One of the things that makes the original Godzilla films excellent is the fact that the monsters that appear in them cannot be classified as simply heroic or villainous. The motivations and intentions of each of them – Godzilla included – shifted and morphed from film to film, often in relation to the way in which humans reacted to them.
In 2014’s Godzilla, however, the titular giant was clearly the misunderstood hero of the piece and, since that movie was the launchpad for the development of a cohesive ‘Monsterverse,’ it’ll be interesting to see how his fellow giants will be handled – particularly since a call sheet has now been revealed from the set of Godzilla: King Of The Monsters.
The tease comes from the Twitter feed of director Mike Dougherty, who’s at the helm of this third franchise instalment (the second being Kong: Skull Island). Having previously indicated in an official plot synopsis that Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah – iconic creatures from the original Godzilla films – would be making an appearance in his movie, Dougherty has now shared an image of a call sheet from day 6 of principal photography.
Call sheet. Day 6. @GodzillaMovie pic.twitter.com/pnhNhIM98d
— Mike Dougherty (@Mike_Dougherty) June 26, 2017
He’s issued assurances before that fans can expect the creatures to be given much more screen time in this new film than they were afforded in 2014’s Godzilla, and having the four of them listed on the call sheet as early as day 6 would suggest that that is certainly the case. However, the question now becomes, what will be the circumstances of this epic showdown?
A brief look at who these creatures are might shed some light on the situation. As her name suggests, Mothra is a giant lepidopteran who was often portrayed as a heroic figure in the original films. She was created by Shinichiro Nakamura, Yoshie Hotta, and Takehiko Fukunaga, and first appeared in 1961’s Mothra. She’s considered to be a “divine” creature and is usually accompanied by two female ‘fairies.’
Rodan is essentially an irradiated pterodactyl who was created by Ken Kuronuma, and first appeared in 1956’s Rodan. He’s a character that has fluctuated between heroism and villainy to a far greater degree than Mothra. Finally, King Ghidorah is a golden dragon with three heads. He was created by Tomoyuki Tanaka and debuted in 1964’s Ghidorah, The Three-Headed Monster. More than any other giant creature, King Ghidorah is a nemesis with whom Godzilla has often clashed.
If the Legendary ‘Monsterverse’ is set on continuing to present Godzilla as a heroic figure, it could be that we’re about to see the giant lizard, Mothra, and Rodan drawn out by the appearance of King Ghidorah. Whether they then ultimately join forces with Godzilla against him, or seek to serve their own agenda remains to be seen. What we do know, however, is that Monarch scientists will be caught in the crossfire – with the human cast including Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown, Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins, Bradley Whitford, Aisha Hinds, Zhang Ziyi and Charles Dance.
Godzilla: King Of The Monsters arrives in theatres on May 22nd, 2019.
