The much-awaited Monster Movie is almost ready to ‘hit’ the screens, albeit smaller ones for some of us. Yes, Godzilla vs. Kong, the next installment in Legendary Entertainment and Warner Bros.’ MonsterVerse, is coming, and so are the monsters.
As we prepare ourselves for this God vs. King battle, let’s rewind, take a look at what’s what, and see where things stand. Let’s reflect on how we got here by looking back at the previous MonsterVerse installments, namely, Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla, Jordan Vogt-Roberts’ Kong: Skull Island and Michael Dougherty’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
Timeline Before Anything Else
As is typical with such franchises, the timeline in which the installments occur holds the key to understanding the larger picture. So, before anything else, let’s see how the pieces fit in.
Kong: Skull Island takes place before the Godzilla films in 1973, just after the Vietnam War. On the other hand, the Godzilla films are consistent with the year of their release, i.e., Godzilla takes place in 2014 and Godzilla: King of the Monsters in 2019. Continuing with that trend, Godzilla vs. Kong will too take place in the present.
Project Monarch and MUTOs
Project Monarch
The binding thread between these films is Project Monarch (No, This one has nothing to do with CIA!): A group of scientists tasked with tracking down, controlling, understanding the MUTOs. They have outposts across the world where they carry out their research and analysis. These outposts are also used to contain dormant MUTOs, for example, Outpost 32 in Antarctica, where King Ghidorah (Monster Zero) was contained. While in containment, these creatures are studied and experimented upon to master them. Some of their high-profile undertakings include, attempted killing of Godzilla and the cover-up of the Janjira Nuclear Plant accident.
Several notable members make up the team of Project Monarch. These include Dr. Ishirō Serizawa (Ken Watanabe), Dr. Vivienne Graham (Sally Hawkins), Bill Randa (John Goodman), Dr. Mark Russell (Kyle Chandler), Dr. Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga), and many more. Some Monarch members expected to return are Dr. Mark Russell and Dr. Ilene Chen (Zhang Ziyi).
MUTOs
Monarch tracks MUTOs. But, what are MUTOs? MUTO stands for Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism. After identification, they are referred to as titans. So, MUTOs are the giant monsters like Godzilla and Kong around which the entire franchise revolves. They are based on characters created by Toho Co., a Japanese film studio. These organisms are said to exist from prehistoric times but had hibernated until recently. They feed off the radioactive radiations and use Earth’s Core as one of its sources. To date, Monarch has been able to identify at least seventeen such titans.
The franchise’s recurring theme is Nature vs. Nature (MUTO vs. MUTO) and how humankind is influential to it. Dr. Serizawa believed that God created them to maintain balance in the world, i.e., when one of the titans tries to destroy the balance, another MUTO will rise to prevent that, inadvertently helping the Earth, including humans, survive. Earth does not just belong to humans, and we need to deal with that. Throughout the films, there is also recurring imagery in montages, craft-works, newspaper articles, cave paintings that illustrate the wars between MUTOs throughout the planet’s history. At the end of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, we see a mural of Godzilla and Kong engaging in battle, a precursor to the next film.
The King: Godzilla
Godzilla is a giant aquatic ancient predator who is one of the alpha titans of MonsterVerse. It resides in the oceans’ depths and feeds off nuclear radiations from Earth’s Core like other titans. Its appearance strikes an image of a tall violent dinosaur, with the scales and gigantic size making him look menacing. Godzilla is often seen as a metaphor for nuclear weapons, which caused widespread destruction in Hiroshima and Nagasaki during World War II.
Godzilla (2014)
In the 2014 film Godzilla, we learn that Monarch attempted to kill it with a nuclear bombing, but the expected results were not achieved. Godzilla went dormant with no signs of his existence. But, Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston), who worked at the Janjira Nuclear Plant, suspects that Godzilla is alive and is about to return. It turns out that Godzilla was listening to two other MUTOs communicate, whose actions are deemed destructible to Earth. Initially, humans suspect that Godzilla, too, is planning to destroy humanity. So, Admiral Stenz (David Strathairn) approves a nuclear attack on all three at their meeting point.
Dr. Serizawa objects to this plan, explaining that Godzilla is actually on our side. Later, as it turned out, Godzilla was indeed on our side and wanted to finish the other two MUTOs to maintain the ‘balance’. Godzilla fights the MUTOs, saves humanity, and becomes an anti-hero in the eyes of people. He did save the people, but he brought destruction along in its wake.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
In Godzilla: King of the Monsters, after Godzilla reveals the existence of titans and MUTOs to the world, the story moves ahead, and we see the use of ‘Orca’, a frequency emitter that allows us to communicate and control with the MUTOs — developed by Dr. Mark Russell and Dr. Emma Russell of Monarch. Emma goes over to the rogue side and joins hands with Alan Jonah (Charles Dance), who plans to unleash MUTOs worldwide. They awaken King Ghidorah (Monster Zero), who attacks and destroys Outpost 32. Godzilla arrives to battle Ghidorah. MUTOs in several other cities are unleashed, and after Godzilla is severely injured in an Oxygen Destroyer attack, the others bow before Ghidorah as they wreak havoc on Earth. Dr. Serizawa sacrifices himself by manually setting off a nuke to help Godzilla recover in time.
Madison, Mark and Emma’s daughter Madison (Millie Bobby Brown), realizes her mother’s mistake and takes Orca to Fenway Park in Boston to calm the titans. This inadvertently attracts all of them to Madison’s location, including Ghidorah. Mothra joins Godzilla to battle Ghidorah, who Rodan joins. Mothra sacrifices herself to let Godzilla defeat Ghidorah and claim the allegiance of all the other titans. He becomes the ‘King of the Monsters’. We see some titans moving towards Skull Island and a mural depicting Kong and Godzilla fighting in the credits. These could be precursors to what’s about to come in Godzilla Vs. Kong.
The God: Kong
Kong, in three words, is a big giant ape. Other than that, he is the protector of Skull Island and its people. To them, he is a God. When we meet Kong in Kong: Skull Island, he is not yet fully grown and what we see is the adolescent version. Godzilla Vs. Kong will probably feature an adult Kong. Orphaned at a young age (Skullcrawlers killed his parents), Kong has a much more human side than Godzilla. Emotional yet powerful and robust, Kong presents a worldview of protecting the meek and standing up to the bullies.
Kong: Skull Island (2017)
In Kong: Skull Island, a group of Monarch scientists accompanied by a military unit led by Preston Packard (Samuel L. Jackson) and other specialists James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston) and Mason Weaver (Brie Larson) plan an expedition to Skull Island. They penetrate the barriers surrounding the island and start bombing it as intended. This awakens Kong, who, having led a life of seclusion and loneliness, is terrified and shocked to find helicopters swarming the place. He attacks the group and kills some of Packard’s men. Divided into two groups, each group proceeds to exit the island. On the way, Conrad’s team runs into a group of Iwi people. Here we are told about Kong’s backstory and how he is the protector on this island.
Packard is adamant about leaving without finding all his men and avenging the fallen by killing Kong. Weaver and Conrad come face-to-face with Kong and experience the soft side of Kong. They persuade Packard to leave Kong alone, but in vain. Subsequently, Kong kills Packard and then fights the giant Skullcrawler. After a length battle, Kong emerges victorious, and humans safely reach the rendezvous point. Kong remains behind on the island.
The important thing about Kong: Skull Island is that despite a simple storyline, it talks about numerous other things that are not about monsters. Packard’s unit is shown to have fought in Vietnam War. They take up this mission right after that war. Vogt-Roberts’ called the film ‘Apocalypse Now with a monster’. There are recurring themes of war and soldiers throughout the film. There are also discussions about how we tend to assume someone (Kong here) as the enemy when in reality, it’s all cool. All in all, of the three MonsterVerse films, this one had its heart in the right place as it posits a universal touch of emotions across nature and species.
Whose Side Are You On?
If the trailers, posters, the marketing campaigns, and pretty much all the buzz surrounding Godzilla Vs. Kong is any indication, it looks like we will have a full-blown battle between the King and God.
Not to jinx it, but studios have been hesitant about pitching their heroes against one another if the past is any indicator. Even if they set such a premise, the victory is almost always ambiguous. Take, for example, Captain America: Civil War. The idea about who won — Captain America or Iron Man — is always debatable with no clear winner.
But, fingers crossed, let’s hope that it is not the case here, and we get to see the two titans lash out at each other in a blast. Let us know in the comments about whose side you are on!
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