Yesterday we were given another trailer for the upcoming monster mashup of Godzilla: King of The Monsters. It provided more exposition into the plot of the film and some more concrete shots of the kaiju that will be making an appearance in 2019. The first trailer was very cryptic and provided very little in ways of actual monster shots. The most standout piece of the first trailer was Charles Dance’s (of Game of Thrones fame) epic line “Long Live the King”. This time instead of a very whispered “Let them Fight” from Ken Watanabe we get an equally as hushed “No.. we would be his” in what appears to be a testimony delivered before several senators. I will say this, epic one liners tend to be the bread and butter of this new “monster-verse” that Legendary Pictures has created.
For those who haven’t seen the trailer, check it out right here:
Instead of giving a rundown of the trailer, I’m going to give some slight background to the various Kaiju in the film. Let’s start with the boss himself/herself Godzilla.
GODZILLA
Along with the rest of the Kaiju for this film, Godzilla is dubbed a ‘Titan’. These Titans have existed on Earth since primordial times and have been responsible for keeping the planet spinning. As referenced in the first trailer there were several extinction level events that were halted or started (potentially) by these titans. in the first film we are told that the first sightings of Godzilla dated back to WWII specifically the Pacific campaign. We are told that the nuclear tests in the French Polynesian Pacific weren’t tests, and that in fact the government and military were attempting to kill Godzilla before it could cause any damage. In the first film Godzilla is noted to be exactly 100.8 meters tall (330.71 feet for Americans), which apart from the Netflix anime Godzilla, is the tallest one to date. Godzilla possesses the ability to swim and remain submerged for quite a long time. Extremely strong and quick thinking, Godzilla was coined the ‘King of the Monsters’ in several of Toho’s films as well as at the conclusion of the 2014 film Godzilla by Legendary Pictures. Godzilla’s ultimate attack is its Atomic Breath. This attack focuses atomic energy which is stored in Godzilla’s body releasing it in a blueish/white flame that has devastating power. The attack is preceded by the spines and fins on Godzilla’s back lighting up with the same blueish/white glow before the discharge. There’s not much that can be said for Godzilla that most people don’t already know. Having been around since the first film in 1954, Godzilla has become a pop culture icon and known by several generations of people the world over.
RODAN
Rodan first appeared in the 1956 film titled Rodan. His first appearance with Godzilla was in the 1964 film Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, in every depiction Rodan resembles an irradiated Pteranodon. His original Japanese name ‘Radon’ is a contraction of Pteranodon and also represents the word radiation. As previously stated, Rodan resembles a large irradiated Pteranodon with a brownish/burgundy body, spiky chest and two or three horns atop the back his head. He has a large wingspan measuring between 150-200m (492.13 – 656.17 feet). He has been shown to walk upright on his two hind legs. His legs end in powerful talons that are capable of grasping large heavy objects (like Godzilla) and holding onto them in flight. In Godzilla: King of Monsters, Rodan apparently lives in a volcano that goes by the name of Devil’s Nest somewhere in South America. His wings are so powerful that they create a whirlwind and back draft capable of wiping the earth clean in his wake. It is unclear if he will be an ally or enemy to Godzilla but lots of the footage from the first and second trailers shows the military actively trying to shoot Rodan down, with little success. I never watched any of the old films with Rodan but a giant flying dinosaur is okay in my books.
MOTHRA
The third contender in the giant monster battle is none other than Mothra herself. Known also as ‘The Queen of Monsters’, Mothra is a Divine Moth and frequent ally of Godzilla. Typically cast as a heroic figure, Mothra is one of the few Kaiju that openly embraces humanity and tries to protect them. She resembles a colossal Imago Moth and has been known to reproduce offspring. Her wingspan in Lengendary’s Godzilla:King of Monsters is estimated to be roughly 244.75 meters (802.99 feet). Typically in the Toho universe, Mothra has resided on her own island but in Legendary’s universe they have marked her domain as the Yunnan Rainforest in the People’s Republic of China. A small blurb released as part of the marketing campaign for the movie has stated that ‘Mothra possesses the ability to emit beta wave bioluminescence that can be used to illuminate the patterns on her wings or focused in very powerful and blinding destructive ‘God Rays”. We are shown Mothra’s bioluminescence in the trailer as well as her in some sort of dive during a (presumed) climactic point in the film. Like Rodan I never watched any of the classic Mothra movies or even the older Godzilla films. I learned about her through pop culture and her inclusion in this upcoming film.
KING GHIDORAH
Now, I’m going to be straight with you, a three headed flying dragon that shoots lightning…I would call him king as well. Traditionally Ghidorah was the main antagonist of Godzilla and various other Kaiju throughout history. He has had a couple different origins throughout his film run, most commonly he is an alien that travels the universe killing planets at his leisure; although, he has also been shown to be a fusion of three monsters called Dorats as a result of a future nuclear explosion. In his first appearance (and what appears to be similar to Legendary’s upcoming movie) Ghidorah arrived to earth in a meteor before his rampage across much of Japan. Mothra attempted to stop him but was savagely beaten by the dragon, Godzilla and Rodan then allied together with Mothra and expelled Ghidorah from the planet. He is a massive creature. In Legendary’s Monster-verse, Ghidorah stands 158.8m (521 feet) tall and has roughly a 100-150m (328.08 – 492.13 feet) wingspan. In the trailers we are shown him frozen in a massive glacier which is where he must have been for the millions of years since the ‘Titans’ last walked the earth. In the film they will call him’Monster Zero’ but apparently they will address that ancient civilizations called him ‘Ghidorah’. It’s clear he is the main villain of the film as the second trailer shows him and Godzilla facing off against one another in a climactic battle sequence.
PLOT PREDICTION
Based on what I’ve read and found out about the various Kaiju to make an appearance in the film, I think that while the earth will be facing an extinction level event that Ghidorah is going to be unleashed. The rest of the Titans will be attempting to use their powers to fix the extinction event and Ghidorah is going to show up and just muck everything up. Initially Rodan will be an antagonist but once Ghidorah shows up he’ll ally with Godzilla and Mothra to take on the bigger threat. We are shown a brief clip in the trailer that shows several squadrons of fighter jets over Washington airspace. In the clouds you can make out the image of Rodan as well as the massive image of Ghidorah when the lightning strikes illuminating the clouds. Ultimately I don’t really care for a plot or storyline, I just wanna see some giant monster beat downs!
Due out on May 31, 2019, this epic film is going to set the stage for the next film Kong v. Godzilla in 2020!
The Multiverse 
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