Godzilla: King of the Monsters is now in theaters, and everyone wants to know what the scene after the credits means. Not only does the movie bring the fans an giant monster mayhem infused sequel to Gareth Edwards 2014 reboot film, it also establishes a crucial bridge between the past and future of Warner Bros.’ Monsterverse universe. On that front, Godzilla 2 spends a lot of time setting the franchise up for the future (and its big Godzilla vs. Kong crossover film) – and that includes the Marvel-style post-credits scenes attached to the film!
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Obviously you should be warned (and wary) that Major Spoilers are about to follow – so read only if you want to know!
The first credits sequence only *kind of* counts as a button scene: the initial credits sequence runs alongside a montage of news clippings and broadcasts, which serve to quickly push us out of the events of King of the Monsters, and set the stage for Godzilla vs. Kong‘s storyline. Basically, after a lot of controversy surrounding Monarch, the organization makes its true knowledge of the Titans public. Hints are dropped that the fatally-injured Mothra could be regenerating via cocoon; a mysterious egg appearing on Skull Island, and all of the Titans leaving Washington D.C., headed for Skull Island. This all leads to an ominous cave painting, which depicts just how ancient Godzilla and Kong’s rivalry for the crown really is. However, there’s also hint that the Kong we meet in the next film won’t be the same one from Kong: Skull Island; instead, it will be a more powerful Kong that we meet.
King of the Monsters’ official post-credits scene picks up with the film’s human villain, militant mercenary Alan Jonah (Charles Dance). Throughout Godzilla 2, Jonah’s group tries obtain Titan DNA, which has become a serious commodity on the black market; well they finally achieve their goal in the post-credits scene, as a black market seller leads Jonah and Co. to a top-shelf item: one severed head of Ghidorah.
In King of the Monsters it’s revealed that Ghidorah’s origins are extraterrestrial in nature (he’s an alien, a classic Toho origin for the beast), and that the beast has uncanny regenerative powers. During the emergence of Rodan in Mexico, a fight between Godzilla and Ghidorah results in Godzilla biting off one of Ghidorah’s three heads. The dragon is able to regenerate the lost head, but the severed one was seemingly lost in the ocean – until the post-credits scene reveals it was found by a surviving fisherman.
Now that Jonah has Ghidorah’s head, it sets an ominous precedent for the future of the franchise. Longtime Godzilla fans know that the DNA in Ghidorah’s dead-head can be utilized in one of two horrific ways:
- Cloning Ghidorah
- Using the DNA to develop a new bio-weapon, tech weapon, or (most likely) a bio-tech weapon.
In fact, this post-credits scene is a deep-cut throwback to Toho history. The ’90s Heisei Era of the franchise saw storylines where Ghidorah is transformed into Mecha-King Ghidorah to fight Godzilla (Godzilla v. King Ghidorah), as well as one where Mecha-King Ghidorah’s DNA is used to create Mechagodzilla (Godzila vs. Mechagodzilla II).
It’s hard to say if the King of the Monsters post-credits scene is setting up such possible storylines for Godzilla vs. Kong or Godzilla 3 – but if we had to guess, it’s probably the former. Having Mech versions of Ghidorah and/or Godzilla show up in Godzilla vs. Kong would give the film an easy out: Godzilla and Kong fight, but ultimately set aside their differences to take out the Mech beasts that Jonah (or whomever he sells Ghidorah’s head to) creates to stop the Titan threat.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters is now in theaters. Godzilla vs. Kong hits theaters on March 13, 2020.
