When Legendary first debuted its Monsterverse back in 2014, fans were introduced to a new version of TOHO’s famous Kaiju, Godzilla. Godzilla wasn’t the only huge monster it that big revival, however, as fans were also introduced to the giant insect monsters that were dubbed as “MUTO” in the film. But this all changed with the sequel, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, as Monarch came into the film with a whole lot more knowledge about these giant monsters and a whole new name for them on top of it. They were called “Titans” this time around, and director Mike Dougherty explained why.
During a special watchalong for the film with Nerdist, Dougherty took over the film’s official Twitter account and revealed some new details for the big sequel’s world. It’s here that Dougherty explained that the “Titan” classification was created after Monarch identified each of these mysterious creatures.
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First breaking down with MUTO means and why Titan replaced it, “MUTO stands for Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism, so once a creature is identified & classified, it’s technically no longer a MUTO so Monarch had to come up with a new term: Titan.” As for that title specifically, there’s a tie in to their ancient roots.
People have asked why we refer to the creatures as Titans instead of MUTOs or Kaiju. 1) MUTO stands for Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism, so once a creature is identified & classified, it’s technically no longer a MUTO so Monarch had to come up with a new term: Titan.
— Godzilla: King of the Monsters (@GodzillaMovie) April 24, 2020
Dougherty explains further that, “the definition of a Titan matches the history of the creatures as the First Gods and ties back to their ancient mythic roots.” As for why they’re not being called Kaiju like in TOHO’s original take on the franchise, Dougherty revealed that “Kaiju” was already taken by another giant monster movie from Legendary, Pacific Rim, “Kaiju was already taken by [Pacific Rim], but I like the idea that the English translation of Kaiju could be Titan, because then everybody wins.”
The Titan designation was one of the cooler aspects of the Legendary films thus far, and certainly makes it stand out from the original franchise. But what did you think of the Monsterverse’s name for TOHO’s famous Kaiju? Which do you prefer, Titans or Kaiju? Which Titans were your favorite in Godzilla: King of the Monsters? What are you hoping to see in Godzilla vs. Kong? Let us know your thoughts in the comments or talk to me directly about all things anime and other cool things @Valdezology on Twitter!
