King of the Monsters’ Big Mistake

Summary

  • A major Godzilla villain’s absence in the MonsterVerse is a major issue that newer movies have yet to correct.
  • Despite being Godzilla’s most notorious foe, this villain only appeared in one MonsterVerse movie and was killed off.
  • Two potential new forms of this Godzilla villain could be introduced in future MonsterVerse movies.



The MonsterVerse by Legendary Pictures has remained a resounding success, and it’s one of the few examples of a successful shared movie universe beyond the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Its 2024 entry, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, is roaring to new box office heights, showcasing that there’s still a lot of juice left in the MonsterVerse’s tank. At the same time, one major issue from a previous film hasn’t been corrected yet in newer entries.

King Ghidorah is perhaps Godzilla’s most notorious and iconic villain, with the three-headed dragon appearing across various continuities. Despite this, he’s had only one appearance in the MonsterVerse, with this movie also killing him off. Since then, the MonsterVerse hasn’t been as successful with foes, especially when adapting Godzilla’s classic enemies. With the Godzilla x Kong sequel now on the way, it’s more noticeable than ever that King Ghidorah was killed too soon.


Updated by Timothy Blake Donohoo on August 13, 2024: The success of the MonsterVerse has seen Godzilla and several other iconic creatures rejoin the big screen in major Hollywood productions. One of these was King Ghidorah, who appeared in the shared universe’s third entry. The MonsterVerse Ghidorah also died in this movie, and many now wonder when he’ll return, if at all. Given the series’ trajectory since then, it remains to be seen if the MonsterVerse King Ghidorah is gone for good.


King Ghidorah Has a Long History With Godzilla

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King Ghidorah debuted in the 1965 movie Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, which was part of Godzilla’s Showa-era films. An alien dragon from another world, his appearance on Earth is heralded by an equally extraterrestrial prophetess. Laying waste to everything in his path, the creature clashes against Godzilla, Rodan and Mothra. It was only by combining their efforts that they finally ended his reign of terror, though this was far from the end of Ghidorah.

The collective threat wouldn’t be dealt with until the movie Destroy All Monsters, which was chronologically the final Showa-era movie. Nevertheless, King Ghidorah triumphantly returned once the series rebooted in the 1980s. In the Heisei-era movies, his extraterrestrial origins were done away with. Instead, Ghidorah resulted from three diminutive genetically engineered creatures called Dorats, which are exposed to atomic power and become King Ghidorah. His function was to be a human-controlled foil for Godzilla, though his creators soon lost said control over him.


After one of his heads is damaged, he’s refitted to become Mecha-King Ghidorah. The Millennium-era movies were almost all set in their own continuities, with one of the series’ best films (Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack) making him a hero against an evil Godzilla. Through these movies, King Ghidorah has remained Godzilla’s most persistent foe, though this sadly didn’t give him much in the way of longevity in the MonsterVerse.

The MonsterVerse Made a Mistake By Killing Ghidorah Too Soon

Godzilla fights King Ghidorah from the 2019 film, Godzilla: King of the Monsters.


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In the MonsterVerse, King Ghidorah officially debuted in Godzilla: King of the Monsters—the second solo Godzilla movie in the shared universe. This film adapted several elements of his Showa-era mythos, namely that Ghidorah was an alien referred to as “Monster Zero.” In the past, he had fought Godzilla and was seen as an invasive species, naturally facing him for dominance throughout time. When freed from his icy prison, he reasserts himself as the ruler of the Titans, thus establishing his status as “King” Ghidorah. After being revived through atomic power, Godzilla takes the invader down, using his atomic breath to destroy the last of his heads.


This was sadly the end for King Ghidorah proper in the MonsterVerse, with no indication that he’ll return in any way. His genetic schematics were used to map the biometrics for Mechagodzilla, but Ghidorah himself is seemingly gone for good. This robs Godzilla of perhaps his greatest foe, especially since Mechagodzilla, his other most iconic enemy, is also gone. Too much of the character’s handling in King of the Monsters felt rushed and like an info dump, which was perhaps the movie’s biggest criticism. So many narrative elements felt like poor attempts at world-building or setting up other movies, to the point Ghidorah didn’t make the impact he should have.


Some have argued that the MonsterVerse has somewhat gone downhill in quality since King of the Monsters, though that movie was the critical and financial nadir of the franchise so far. The movies since then have certainly taken on a more bombastic tone, with the seriousness of King Ghidorah being one of the last bastions of the tone of the 2014 Godzilla movie. He was admittedly far more epic and threatening than Mechagodzilla, who felt like a more “localized” threat of technology gone awry than anything else.

Despite the movie taking place in several major cities, there was a notable loss of any sense of scale and weight to the Titans’ fights amid human civilization. Thus, Ghidorah’s death can be seen in some ways as the point where the series got a bit sillier, which is ironic given that Ghidorah’s introduction marked the same thing in the Showa-era movies after the somber 1954 original Godzilla. While he might be dead in the MonsterVerse, there are still ways to bring the villain for another showdown.


Ghidorah Can Return to the MonsterVerse Through These Divergent Forms

Mothra Leo fights Desghidorah in Rebirth of Mothra.

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King Ghidorah’s golden, bipedal body is his most notable form, but it’s not the only incarnation he’s taken throughout the Godzilla series and other movies. An even more terrifying form of the monster once battled against the spawn of Mothra. The Rebirth of Mothra series saw Mothra die in battle against the powerful Desghidorah, who had four legs instead of just two. This fearsome creature wreaked havoc like a demonic dragon of legend, and its darker color scheme made it far scarier than even the traditional King Ghidorah. Thankfully, Mothra’s son, Mothra Leo, defeated him, but a MonsterVerse version could put up an even better fight.

This take on Desghidorah might keep the creature as an alien or even make it into a human-devised recreation of the original King Ghidorah. Doing the latter might be the best way to bring back the legacy of Ghidorah and the human villain, Alan Jonah, who was perhaps the best human character in Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Another deadly variant of King Ghidorah was Keizer Ghidorah, who appeared in Godzilla: Final Wars. Initially appearing in the movie as the bipedal and somewhat humanoid “Monster X,” it later mutates into Keizer Ghidorah, which combines the designs of the classic King Ghidorah with the quadripedal body of Desghidorah.


This was meant to be the ultimate showdown between Ghidorah and Godzilla, with the version of Godzilla in Final Wars arguably acting as a modernized version of the Showa-era incarnation. A monster that mutates into a recreation of King Ghidorah after coming into contact with the deceased monster’s DNA might be the best and most organic way to bring him back, even if it’s only for another movie. Likewise, building up to the revelation behind “Monster X” and resurrecting the MonsterVerse Ghidorah would bring back the tension and terror that King Ghidorah had in King of the Monsters, making the MonsterVerse movies regain their gravitas and fear factor. This will please fans of the MonsterVerse and the older Godzilla movies, as it would cement King Ghidorah and not Kong or Mechagodzilla as the true threat to Godzilla’s throne.


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Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire's Mothra connects with Jia at the Iwi Temple.

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At the end of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Mothra dies while fighting alongside Godzilla. However, those who carefully watched the movie’s credits knew that a Mothra egg had hatched afterward to set up a new plot point for this continuity. This spawn of Mothra was finally seen in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, with the 2024 blockbuster being the latest MonsterVerse film. Coming to Hollow Earth and fighting with Kong and Godzilla, the insectoid Titan is instrumental in fending off the machinations of the evil ape Titan known as the Skar King. Given that Mothra is back, many fans hope to see the “classic kaiju trio” of Godzilla, Mothra and Rodan reunited. Conversely, there’s also a chance that the MonsterVerse King Ghidorah gets similar treatment.


As noted, other versions of Ghidorah have existed in the franchise’s history. These different takes on Ghidorah could be introduced in the shared universe through Hollow Earth, with the alien perhaps actually hailing from this area. There isn’t much known about the next MonsterVerse movie, namely its scope or which Titans will be featured. It could be another team-up between Godzilla and Kong, or it could be a solo venture based on one of them or perhaps even based around the resurrected Mothra. Given that Mothra has faced threats like Desghidorah in older movies, having a new take on the MonsterVerse King Ghidorah would work whether Mothra or Godzilla are the main monsters. This is the best chance to see Ghidorah return, but until then, he’s a Titan who was killed far too soon.


  • The poster for the Monsterverse depicts Mothra, King Ghidorah, King Kong, Godzilla and Rodan.

    Monsterverse

    The MonsterVerse is an American multimedia franchise and shared fictional universe featuring Godzilla, King Kong, and other characters owned and created by Toho Co., Ltd.

  • Godzilla X Kong The New Empire 2024 New Film Poster

    Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

    Get ready to witness the ultimate brawl as Godzilla and Kong collide once more in a battle for supremacy in “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.” This explosive sequel throws open the doors to the Hollow Earth, unleashing an ancient threat that challenges the very existence of both Titans and humanity.

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