Godzilla vs. Kong is the perfect time for the MonsterVerse to pay off Godzilla: King of the Monsters' Anguirus tease - and here's how it could happen. Godzilla: King of the Monsters included a cleverly hidden reference to Anguirus in the form of a Titan skeleton that looked a lot like the classic Toho kaiju.
The latest installment in Legendary's MonsterVerse confirmed the existence of at least 17 Titans and featured eight of them, four of which being monsters from Toho's library of kaiju: Godzilla, King Ghidorah, Rodan, and Mothra. Every other Titan - such as Behemoth, Scylla, Methuselah, and the third M.U.T.O. - were original to the MonsterVerse. Since Legendary only had the rights to use these four Toho characters, no other Toho monsters were directly referenced. But, that didn't stop Godzilla: King of the Monsters director Mike Dougherty from sneaking in a carefully obscured Easter egg of one of Godzilla's closest allies in the Toho movies from the 1960s and 1970s.
Will anything ever come out of this reference? Because of rights issues, Anguirus may never be officially revealed or even mentioned in the MonsterVerse, but being such an important Godzilla character gives Legendary ample reason to make use of Anguirus in the future, and there can be no better opportunity to explore King of the Monsters' Anguirus tease than Godzilla vs. Kong, which presents a story well-suited for bringing Anguirus into the MonsterVerse.
1955's Godzilla Raids Again, the first sequel to the original Godzilla, introduced the concept of Godzilla battling other monsters by pitting him against Anguirus, a four-legged creature who resembles an ankylosaur with his spiked back and tail. Godzilla kills Anguirus in Godzilla Raids Again, but he was reimagined as an ally and friend to Godzilla in his next appearance, which happened in the 1965 crossover movie, Destroy All Monsters, which united multiple Toho kaiju for an epic battle with King Ghidorah.
Anguirus's most memorable role was in Godzilla vs. Gigan, which saw Godzilla and Anguirus as a powerful monster duo who went on an adventure together, and even spoke to each other -- literally. The movie culminated in a two-on-two showdown where Godzilla and Anguirus teamed up against King Ghidorah and Gigan. Because of this movie alone, Godzilla and Anguirus remain one of the most popular duos in the Godzilla franchise.
Anguirus returned in Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla to fight Godzilla's robotic counterpart, who was disguised as Godzilla. Anguirus saw though the disguise and was able to figure out that his opponent wasn't the real Godzilla. Mechagodzilla brutally beat Anguirus and broke his jaw. Badly wounded, Anguirus limped away and wasn't seen again on the big screen for another 30 years. In Godzilla: Final Wars, Anguirus was one of several mind-controlled monsters sent to battle Godzilla. The movie seemingly acknowledged Godzilla's friendly relationship with Anguirus in previous Toho movies by having Godzilla defeat - but not kill - the creature. That was the last time Anguirus appeared in live-action, and he's more than due for another appearance.
On Twitter, Mike Dougherty said that a skeleton that "may or may not belong to Anguirus" can be spotted briefly in the scene right before the explosion in the underwater city in King of the Monsters. And sure enough, upon close inspection, it's clear that the Titan skeleton in this scene belongs to a creature who looks identical to Anguirus. Dougherty never confirms him to be Anguirus, and even though his skeleton is shown in the special features on the home video release, Anguirus is never name-dropped. This can be explained by the fact that Legendary only had the rights to four Toho monsters. Anguirus was never part of the deal.
This prevented Legendary from acknowledging him directly, but regardless, it's clear that Anguirus did exist in the MonsterVerse. Since his skeleton is in the ancient city, he must have died thousands of years ago, possibly when the civilization collapsed. Anguirus may have lived there peacefully, as Godzilla did, and could've been one of the Titans who was revered by the people. How did Anguirus die in the MonsterVerse? Godzilla: King of the Monsters may have already hinted at the answer to this question. The redacted text in the King of the Monsters credits tells the story of how a human-Titan war caused a "massive cataclysm" that destroyed the human civilization. Anguirus could have been a casualty of the war, the "cataclysm", or one of the geological disasters that followed, such as the Ice Age. Any of these possibilities could be the explanation for Angurius' tragic fate, and hopefully this is something that Godzilla vs. Kong will address.
It would seem that Legendary has quietly acquired the rights to Mechagodzilla, and he may not be the only Toho kaiju making his MonsterVerse debut in Godzilla vs. Kong. If Legendary gets the rights to Anguirus, it can fully explore the Titan skeleton from King of the Monsters. As for why it should, Anguirus' place in MonsterVerse history could be relevant to the story. It's been confirmed that Godzilla vs. Kong will dive into the origin of the Titans. A movie that takes a deep look at the history of the Titans could allow viewers to learn more about what happened to Earth's ancient civilizations and the Titans that lived there. More could be learned about Godzilla's history, and the enemies and allies from his past. It could be established that like his Toho counterpart, Anguirus was a benevolent monster who acted as an ally to Godzilla long ago.
Could Anguirus be used for anything more than a history lesson or a flashback? Anguirus died in the MonsterVerse, but if there was more than one Godzilla, there could be more than one Anguirus. Another member of his species could exist as an undiscovered Titan. The King of the Monsters credits has teased a Monarch expedition into the Hollow Earth tunnels, and that could be how Godzilla vs. Kong introduces a new member of Anguirus' species. It would be an excellent way to satisfy Godzilla fans and incorporate another popular Toho kaiju into Godzilla's highly anticipated showdown with Mechagodzilla and Kong.
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