One of my most anticipated movies of this year is Godzilla vs. Kong. Now this is a grudge match that I have been very much waiting to see again. Yes, for those who forgot or just didn’t know, they did fight before. If you don’t remember that fight or just didn’t know that it happened, that’s probably because it went down fifty-nine years ago. Yes, the first King Kong vs. Godzilla movie was released in the summer of 1962. Heck, I wasn’t even born then. Not even close.
For a 1962 movie about giant monsters fighting, it was really fun to watch. My best recollection of it was their final battle, where King Kong tackled Godzilla off a cliff. It looked he KO’d himself along with Godzilla, but then Kong emerged from the water. Godzilla apparently perished, Kong won, and we got to see him begin walking across the ocean so he could return to his island. Everything before that was a bit hazy for me, probably because it looked like two Star Trek extras in their costumes going at it. But hey, it was back in the 60’s, so what do you expect? If I was around back then, I would’ve been happy that the movie even existed.
Well, now that movies have changed and a battle between King Kong and Godzilla would actually look awesome, we fans are beyond pumped to see them go at it. The trailer alone was enough to get me excited and assuming it doesn’t repeat the same mistakes as the Godzilla movie or King of the Monsters, we should be good. And for the record, I mean I don’t want to see King Kong about to stab Godzilla with that giant piece of metal, then have it cut to Kyle Chandler or Eiza Gonzalez looking pretty. Seriously, don’t give us more human subplots. If this movie is going to be great, it just needs to do one thing: let the monsters fight. You know, like Ken Watanabe said.
So let’s just say that Godzilla vs. Kong will be awesome. Let’s say it blows away critics and fans and it makes enough money to spawn a sequel. Adam Wingard, the director already confirmed that the movie will have a winner so yes, one will probably fall. The victor will have a sequel of his own to fight some more giant monsters. What will that be like?
Well, let’s start by talking about what kind of cinematic universe we’re dealing with. Godzilla vs. Kong is the fourth film to be set in Legendary’s Monsterverse. There’s something about Legendary’s “Monsterverse” that has always bothered me. Does this cinematic universe really have enough movies to actually be considered a cinematic universe? Plus, who are the most prominent characters in this cinematic universe? I’d say the obvious answer is Godzilla and King Kong themselves. I mean, those two are the reason why this Monsterverse even got started. No question about it.
Now if Godzilla vs. Kong is going to have a winner, we might have to say goodbye to one of our favorite giant movie monsters. Personally, I’ve always been more of a King Kong guy. Don’t get me wrong, I love Godzilla, but I always liked King Kong’s story more. This Monsterverse is diverting from the traditional King Kong story and that’s a good thing. We all know how it goes by now and we don’t need to see it done over again. Now if I had to guess who would win in this upcoming epic battle, my money would be on King Kong. The trailer is setting up Godzilla to be the villain and it also made King Kong look like the smaller underdog fighting a much bigger bad guy.
If King Kong wins, that means Godzilla just might die and we probably won’t be seeing him again… at least for a while. And just remember that Godzilla was also considered to be the king of the monsters by the end of the last movie. If Kong defeats him, then the title of king will be passed down to him, officially making him King Kong. That’s my prediction for the ending of Godzilla vs. Kong.
However, is King Kong a strong enough character to carry a whole cinematic universe on his own? There will probably be another movie starring him, but if this Monstervers wants to be bigger, it’ll have to expand its ranks. And let’s face it, we caught that little glimpse of MechaGodzilla in the beginning of the trailer. When he shows up, Godzilla and Kong will team-up and have an epic battle with the giant robot. Godzilla will sacrifice himself to destroy MechaGodzilla, the world will mourn, and the sequel will be a big unification of several giant monsters called the Kaiju League.
Okay, maybe not, but I hope y’all understood that reference. I mean, it would be kind of cool to see that happen, wouldn’t it? We live in an age where ambitious movies are only growing.
So why stop at King Kong? This Monsterverse can certainly grow and add on more monsters. The first choice would have to be Gamera, the giant fire-breathing turtle. He began as a destructive monster, but as he became a more popular character, he took on a more heroic role. Gamera can serve as a replacement to Godzilla as the giant monster who protects humanity, even fighting alongside King Kong.
In my opinion, he seems a bit too much like Godzilla. They’re both reptilian-like monsters who can fire some kind of beams out of their mouths. Legendary can go a bit more outside the box and try a lesser-known character. I remember talking to a co-worker recently about it and he mentioned Jet Jaguar. I won’t lie, I forgot that character even existed. He looks funny, but I think he’d fit in well with the Monsterverse.
To sum up Jet Jaguar, he’s a talking robot who can alter his size. He’s basically MechaGodzilla, but a humanoid mecha who’s actually heroic. What has he done? Well, he’s fought with and alongside Godzilla and helped defeat the Megalon monster. We know that a terrorist group from King of the Monsters is building mecha monsters, so it’s possible some of that technology would’ve been salvaged to create a more heroic mecha. Humanity always needs to build some kind of failsafe, no matter how dangerous it is. Jet Jaguar is no monster, but he’s a robot who can fight them. He’ll probably be less scary for humanity too.
So what are your thoughts, kaiju fans? I’m just beyond pumped for Godzilla vs. Kong. This is the kind of movie that needs to be seen in IMAX, so let’s hope some theaters are open by late March. I wouldn’t count on it, but hey, a man can hope.
Follow Us
