Godzilla: King of the Monsters sets up multiple Toho kaiju in the MonsterVerse. The movie opens the door for three classic Godzilla villains and one ally to join the MonsterVerse either in Godzilla vs. Kong or a future installment in the franchise. At least one of these Toho properties, Mechagodzilla, has already been spoiled by a toy leak that pointed to his inclusion.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters reveals that numerous Titans dwell all over the planet and are spread out across all seven continents. Seventeen of them are confirmed to exist somewhere in Legendary’s MonsterVerse. Four of these Titans - Godzilla, Rodan, King Ghidorah, and Mothra - are from Toho’s library of kaiju. Aside from the Toho monsters and Kong, the rest are original to the MonsterVerse and are primarily based on Biblical and mythological gods and beasts. Scylla, Behemoth, Methuselah, and a third M.U.T.O. all appear on the big screen, but the others are hidden in the film.

More Titans could be introduced in Godzilla vs. Kong, which is scheduled to be released in November 2020. Directed by Adam Wingard, Godzilla vs. Kong will bring the two titular pop culture icons together for a clash of epic proportions. The movie, which is the first time the two have fought since 1962’s King Kong vs. Godzilla, is said to feature a definitive winner. Regardless of who wins, Godzilla and Kong are expected to do more than just fight each other; more Titans may join the fray as well, and some may even be familiar faces from classic Toho movies. Here’s every Toho kaiju who was set up in Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

Mechagodzilla

Thanks to the Mechagodzilla toy leak, it’s become apparent that Godzilla’s robotic nemesis will appear in Godzilla vs. Kong, potentially as the villain. Based on the look of the toy, it seems that Mechagodzilla will be sporting a new design. Having battled Godzilla in five live-action movies, Mechagodzilla is Godzilla’s second-biggest enemy after Ghidorah.

As surprising as the Mechagodzilla reveal was, he was actually already teased in the Godzilla: King of the Monsters credits. Most of the Easter eggs and reveals in the credits came in the headlines in the newspaper clippings, but Godzilla 2’s only Mechagodzilla hint was carefully hidden in the text of the article “Monarch Boosts Forces Around Skull Island,” which mentions that Monarch was leading the construction of a “mechanized giant” on Skull Island. Monarch’s robotic creation is never identified. This doesn’t necessarily mean that Godzilla vs. Kong’s Mechagodzilla and Skull Island’s “mechanized giant” are one and the same, but the reference does set up his introduction by revealing that the technology for building robotic Titans exists in the MonsterVerse.

Mecha-King Ghidorah

In Godzilla’s second fight with Ghidorah in King of the Monsters, he manages to tear off of one of King Ghidorah’s heads. In the post-credits scene, the head is found and presumably purchased by Jonah (Charles Dance). The implication is that Jonah had some nefarious plan in mind for the head, and its reemergence in the movie makes it look like King of the Monsters is foreshadowing the three-headed monster’s return as Mecha-King Ghidorah. It should be pointed out that the same article in the credits that sets up Mechagodzilla also mentions Monarch’s interest in creating organic Titans. If this too is now a possibility in the MonsterVerse, then it could be that Jonah will find a way to replicate parts of Ghidorah’s body and implement the same technology used to build the “mechanized giant” to create Mecha-King Ghidorah. In 1991’s Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah, the Japanese government took a dead Ghidorah and revived him as a cyborg under their complete control. Jonah may have a similar scheme in store for Ghidorah.

This theory about Mecha-King Ghidorah has been floating around since before Mechagodzilla was leaked. After Mechagodzilla was spoiled, fans began to doubt that both robotic adversaries would be included in the same movie, but Godzilla vs. Kong could feature multiple villains, since just one may not be enough to adequately challenge the combined forces of Godzilla and Kong.

Destoroyah

The final film in the 1990s series of Godzilla movies was Godzilla vs. Destoroyah. The 1995 film introduced Destoroyah, one of the most menacing opponents Godzilla has ever faced. Destoroyah is infamous for being the creature whose fight with Godzilla led to his demise. As for what Destoroyah has to do with King of the Monsters, the connection is the Oxygen Destroyer, which is the key component in Destoroyah’s origin story. The Oxygen Destroyer is a weapon designed to kill Godzilla. The movie reveals that when the military deployed the Oxygen Destroyer weapon in the ocean in an effort to kill the 1954 Godzilla, it inadvertently created a new threat. A colony of microscopic crustaceans mutated until it formed a single, grotesque entity of immense power.

The Oxygen Destroyer was major plot device in King of the Monsters. After Godzilla took Ghidorah down into the water, the American military used the Oxygen Destroyer, hoping it would kill both of them. Ghidorah survived because of his alien nature, but Godzilla was badly wounded. Thanks to Dr. Serizawa (Ken Watanabe), Godzilla recovered quickly and was still able to save the day. Luckily, Godzilla saved the humans from their own mistakes, but will there be another consequence of the Oxygen Destroyer that hasn’t been revealed yet? The use of the Oxygen Destroyer did set up Destoroyah in the MonsterVerse, but as of now, it remains to be seen if Legendary will follow in the footsteps of the 1995 movie.

Anguirus

During the scene with Godzilla in the underwater city, there’s a brief glimpse of a large Titan skeleton that looks remarkably like Anguirus, a Toho kaiju whose design is similar to an ankylosaur. Anguirus is a loyal ally of Godzilla most famous for fighting by his side in a two-on-two match-up against King Ghidorah and Gigan in Godzilla vs. Gigan.

The skeleton was first teased in a tweet by King of the Monsters director Mike Dougherty, who said that it “may or may not belong to Anguirus.” The skeleton clearly shares many of Anguirus’s distinguishing characteristics, such as the shape of his head, his tail, and the spike on his nose. Despite its blatant resemblance to Anguirus, the skeleton’s identity is never outright confirmed and for good reason. Dougherty has explained that budget issues are why the movie uses original monsters as the extra Titans rather than established characters. In order to call him Anguirus, the rights would have to be acquired from Toho.

Either way, it’s now known from Godzilla: King of the Monsters that Anguirus existed some time in the MonsterVerse’s past. He may have even lived in harmony with Godzilla and the ancient civilization. Godzilla vs. Kong is expected to explore the history and origin of the Titans, so the movie could serve as the best opportunity to officially introduce Anguirus, who may have a living descendant somewhere in the Hollow Earth tunnels.

More: Godzilla: King Of The Monsters May Have Revealed How Anguirus Died

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