Godzilla: King of the Monsters is now playing and while critics once again found themselves divided, fans have responded well to the movie and are excited about what comes next. After all, it's hard not to be when we know that Godzilla will be going head to head with King Kong in the not too distant future!
The latest instalment in Warner Bros.' MonsterVerse features plenty of Easter Eggs, references, and cameos for those fans, and while some pay homage to what's come before, many actually set up the franchise's future. With
Godzilla vs. Kong on the horizon, though, that's hardly a surprise.
From
Kong: Skull Island nods to the post-credits scene, unexpected cameo appearances, and hints about future villains and monsters, there's a lot to delve into. You'll find all of that and more here, so to check out this breakdown, all you guys have to do is click on the "View List" button below to check out this feature in its entirety.
The Hollow Earth Theory
How did the Titans manage to stay hidden for so long? Well, in
Kong: Skull Island, the idea of a "Hollow Earth" is thrown around. The characters played by John Goodman and Corey Hawkins both argue that these monsters are able to travel secretly across the globe via a network of subterranean tunnels and while that's initially scoffed at, it's confirmed during the course of
King of the Monsters.
While Skull Island is theorised to be one of the points where these Titans can emerge from the depths, we get to see more of them here and even visit Godzilla's homes in one of those hollow points.
The Twins
There are a lot of mystical and religious elements to the franchise's mythology, but those are put on the backburner for scientific elements here. However, one unique part of Mothra's story remains.
In Toho's original movies, a pair of identical twins fairies are used to summon Mothra with a song and are named the Shobijin, a.k.a. "little beauties." While we don't get anything quite as quirky as that in
King of the Monsters, Monarch's Ilene Chen is one of two twin sisters with ties to Mothra and that has to be a reference to this rather bizarre part of the iconic monster's classic backstory.
Fire Godzilla
In the movie's final act, the titular Titan takes on his "Fire Godzilla" form after an atomic blast powers him up to the point where he's going to eventually let off a massive explosion of energy.
Well, as long-time fans will know, something similar happening in 1995 release
Godzilla vs. Destroyah when the former started overheating following an accident which saw him exposed to a huge amount of uranium. Dubbed "Burning Godzilla," he was then able to stop Destroyah, just like this version of the Titan was able to use his "Fire" form in order to put an end to King Ghidorah.
Rodan's Rise
In the movie, King Ghidorah is able to summon Rodan and the massive beast emerges from a volcano in one of the movie's coolest scenes. The same thing happened in 1956's
Rodan movie and since then, the monster has been shown emerging from a number of volcanoes, proving that they serve as an incubation chamber of sorts for this particular sort of Titan. Are more of them out there?
Monarch's Outposts
Monarch's scientific bases end up playing a key role in the movie and each of them are numbered. However, those aren't just randomly assigned and actually reference past releases.
For example, we have Outpost 55 (Godzilla Raids Again, 1955), Outpost 61 (Mothra, 1961); Outpost 67 (Son of Godzilla, 1967), Outpost 75 (Terror of Mechagodzilla, 1975), and Outpost 91 (Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, 1991). It's a very clever nod to movies which clearly inspired this one.
"Atlantis"
No, Aquaman doesn't make an appearance in
Godzilla: King of the Monsters, but Godzilla's home definitely appears to be a nod to the DC hero's watery abode. The Titan's undersea home is clearly some sort of ancient civilisation where humans once lived, and it was in 1973's
Godzilla vs. Megalon that we first learned of a location called Seatopia, an ancient city which was basically Toho's rip-off version of Atlantis.
"Destroy All Monsters"
Early on in the movie, we see a number of protestors who are demanding that Monarch finally tell the world about the Titans and how they can be destroyed. Keep your eyes peeled, though, and you'll notice one sign that reads "Destroy All Monsters!" which is a reference to the 1968 movie of the same name.
That featured pretty much every monster ever being brought together for an Avengers-style crossover to pit them against King Ghidorah. There are other similarities, too, because that movie's monsters were brainwashed by aliens to attack cities while in this one, it's a human created device called the Orca.
The Oxygen Bomb
There's a lot of scientific mumbo jumbo in
King of the Monsters, including an "Oxygen Bomb" which it's hoped will be strong enough to kill the Titans. What you may not realise is that this has been lifted straight from the franchise's history as a weapon dubbed the "Oxygen Destroyer" was unleashed by the Japanese Self-Defence Force in 1954's
Godzilla.
As silly as that weapon may have been, at least it pays homage to what's come before.
Monster Zero
For much of the movie, King Ghidorah is referred to as "Monster Zero" and as the story plays out, it's revealed that he's actually an alien who crash landed on Earth thousands of years ago.
Well, this origin story ties nicely into the total cheesefest that was 1965's
Invasion of Astro-Monster in which aliens abducted the likes of Godzilla and Rodan in order to fight Monster Zero who, as you might have already guessed, was actually Ghidorah. This opens the door to a lot of future stories.
The Post-Credits Scene
I didn't particularly enjoy
Godzilla: King of the Monsters, but there's no denying that this was awesome. Right at the very end of the credits, terrorist Alan Jonah (Charles Dance) purchases one of Ghidorah's severed heads which was torn off earlier in the movie, and there's a lot that can be done with that.
For example, while it would be pretty ridiculous, Ghidorah returning with a robotic body (and presumably two robotic heads) is definitely something we could see in
Godzilla vs. Kong as that spinoff's true bad guy. So, yes, prepare yourself for the debut of Mecha-King Ghidorah pretty soon...
The Loch Ness Monster
Even if you're not from the UK, you'll no doubt have heard about Scotland's Loch Ness Monster. Well, in the MonsterVerse, Nessie is very real and that's confirmed when a map of Earth featuring the locations of all the Titans reveals that there's one in that part of the country. We never get to see it in action, but it would certainly be interesting watching the iconic myth rampage across the UK.
Mothra Lives?
While there may be a post-credits scene, it's well worth paying attention to what comes before as news reels play over the credits. There's lot to talk about there, but one reveal really stands out.
That comes when we learn that a second Mothra has seemingly appeared on the planet in its unhatched, egg form. This is obviously a tease that the fan-favourite Titan will be making its return in a different form regardless of whether this Mothra is a child, sibling, or something else altogether.
There's also a precedent for this happening throughout the monster's storied history.
More Monsters
A number of Titans appear in the movie, some of whom are never named. However, there may be a very good reason for that because it seems like Warner Bros. will be pulling from different areas of mythology for future movies. Those who do get names are called Behemoth, Quetzalcoatl, and Scylla.
Behemoth could be based on
The Giant Behemoth from the 1959 British monster movie, Quetzalcoatl is likely the dragon from 1982's
Q - The Winged Serpent, and Scylla must be the monster from Greek myths. This opens the door to lots of stories and not necessarily just ones based on Toho properties.
A Kong: Skull Island Cameo
This is very much a blink and you'll miss it cameo, but
Terminator 2 star Joe Morton makes an appearance as a scientist in the movie and, believe it or not, he's actually playing Dr. Houston Brooks.
Doesn't ring a bell? Well, that's who Corey Hawkins starred as in
Kong: Skull Island and seeing as he was recruited to Monarch in that movie's post-credits scene, he's clearly remained there since.
King Kong
That's not the only reference to
Kong: Skull Island, though; the movie is littered with teases and we even find out that Monarch is well aware of Kong's existence (pictures seem to show that he's grown). This is obviously done to set the stage for
Godzilla vs. Kong, and the most intriguing nod comes when we learn that there's been a spike in activity at his home following Ghidorah's return.
What do you guys think about Godzilla: King of the Monsters' Easter Eggs? Did you spot any we missed? As always, be sure to let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.