, and was either injured or warded off enough to go back to space and eat other planets, and now that he's healed or he's aware that Godzilla older now and not as strong as he was before, so he's coming back to finish what he started. His gravity beams could work like the World Engine in Man of Steel and unstablize the core so he can finish the job or such.

• Somewhat confirmed. More specifically, he is attempting to terraform it to his liking.

Possible Stingers teasing either Godzilla vs. Kong or other future movies

• After the battle between King Ghidorah and the movie's Power Trio, we see news reports of giant footprints being discovered on beaches, signifying the arrival of a certain giant ape.
• After realizing they can't control the Titans MONARCH will start trying to come up with ways to combat them, we'll get a scene in a massive facility where someone is talking to Serizawa and he's saying this is a REALLY bad idea. The scene ends with a pair of glowing red eyes hinting at a DIFFERENT Arch-Enemy of Godzilla's, a certain mechanical terror.
• Another possible sting idea is that Skull Island is set to become the Series' Monster Island, and they are dropping off the captured minor monsters there and suddenly the Jurassic Park style stomp and roar of Kong being displeased at these new challengers on his island.

King Ghidorah will not be the primary threat... or even the badguy, yet!

• So we have had ancient gods and biological throwbacks that defy nature and all that, but we have forgotten the one trope of the monster films; Letting the genie out of the bottle. So instead of it being King Ghidorah at the helm as the antagonist it will be a swarm Kaiju such as the Kamacuras (like in the novels) or an ant-like species. So this new swarm is what drives Mothra and Rodan out of hiding and they and Godzilla start getting overwhelmed. CUE human error in the form of the government going over old Monarch files and finding a Kaiju big and mean enough to control the swarm... its Ghidorah, shit proceeds to jump into an industrial fan. So Ghidorah does wipeout the swarm or reduce it to controllable numbers (the fleeing ones and up on Skull Island and we all know where that leads to) and then Ghidorah starts doing what he does best...
  • The rest of the movie and Godzilla vs Kong (and if a 5th movie is confirmed) are part of the "Put it back in the bottle" process.
    • Human error repeats and the 5th film is us doing the "LETS RELEASE ANOTHER INVASIVE SPECIES TO DEAL WITH THE INVASIVE SPECIES" deal... its Destoroyah..or some other planetary threat level Kaiju.

Rodan will die as a Sacrificial Lion to Ghidorah

• Between the four monsters, Rodan is the least popular. Rodan will be killed in battle by Ghidora, possibly early on in order to establish just how powerful he is. Rodan may or may not get into a fight with Godzilla first before then to show how powerful he is in comparison though.
  • I would only be willing to accept this if Rodan was given a dignified death scene and his loss had a significant impact on a Godzilla and Mothra.
• Normally its Mothra who gets offed. Rodan if he does die in the context from above this he should die shielding one of the other kaiju while they are down or holding Ghidorah off from a city to buy time for the others to get there (along side the airforce).
• Jossed. Rodan survives the film. Mothra is killed by Ghidorah, but the end credits indicate that one of her eggs has been found.

The film will be similar in tone to Gamera: Advent of Legion

• It will have Ghidorah being a much stronger foe that will temporarily kill Godzilla, then in the final battle after Godzilla resurrects he will take out both Mothra and Rodan, before Godzilla reveals the Red Spiral Breath to kill Ghidorah, however this leads to ginormous collateral damage afterwards Godzilla's role as a god is questioned and humanity ends up in fear of Godzilla's wrath, hence setting up the plot of Kong vs Godzilla where Kong will be use as a method of stopping Godzilla..That or it sets up a 4th film with the tone and style of Gamera: Awakenig of Irys with a human girl/boy either forming abond with a monster (Destoroyah, Spacegodzilla or some other) or Mechagodzilla being used to kill Godzilla, however said mosnter will turn on humanity and Godzilla will be faced with it

The film will be dedicated to Haruo Nakajima

Confirmed. A dedication and picture of him in the original Godzilla suit appears at the end of the credts.

Ghidorah will be depicted as a full-fledged Gravity Master

Exposition will reveal that Ghidorah uses gravity to warp space in a way similar to a theoretical Alcubierre Drive, which allows him to travel faster than light. (Assuming he is an alien in this continuity.) He also warps gravity around himself make himself lighter than he should be, allowing him to fly despite being even more massive than Godzilla himself. Ghidorah's signature gravity beams will be depicted as merely one combat application of this power, and he will be shown levitating entire buildings to use as projectile weapons.

This ability will also serve to highlight his Eldritch Abomination nature (as mentioned above) and distinctiveness from the terrestrial kaiju, through a scene where MONARCH personnel comment how strangely physics behave around him.

• They could also give him a more alien appearance to better emphasize his nature but still keep his silhouette the same.
• Seemingly jossed, as the trailers and ARG material imply that Ghidorah will have Shock and Awe powers.

There will be an aerial battle between Ghidorah and Rodan/Mothra

Since three out of the four monsters in this film are airborne it seems like the perfect opportunity for something like this and could potentially be one of the highlights of the film.

• Judging by the most recent trailer, there appears to be a midair fight between Rodan and Mothra.
  • Confirmed. There is a fight between Ghidorah and Rodan, which eventually results in the latter bowing down to the former. During the climax, there is a fight between Rodan and Mothra.

Rodan will be based off of Fire Rodan

The timeline mentions that Rodan is sleeping in a dormant volcano in Mexico, so he could have somekind of power, maybe even a heat beam.

• Possibly confirmed, as he is described as having having an "internal volcanic combustion system" along with a layer of rock coating his scales, and is depicted as a god of fire and destruction by ancient humans, according to MONARCH files.

There will be two Rodan in the film

There are actually two Rodan roosting in the volcano on Isla de Mona, a mated pair. In the film after emerging from the volcano they'll proceed to soar about the sky and preform a mating dance of sorts, possibly in a similar fashion to some real life birds of prey, such as soaring to great heights, latching talons onto each other, and falling to the world below only separating at the last minute. This could show how they are more than simple monsters, like the MUTOs nuzzling each other before them, and provide some fantastic visuals too boot.

Also, playing off the above theory, it could explain why Rodan goes to help Godzilla and Mothra fight King Ghidorah. The pair could encounter and fight with King Ghidorah, possibly in mid-air, only for one of the mates to perish, and send the remaining Rodan fleeing for safety, which would take it to Mexico City. There, filled with confusion, rage, and sorrow, it would lash out and clash with Godzilla, before Mothra arrives and defuses the situation.

• Jossed. There is only one Rodan in the film.

Despite having different last names, the Russell family (the main characters) will be related to Conrad, Weaver, or Marlow

...or at least have history with one of those characters.

This King Ghidorah is way more powerful than previous incarnations

Considering the recent tweet by Dougherty showing what appears to be a hurricane on satellite visual labelled "MONSTER ZERO", it can be extrapolated that King Ghidorah has the ability to either arrive to the United States in a hurricane, or can conjure up wild weather to announce his presence to those he considers below him. Presumably, due to his gravity manipulation powers, he could potentially be a force of deliberate death and destruction, while Godzilla, Mothra and Rodan team up to stop him.

• Although going by O'Shea Jackson's quote of the final showdown against Godzilla and Ghidorah without mention of the other two kaiju, it can be assumed that Rodan and Mothra are absent for the event, although this is merely from the words of the actor.
• Reddit user who saw a test screening said there was a team up. So for now it seems a bit ambiguous, but there's reason to believe there will be a team up. Of course this comes from a second test screening post reshoots, so it's possible that the original version it was just Godzilla vs Ghidorah but when they reshot it to include Mothra and Rodan.
• Confirmed. This version seems to be the most powerful to date, capable of regenerating body parts and strong enough to lift Godzilla thousands of feet into the air.

Godzilla's Pillar of Light will occur right before the final battle

The shot of Godzilla shooting his Atomic Breath into the sky is referred to as the 'call to arms.' Given the stormy background and King Ghidorah's storm summoning capabilities, its's likely he's nearby and Godzilla is calling Mothra and Rodan to aid him in battle by firing into the sky where they'll see it.

• Yes and no. It is prior to the final battle, but Rodan is loyal to Ghidorah during the climax.

Manda Might Make an Appearance, or Be Simply Referenced

So in the SDCC panel, Dougherty said that there might be a few "surprises" in reference to the Monster line-up. That alone implies other classics making returns/cameos. But, what makes me believe that Manda show up is that, in the trailer, Monarch seems to be exploring some sort of sunken, lost civilization that once worshipped monsters. The architecture implies an advanced civilization at that. Now, in 1963, Toho debuted "Atragon" a film that involved Mu, a lost, undersea civilization. That civilization's guardian? Manda. So it's not hard to reason that, whilst exploring this city, they stumble upon some form/reference to Manda. A hieroglyph, a statue, a skeleton, or even the monster itself.

• Jossed.

"King of the Monsters" is an Antagonist Title

Godzilla is fighting King Ghidorah, after all.

• Godzilla wears the title at the end of Godzilla (2014)...that doesn't mean he won't have to defend it, though.

The supposed fight between Godzilla and Rodan in Mexico City will be a reference to the two fighting for most of Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster and will end with Mothra breaking it up, as she does in the original.

• Jossed. Ghidorah and Rodan fight, not Rodan and Godzilla.

Charles Dance is playing an older Conrad

It would just be nifty.

• There was a post saying Dance's character was a terrorist leader who gathers resources from Kaiju a la Hannibal Chau from Pacific Rim, which seems pretty out of character for Conrad…
• Jossed, he plays an eco-terrorist named Alan Jonah.

Mothra will die in order to get Godzilla and Rodan to cooperate

Much like in tbe original Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster Rodan and Godzilla will refuse to cooperate for whatever reasons, either refusing to work together as a team or refusing to face Ghidorah at all. Mothra will either fight Ghidorah herself or be the only one trying to support the others and end up mortally wounded. Her death will motivate the other two to work as a team and will eventually be aided by her reborn larval form to finish the job. (this would explain why we see what looks like larva Mothra in the trailer when all released information states she's already in her cacoon).

• Yes and no. She does die, but not to unite Godzilla and Rodan.

Ghidorah is after Madison because her mother woke him up

Because I mean really, is there any OTHER reason for a sadistic monster like Ghidorah to go after a teenage girl who poses no real threat to him (that we know of) when he could just blow up the planet and take care of his problem that way?

• Jossed. He's after the Orca device.

Madison can somehow communicate with Kaiju

In the first trailer we she her in Antartica (with Ghidorah's three heads looking at her through the window), then we see what appears to be her petting (a larval) Mothra, lastly we see her in a city as Godzilla arrives. Why would Ghidorah stalk one specific human child? Could she have somehow set the other Kaiju on Ghidorah?

• Although this is an AU where Surprisingly Realistic Outcome happens I can't help but wonder.

Rodan is a bad guy

• Given that he levels entire cities just flying, and later actively attacks aircraft, is it possible that Rodan is a straight-up antagonist? Mothra is shown to be a Gentle Giant while Godzilla is an anti-hero who does at least try to avoid conflict when he can help it, Rodan is shown as explicitly hostile against humans. Could he end up being a Big Bad Ensemble with Ghidorah?
  • I got the impression that much like Clover Rodan wasn't doing the destruction to the city on purpose. It's stated that he's basically an Atom bomb with wings, plus if he's going to confront Ghidorah wouldn't he want to get there in the fastest way possible? As for the aircraft scene, while it DOES look like he did it on purpose, it's possible that he was doing it as a way of saying "BACK OFF" because they were shooting at him. Like how a dog will usually growl before biting you. Rodan was just getting them out of the way the only way he knew how.

  • It's also possible that Rodan is a Wild Card who doesn't care about the conflict either way. His entire rampage so far gives an impression that he's simply destroying things because he now has the freedom to do it. Perhaps he'll get involved when Ghidorah specifically starts messing with him.

  • He does indeed remain antagonistic for most of the film, becoming subservient to Ghidorah after being defeated by him. After Godzilla defeats Ghidorah, Rodan then switches allegiance to Godzilla's side.

Godzilla will fly

There would be a (somewhat downplayed) repeat of Godzilla vs. Hedorah to make up for Godzilla being the only grounded monster in the film, where he uses his atomic breath to launch himself into the range of the flying monsters (though more realistically, like a brief power jump off of a mountaintop or something).

• Alternatively, Rodan will carry Godzilla so that he can fight on a more equal level with Ghidora.
  • An extension to this, Rodan will Fastball Special Godzilla and drop him from high altitude directly into Ghidorah.
• Both are Jossed, although it's worth mentioning that at one point, when an airborne Ghidorah is about to zero in on the Argo, Godzilla tackles him down to the ocean; this would require a pretty big jump on Godzilla's part.

Ghidorah is what killed the dinosaurs

He's described as a "living extinction event", he traditionally came from outer space like a meteor, he can create storm clouds by flapping his wings (which would logically mean that he blocked out the sun and caused the ice age)... it just seemed to piece together for this troper.

• It would explain why Ghidorah and Godzilla have bad blood in this timeline, maybe Godzilla was trying to stop Ghidorah from killing them but failed and then both of them went into hybernation.
• It would also make for a nice Mythology Gag to the Rebirth of Mothra films, where a version of King Ghidorah in the third film was responsible for the extinction event that killed off the dinosaurs.
  • Then, this scene will be reenacted.
• I'll do you one better" Ghidorah is the cause of the Great Permian Extinction. We already know that this Godzilla is at least 250 million years old, far older than his Toho counterpart, and it'll set up the history between Ghidorah and Godzilla. I mean, there is a reason why the period of time is called The Great Dying.

The real villain is actually MONARCH itself

• Given Vera Farmiga's character saying how humanity is a virus and a plague and must be wiped out, and there was mention of Madison's family being kidnapped by a "secret organization", could it be that MONARCH actually has more nefarious plans for the monsters, and is not actually just "studying" them?
• Turning Monarch into a more nefarious organization out to destroy the Kaiju by having masqueraded as a more noble organization would be a good way to nuke some realism and give us an interesting human element for future films in one go.
• Alternatively, it could be a splinter group that either a) broke away from MONARCH some time before the films, or b) used the chaos of the previous film to set the stage for their big move, who're using MONARCH's info and resources to engage in an agenda that lies well outside of MONARCH's mandate.
• In the end Monarch itself seems to be a real organization that just isn't as compotent as it may like to pretend it is. As such it was infiltrated by an Eco terrorist and likely by the Shobijin.

Charles Dance's character is a Hannibal Chau-like figure

• He's an unscrupulous businessman who wants to make money out of the disaster, and possibly even exploit the monsters themselves, probably waiting for them to kill each other so they can harvest and sell nuclear material from their bodies.
• Confirmed. He has had a history of selling Titan DNA on some kind of black market.

The end of the film will darken Godzilla a bit.

• Godzilla vs. Kong would be problematic since both monsters are portrayed as heroic, so the film will take Godzilla's story down a darker route, to serve a more antagonistic role in the final showdown. Either humanity does something to him that angers him and incurs his wrath, or he is old and dying and goes into meltdown, lashing out in agony at the humans.
  • Alternatively, it could play off the fact that in Kong: Skull Island Kong clearly cares about individual humans and goes out of his way to save them, while Godzilla doesn't really care about collateral damage either way. As such, Godzilla ends up indirectly threatening a human whom Kong bonds with, forcing Kong to fight Godzilla to protect them.
  • Given that the Oxygen Destroyer is supposed to play a part in the film, it's could cause immense ecological damage that angers Godzilla and turns him against humanity.
  • Or to combine the above two theories, the Oxygen Destroyer will be used, causing serious ecological damage with Kong blaming humanity (possibly aside from Skull Island's inhabitants) for its creation and detonation. While Godzilla having grown fond enough of humanity over the first movie and this movie to protect them from Kong.

Never Trust a Trailer is in full effect.

• The release of the first trailers, which feature Emma’s monologue about humanity being an infection, and a shot where her daughter appears to call her a “monster” look like classic examples of deceptive trailer editing. Given the basic synospsis of the movie, it’s apparent that the creators want to keep it ambiguous about who’s on what side and who’s really the bad guy (besides King Ghidorah, obivously). As such, the trailer has likely been evident to play up the idea that Emma as a villain.
  • We know that Emma and Madison have been kidnapped by a mysterious organization. When she’s shown delivering her speech, she doesn’t exactly look her best, suggesting that this organization is forcing her to basically read their manifesto under duress.
  • On top of that, while it’s not completely clear, the part where Madison appears to call Emma a “monster” also seems deceptively edited. When the footage cuts back to Emma, the background appears to be in a different locale, suggesting that these are two segments of the movie with completely different contexts that have been cut together to make it look like they’re from the same scene.
  • Tone wise it looks like people were right to question how serious the first trailer's narration was. With the second and tv spots, we've seen some jokes and what looks to be signs the monster fights are going with plenty Rule of Cool. Which i'm sure are things a lot of people expected from Doughtery.
  • Only real question to still question how serious mythic are they going with "titans". Which by the looks we might literally mean like Gaia hypothesis level, earth's old gods are back for our heads. Which again given our director's past two films were all about some kind of ancient being coming to punish people disrespecting their turf, how many people are still doubting that direction?

Speculation on the other Monarch containment facilities here.

• The launch of the Monarch website features three sites with bios for Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah. However, there are several other sites, scattered around the globe that are, as of yet, inaccessible. Place your guesses for what monster is where here.
  • The first trailer showed a Monarch submarine exploring an underwater ruin that might be Seatopia.
    • Possibly jossed. While it is a sunken kaiju-worshiping city, it is never referred to as Seatopia.
  • The second trailer showed something with numerous chitinous legs emerging from an oil field, which could either be Kumonga, Ebirah, or a new arthropod kaiju.
    • Jossed. It's a tentacle-faced arachnid called Scylla.

Andrew Russel died in San Francisco during the battle between Godzilla and the MUTOS

• Confirmed.

King Ghidorah is indeed an alien, and several other monsters have space origins as well

• The MUTO are referred to as "massive unidentified terrestrial organisms", and while the male MUTO was said to be "no longer terrestrial" as he could fly, the term could be also used to mean "originating from planet Earth". Could it be that Monarch has dealt with creatures from space previously, and is King Ghidorah one of them? After all, given his world-ending abilities there is no way Ghidorah could have existed on the planet as a natural native creature, let alone as a species.
• Confirmed, Ghidorah is indeed an alien. He is destroying Earth because he invaded it from space and wants to terraform it more to his liking.

The other monsters appear in an epilogue.

• The directors imply that more monsters than the main four will appear, and they may appear at the end where they are unleashed onto the surface by Ghidorah's cataclysm, signaling an age of monsters similar to the end of Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Whether they will be new, original creatures or original Toho ones though is another question...
• Jossed. They all awaken with about 45 to an hour left in the film, although they do accept Godzilla as their new Alpha at the end of the film.

The last scene will be similar to the end of Godzilla (2014)

• The first movie ended with Godzilla swimming away into the ocean with only his dorsal spines visible. This movie could end similarly, but with the addition of Rodan and Mothra flying above him into the horizon. Or, if Mothra stays true to form and dies only to be immediately succeeded by her offspring, it could be Larval Mothra riding atop Godzilla as Rodan flies overhead, all three going off to live in peace.
• In a loose way, confirmed, as Godzilla roars while Rodan and the other Titans bow down before him.

Madison will fill the role of the Shobijin and play a role in awakening Mothra.

• Ghidorah is chasing her because he knows that she could be a threat with him, but his sadistic personality is causing him to want to play with his prey before killing it.

Original Kaiju will be...

• A prehistoric creature of some sort, but not a dinosaur as that might seem redundant alongside the dinosaur-like Godzilla and pterosaur-like Rodan. Given the success of Jurassic World and The Meg, a marine creature is possible. Alternatively it'll be a Cenozoic based kaiju of sorts similar to the likes of a "Terror Bird" or prehistoric mammal.
• Possibly linked to the one above, but one of the kaiju will be mammalian. So far we've had four reptilian kaiju (Godzilla, Rodan, Ghidorah, the Skullcrawlers) and three athropod-like kaiju (the two Mutos and Mothra). The existence of Kong's species shows there is nothing keeping mammals from getting big. If prehistoric, a sensible pick would be a giant, potentially sabretoothed feline or an elephant-like species such as a mammoth or mastodon.
• A mythological looking kaiju to tie into the idea the titans inspired old myths which was started in Godzilla (2014) where it was shown ancient cultures had seen Godzilla before. Potential picks are a giant or cyclops-like humanoid or serpent-like creature. Ghidorah fits the dragon quota so I don't expect one.
• Confirmed: one of the new Titans is a mammoth-like creature called Behemoth.

The fights won't exactly follow those in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster

• For clarity I mean a set up of Godzilla vs. Rodan into Mothra vs. Ghidorah into all three of them vs. Ghidorah. In the trailer Rodan is clearly targeting humanity as opposed to Mothra's benevolence and Godzilla, who seemed to take pains not to attack the humans and go around them. Rodan could have a role as a secondary antagonist and rather than a 3-On-1 battle, it'll be a 2-On-2 with Godzilla and Mothra vs. Rodan and Ghidorah. The title of "King" is brought up a lot and might mean something literal. Perhaps Godzilla and Ghidorah duke it out at some point and Ghidorah wins, taking Godzilla's role and Rodan bows to the higher power out of self preservation until Godzilla gets his title back. Mothra as a benevolent kaiju, would always be on Godzilla's side.

The Oxygen Destroyer will be used to kill King Ghidorah, with the other monsters having to throw him into the water so it can be done.

Namely the whole communication device the actors mentioned will be used to let the ones fighting him to get him into the water so he can be killed, and from that point on the fight will revolve around 'get Ghidorah into the water' so it can be detonated.

• Sort of. The Oxygen Destroyer is used in an attempt to kill Godzilla and Ghidorah, but it only harms Godzilla and does nothing to Ghidorah due to him being from space.

Godzilla will turn into Burning Godzilla to finish off Ghidorah

A brief clip of the second trailer the arm and chest of a large monster with lava-like black-and-red skin, setting everything around it ablaze as it walks through a city. Said arm and chest strongly resemble Godzilla's, making it possible that Ghidorah will force him to enter his iconic incendiary Super Mode.

• Confirmed.

This Ghidorah is based on the Thunderbird

Ghidorah's storm generation reminded me of the Native Americain Myth Thunderbird which is said to create storms at will, such as Tornadoes, Hurricanes and Lightning, which seem to accompany Ghidorah throughout his Americain Adventure.

• The Thunderbird is also described intelligent and not benevolent, it is also occasionally depicted as having teeth in a beak that shoots lightning. Sound similar?

Mothra will 'recruit' Rodan to help fight Ghidorah.

The trailer explicitly says they're 'fighting for dominance' with visuals of Mothra and Rodan, implying they're going to fight. Mothra will fight Rodan and defeat him, asserting dominance and in a realistic way invoking Defeat Equals Friendship. She will then lead Rodan to help Godzilla battle King Ghidorah, leading to the classic team up battle against Ghidorah. Would also make for a good Call-Back to how Mothra got Godzilla and Rodan to work together against Ghidorah in the old movie.

• During the second trailer, during the scene with a full body shot of adult Mothra flying with her legs pointing forward, if you watch the background, Rodan can be seen flying alongside her.

• Jossed. Rodan is antagonistic until the end of the film. The above-mentioned shot of Rodan flying next to Mothra is actually him about to surprise attack her.

Serizawa will sacrifice himself.

Serizawa looks forlornly at his father's pocket watch in the second trailer. Is this shortly before a Heroic Sacrifice similar to his 1954 namesake, only this time it's not to destroy Godzilla but to help him? Perhaps Godzilla turns on him like in "Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah" where he looks a general in the eye before obliterating him?

• Perhaps it's after Godzilla's first fight with Ghidorah and he's dying of his injuries, so Serizawa detonates a nuclear bomb to revive him, but has to do it himself either because of the heat from the lava interfering or just to get it close enough to work.
  • Confirmed. Serizawa manually detonates a nuclear bomb to boost Godzilla's power.

King Ghidorah's middle head is his weak point.

Word of God has claimed that Ghidorah's middle head is the most intelligent of the three, perhaps even having the intellectual capacity to be genuinely evil and malicious, while the other two merely have the minds of wild animals. Perhaps the middle head is, in a weird way, a sort of The Beastmaster to the other heads, and destroying the middle head will leave the remaining two as disorganized mindless feral beasts fighting for control of the body, and a vulnerable target.

• Jossed. The middle head is actually the most durable of the three, surviving all of Godzilla's nuclear pulses without disintegrating.

Ghidorah and Godzilla will fight twice in the first film, with Ghidorah winning round one

The two scenes with Godzilla and Ghidorah confronting one another seem to take place in completely different locations, with the first scene seeming to be somewhere flatter, perhaps even in Antarctica shortly after Ghidorah escapes. Ghidorah wins, perhaps even easily. The rematch is the second scene in Boston, perhaps after Godzilla has been powered up somehow (perhaps the nuke that goes off in the temple). It's possible this still won't be enough and it takes Mothra (and possibly Rodan if Mothra manages to recruit him somehow) joining him for Ghidorah to finally be brought down.

• They actually fight three times and Godzilla loses the first two (although the second time is due to the Oxygen Destroyer being used on him.

Alpha in this film refers to dominant monsters who the lesser ones bow to

Godzilla, Mothra, and Ghidorah are all referred to as Alphas in marketing, with the implication being dominance. The reason it's so important Godzilla defeat Ghidorah is that they have dominion over at least some of the weaker but more numerous monsters, but like in nature if the current Alpha is challenged and beaten another can replace them. Godzilla as Alpha will keep the weaker kaiju at least neutral to humanity, while Ghidorah winning... As for Mothra's role in this, in a sense she's Godzilla's co-Alpha, similar to how sometimes brother male lions might co-lead a pride, thus her title Queen of the Monsters.

• ...duh?

Mothra and Rodan are killed by Ghidorah early on

Rodan is awakened from his volcanic lair in a last ditch attempt to fight Ghidorah but he is quickly overpowered and killed, while Mothra is taken out by his gravity beams. The larva Mothra that Madison bonds with is an offspring that hatches after it's mother's death, and possibly aids Godzilla in taking Ghidorah down.

• Jossed, Mothra sacrifices herself to power up Godzilla in the finale, while Rodan survives to the end and bows before Godzilla as he's crowned the King of the Monsters.

Jonah Alan is a Meaningful Name

Jonah in the Bible was swallowed by a whale, implying that here, the leader of the eco-terrorists will meet his demise by being eaten by a monster.

• Jossed. He survives the events of the film.

Mothra will try to interfere with Rodan and Ghidorah's battle.

The Shazam trailer briefly shows a scuffle between Mothra and Rodan, with Rodan seemingly flying toward Ghidorah's storm cloud. It's probable that after Ghidorah is unleashed, Monarch is forced to free Rodan as a last resort and try to goad him into attacking Ghidorah, but on his way to battle the three-headed Titan, Mothra gets in his way and so they fight. Rodan wins the fight and Mothra retreats, and Rodan then gets his one-on-one with Ghidorah, where he is defeated and presumably killed, with Ghidorah claiming Rodan's volcano as his spoils of war.

• Jossed. Mothra is not present for the Ghidorah/Rodan fight.

Godzilla's Burning Form implies that he is dying.

Like with his Heisei incarnation, Godzilla will be in a terminally ill state as of Godzilla vs. Kong, causing him to be the hostile party in the fight as he is in a state of mentally unsound agony, and at the end he performs a Heroic Sacrifice to defeat whatever greater threat Godzilla and Kong might face in Gv K.

• Jossed, his Burning Form is activated at will, after he absorbs the dying Mothra's energy.

One of the 17 awakened titans is Godzilla Junior

One of the monsters unleashed might be a younger individual of Godzilla's species whom he ends up bonding with, in the event that he indeed is dying from his Burning Form's meltdown. This young Godzilla eventually takes up the mantle as King of the Monsters after his adoptive parent eventually succumbs.

• Jossed.

The film will be Godzilla's Protagonist Journey to Villain

Godzilla will defeat Ghidorah in the end, and he'll claim the title of "King of the Monsters"—but in doing so, he'll become just as cruel and wantonly destructive as Ghidorah was, leaving MONARCH determined to kill him. In Godzilla vs. Kong, Godzilla will be the villain, and Kong will be the outmatched underdog hero. This might explain why Legendary is remaking King Kong vs. Godzilla after this film: there wouldn't be a lot of tension in Godzilla fighting Kong if Godzilla were the protagonist, and it wouldn't make a lot of sense for Godzilla and Kong to fight each other in the first place unless Godzilla underwent a major Face–Heel Turn first.

• If this doesn't happen, it's likely Godzilla vs. Kong will follow the old reliable "two heroes mistrust each other and fight at first before teaming up against a bigger threat" formula.

• Jossed. Godzilla remains as a protector to earth, fighting the malevolent Titans and acting as an indirect protector of humanity.

Alternatively, the awakened Titans are competing with Godzilla, who is now struggling to survive.

Godzilla won't exactly become evil and destructive out of malice: rather, with all the Titans on the loose and consuming all the radioactive material that he feeds on, he becomes desperately hungry and starts attacking cities in search for a nuclear meal. Kong, seemingly not a radiovore like the rest, holds no such need to destroy cities looking for food.

• Jossed. The awakened Titans pledge allegiance to Godzilla as their Alpha.

Ghidorah loses his two side heads first.

And with one head remaining, he actually becomes more dangerous, as he is no longer three minds trying to control a single body, and with the smartest and most malicious head now in sole control, he becomes a far more focused and independent foe, at the cost of two-thirds of his gravity beam power.

• And in the event that Mecha-Ghidorah ever gets put in the Monsterverse, he'll be a reverse of his Heisei version, with the two side heads being robotic and only the middle one being his original organic one.
• Confirmed, they're roasted off by Godzilla's nuclear pulse, and though the middle head survives a bit longer, he is killed off for good by Godzilla's next attack.

The meteor seen in the second and third trailers is Ghidorah bodyslamming Godzilla from the stratosphere.

You can barely see the outline of Godzilla's dorsal spines in the flaming mass, if you look closely. This may also be how he acquires the Burning Mode, as he ignites while re-entering the atmosphere.

• Yes and no. Ghidorah is not bodyslamming Godzilla, but he does lift him to a great height and drop him.

Ghidorah can regrow his heads.

There was a mention on how he inspired myths of the Lernaean Hydra of Greek Mythology, perhaps the ancient Greeks also witnessed his powers of regeneration? Though it's unlikely he'd grow more than three.

• Confirmed. Apparently, according to Word of God, he can even recreate the lost head's personality when it regenerates.

Jonah Alan is an alien.

The latest TV spot has him talking about how he's "witnessed human nature" and how he's seen it "getting worse". Could it be that he's an alien that's probably an expy of the Xiliens, hiding among humans and waiting for the perfect time to unleash Ghidorah? Also, Jonah Alan. Alan. Alien.

• His obsession with exterminating humanity also borders beyond what a normal human, even a hateful, villainous one, would seek to achieve. Perhaps he's somehow responsible for Ghidorah's arrival to Earth?
• Seemingly jossed.

The film will set up Destoroyah.

It's confirmed the oxygen destroyer will be in the film, and a recent update to the MONARCH website mentions an "Unidentified fossil discovered at an Archaeological digsite outside of Rio de Janeiro." I don't remember where they were found in the original film but wasn't the Oxygen Destroyer coming in contact with some ancient fossils basically what caused Destoroyah?

• The aftermath of the Oxygen Destroyer is what lead to Destroyah's mutation in the first place. Him coming in contact with any living being surrounded by water makes them become fossils instantaneously.

There will be at least one monster besides the main four, and it'll be an original character.

This character can be MUTO Prime, a character the expanded universe is building up (though he'll probably be saved for Godzilla vs. Kong, he might get a cameo here first), or something akin to a giant centipede (which is what we can see in a shot from the trailer).

• Confirmed, four new Titans appear: the spider-like Scylla, the mountain-like Methuselah, the mammoth-like Behemoth, and a Female MUTO.

There will be at least one monster besides the main four, and it'll be a classic character.

Anguirus would make the most sense, with his being the second kaiju ever introduced in the original series and oddly absent from the original Ghidorah the Three-Headed Monster, but there's definitely not a lack of other candidates. Baragon has also been suggested, and his popularity in Japan and prominence in the franchise make it possible.

• Jossed.

Expy Madison Russell will be this continuity's equivalent of the Shobijin.

For one reason or another, she has a special link to at least Mothra, possibly other kaiju as well, which is what leads to Ghidorah seemingly singling her out as a prey.

• Jossed, it's Zhang Ziyi's character, Dr, Chen, who is revealed to have a twin sister, with many of her family being twins as well.

Godzilla will get the Spiral Fire Ray and possibly kill Ghidorah with it.

We already know Godzilla becomes a Burning Godzilla-like form, so it'd make sense. We also see a frame of Godzilla's dorsal spines glowing red and crackling with red energy, so him getting Spiral Fire would make sense.

• Confirmed, in a way, Godzilla gets more of a Nuclear Pulse attack which manages to kill Ghidorah.
  • Jossed, actually. There's no Spiral Fire Ray.

Post-release theories

On the MonsterVerse page.

Sequel speculation

See here.

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