In Godzilla vs. Kong, Mechagodzilla could be Monarch’s secret weapon in case Godzilla ever turned against humanity or couldn’t be relied on to stop the Titans. Thanks to a recent Godzilla vs. Kong toy leak that occurred at a convention in Hong Kong, it’s become apparent that classic Toho villain Mechagodzilla will appear in Godzilla vs. Kong in some capacity. However, since Legendary hasn’t even confirmed that Mechagodzilla is in the movie, nothing is known about his role or his origin.
At this point, it was expected that much more information would be available about the fourth MonsterVerse movie, but due to a recent delay, Godzilla vs. Kong is still several months away. Likely due to Godzilla: King of the Monsters‘ struggles at the box office, Godzilla vs. Kong was pushed from its Match 2020 release date to November. It’s not clear when a trailer will be announced, or when more plot details will be revealed. So far, the only two monsters officially confirmed to be in the movie are the two titular Titans themselves, Godzilla and Kong. There’s still no word on Rodan, Mothra, King Ghidorah, or any of the new Titans.
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What is known that the King of the Monsters and the King of Skull Island will clash in a “spectacular battle for the ages“, which will be their first meeting in the MonsterVerse and only their second meeting of all-time. Meanwhile, it’s stated in the synopsis that Monarch will be investigating the origins of the Titans while a “human conspiracy” threatens to destroy all of the Earth’s Titans. The credits of Godzilla: King of the Monsters suggests that Monarch’s mission will begin with Skull Island. Where Godzilla’s robotic nemesis, Mechagodzilla, fits into all of this is uncertain, but it’s possible that he has ties to Monarch.
Mechagodzilla Explained
Toho’s robotic Godzilla debuted in the 1974 film, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, as a mechanical version of Godzilla created by apelike aliens on a mission to conquer the Earth. Originally disguised as the real Godzilla, Mechagodzilla brutally beat Anguirus, one of Godzilla’s closest allies, and was eventually exposed as a fake. His ability to fly and arsenal of rockets, lasers, and energy canons made him a challenging and unique adversary for Godzilla, but with the help of another kaiju, King Caesar, Godzilla was able to destroy Mechagodzilla.
He was rebuilt for a team-up with Titanosaurus in Terror of Mechagodzilla, which was released in the following year. Mechagodzilla received a brand new origin story in 1993’s Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, which saw him fight both Godzilla and Rodan. This time, Mechagodzilla was created by humans rather than aliens. Nearly a decade later, Godzilla’s nemesis was reimagined as “Kiryu”, a hero of the Japanese people in 2001’s Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla, a movie which treated Godzilla as the antagonist. This version of Mechagodzilla returned for a sequel titled Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. In total, Mechagodzilla has fought Godzilla in five movies, which makes him the second-most recurring Godzilla villain, surpassed only by King Ghidorah. Mechagodzilla hasn’t appeared in a live-action Godzilla film since 2003.
Theory: Monarch Created Mechagodzilla
The credits of King of the Monsters is packed full of teases and Easter eggs, and though the references to King Kong have received most of the attention, one particular article, “Monarch Boosts Forces Around Skull Island”, contains a telling line with huge revelations for the MonsterVerse. According to the article, a scientist has claimed that Monarch was developing organic Titans and a “mechanized giant” on Skull Island. The article doesn’t elaborate on the “mechanized giant“, but the first name that comes to mind is, of course, Mechagodzilla. The toy leak only reinforces the idea that this project is Mechagodzilla, and even if it is actually something else entirely, this line means that Monarch is indeed capable of building robotic Titans.
This raises an important question: Why would Monarch, an organization that believes Godzilla to be a force for good, build a mechanical version of Godzilla? In the final scene of the movie, Dr. Stanton (Bradley Whitford) says “Thank God he’s on our side“, to which Dr. Chen (Zhang Ziyi) replies, “For now“. This line highlights Monarch’s lack of confidence that Godzilla will remain on their side, and could foreshadow their decision to develop a secret weapon.
The Monarch secret weapon could ultimately be Mechagodzilla, a manmade Titan designed for the purpose of battling Godzilla and perhaps other Titans as well. Though Monarch currently has no reason to suspect that Godzilla will turn on them, they may not be content to leave the Earth’s fate in his hands, especially since he now controls the remaining Titans. If Godzilla ever did turn against humanity, the people of Earth would need a weapon of its own to combat both Godzilla and his newfound minions. After all, the King of the Monsters could destroy the planet just as easily as he could save it from the other Titans. So in building Mechagodzilla, this is humanity’s way of protecting their future while also allowing the natural cycle to play out.
What Mechagodzilla Role Can Be
Even if Monarch is responsible for creating Mechagodzilla, that doesn’t mean that they’re the ones who will operate him in the movie. After all, Mechagodzilla may only be a contingency plan for a scenario that may never come to pass. So why would Mechagodzilla be unleashed at all? The “human conspiracy” described in the synopsis could provide the answer to this question. The human villains of the movie – whether they are Jonah’s band of eco-terrorists or a whole new faction – may overtake Monarch’s outpost on Skull Island just like Jonah (Charles Dance) did in China in King of the Monsters. This could allow them to hijack Mechagodzilla and use him for their own purposes.
Mechagodzilla could go from a defensive precaution to a weapon intended to eliminate the Titans. The emergence of such a powerful foe could interrupt the fight between Godzilla and Kong, and force Godzilla to once again to deal with a disaster created by humanity. If so, Godzilla and Kong may be forced to form an alliance and fight side-by-side to defeat Mechagodzilla. While their battle is said to have a definitive winner, it is possible that the fight will be followed up by a team-up against another Titan. This storyline occurred in a similar fashion in Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, but instead of simply uniting the two characters for the future, this could be a one-time thing. Mechagodzilla was designed to be Godzilla’s equal, and it could take more than just the iconic kaiju himself to defeat the mechanized being.
- Godzilla vs. Kong (2020) release date: Nov 20, 2020
