‘Godzilla: King of the Monsters’: Everything We Know About the New Kaiju

Lucas DeRuyter
Movies Sci-Fi
Movies Sci-Fi

Ever since the spectacular Godzilla: King of the Monsters trailer dropped at San Diego Comic-Con, fans have been excited about the return of the giant lizard … and some new colossal creatures.

Showcasing the King of the Monsters and three of the most popular kaiju from the Godzilla Monsterverse – the upcoming film is a monster movie fan’s dream come true. Godzilla is joined on-screen by Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah. In the film, they are referred to as titans, the same name given to the Greek deities that preceded the Olympians. Here’s everything we know about them.

Godzilla

Godzilla King of the Monsters Godzilla
The King of the Monsters, himself.

Godzilla is easily the most well known and popular kaiju in existence. Originally created as a metaphor for the dangers of nuclear weapons, Godzilla has since become an international icon and the star of more than thirty films. Although his first appearance on screen was in 1954, his first Western feature aired in 1998 to negative reviews. While the 2014 Godzilla film — the precursor to King of the Monsters — received mixed reviews at best, the final fifteen minutes of that film are some of the best of any monster movie ever made.

Godzilla generally uses a handful of extremely powerful attacks and abilities when attacking cities or other monsters in his films. His atomic breath is a stream of blue energy that burns hotter than fire and devastates nearly anything it touches. Likewise, his nuclear pulse releases most of the radiation stored within his body in a short range explosion that can kill anything near him. While this series does have a more grounded and realistic tone than most other kaiju movies, hopefully, we get a scene of Godzilla flying through the air in all his glory.

Rodan

Godzilla King of the Monsters Rodan
The menace of the skies.

Rodan is basically a giant pterosaur. Which is fine as regular pterosaur are pretty cool, and colossal radioactive ones are even better. First appearing in the 1956 film of the same name, there are two Rodans that are mates and may have served as the inspiration for the M.U.T.O. in the 2014 film. However, as it seems like Rodan escapes from a volcano in the trailer, many speculate that he may appear in his Fire Rodan form.

Rodan doesn’t really have any special powers. Sometimes he has a breath attack that allows him to shoot compressed air from his mouth to destroy cities and stun his foes and other times he breathes fire, but there’s no guarantee that these techniques will appear in this approaching film. Usually, he just uses his sharp talons, beak, and strong winds from his beating wings in battle. While Rodan is likely to be more of a side character in this film, it’ll still be fun to watch Godzilla battle an aerial enemy and for Mothra to have a flying foe to fight.

Mothra

Godzilla King of the Monsters Mothra
A fan-favorite ally.

The first female monster in the Godzilla series and the titular character in the 1961 film Mothra, this kaiju is usually a friend to Godzilla and a protector of mankind. Mothra usually makes her initial appearance in movies in her larval state. In this underdeveloped form, she has a tendency unintentionally destroy parts of a city in pursuit of a place to build her cocoon, while also coming to understand humanity’s compassion and kindness.

Mothra’s most notable abilities in battle involve her shooting silk threads to trap opponents and energy beams from her antennae. She can also release scales from her wings to create a suffocating cloud around her enemies, at the cost of losing her ability to fly for some time. She also has some psychic abilities and can express her intentions to protect humanity through a medium of her choosing. This divine creature is sure to dominate her foes and maybe even become a regularly appearing member of the growing Monsterverse.

King Ghidorah

Godzilla King of the Monsters King Ghidorah
The false king.

As a massive three-headed, two-tailed, winged dragon, King Ghidorah is easily the coolest monster in the Godzilla films. First appearing in the 1964 film Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, Ghidorah usually has origins different from the rest of the kaiju in a film. Sometimes he’s from space, other times the future, but this time it looks like he’s just a cataclysmic force trapped within a melting glacier. Hopefully, this time around we find out what exactly makes him a king; as this title doesn’t seem to carry any royal status in most of his appearances.

King Ghidorah has several energy based attacks on top of his nearly insurmountable size, strength, and durability. In previous appearances, Ghidorah could fire gravity beams from any of his mouths, augment his attacks with lighting, and encase himself within a meteorite for space travel. His more over-the top-abilities and origins probably won’t appear in this more grounded film, but a big budget CGI clash between him and Godzilla could be fantastic. Since the moment his wings unfurled in the trailer, it became clear that Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a must watch for any fan of monster movies.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters opens May 31, 2019.

Lucas DeRuyter
Anime Community Manager