Godzilla X Kong's Huge Titan Skeleton Mystery Is Inspiring Some Wild Theories
"Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" blew everyone away at the box office with its kaiju free-for-all. The movie didn't skimp on the monster action because in addition to the two titular giants, "Godzilla x Kong" introduces a new villain named Skar King. The ice-breathing Shimo also factors into the plot quite heavily, while Godzilla fights Tiamat to absorb its powers. That's not even getting into a surprise appearance from Mothra. However, there's a different kind of beast that has fans online scratching their heads.
At one point in the movie, Kong uses a massive skeleton as a bridge. The shot makes Kong look absolutely tiny in comparison, which means this creature dwarfs the likes of Godzilla in size, too. On TikTok, Reddit, and other online forums, people have been debating who this monster could have been and whether there could be another one like it out there somewhere to cause Godzilla and Kong problems down the line.
It's possible the skeleton wasn't meant to be any specific kaiju and is only there because giant monster skeletons are cool. However, here are some intriguing fan theories — from the ones that actually seem pretty likely to the ones that raise some eyebrows but are fascinating nonetheless — about who or what the biggest Titan of all time might have been.
The likely culprits: a Skullcrawler or Warbat
TikToker @TOAA.ABOVE posted the scene and asked what the skeleton might be, with many commenters suggesting it's a giant version of the Skullcrawlers, the monsters seen in 2017's "Kong: Skull Island." The comic "Skull Island: The Birth of Kong" states how these beasts could grow up to 194 feet long and 95 feet in height. The skeleton Kong walks over seems to be substantially bigger than that, but there's a chance a Skullcrawler could have gotten much bigger from exposure to Hollow Earth's energy.
Another good guess comes from a Godzilla online forum, where user Nicozilla suggests, "Maybe a giant warbat because the upper fangs." The skeleton seen in "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire" does have some notable fangs going into the ground, and Warbats have a serpentine shape in line with the skeleton. Warbats have already been introduced in the franchise, with Kong fighting them in 2021's "Godzilla vs. Kong." Similarly to the Skullcrawlers, the Warbats we've seen aren't that big, but the skeleton could have been an exception, perhaps a King Warbat that existed at some point.
It would be cool if the filmmakers behind "Godzilla x Kong" pulled from previous movies to find a monster skeleton suitable to be a bridge, but there's always a possibility it's from a creature that audiences haven't seen. Both Godzilla and Kong are going to need increasingly dangerous threats if the franchise is going to continue, so perhaps the bridge foreshadows a massive creature that hasn't been spotted alive yet.
Less likely: The World Serpent and the Cloverfield monster
While plenty of fan theories draw directly from the existing MonsterVerse, others have had fun with outside-the-box ideas. Redditor u/LivingCheese292 offered one intriguing hypothesis: "Considering that the Monsterverse takes inspiration from real worlds myths and 'monsters' it could honestly also be the world serpent. The giant mythological snake living in the water." The World Serpent, known as Jörmungandr, hails from Norse mythology, and surrounds all of Midgard, aka Earth. While nothing in the MonsterVerse movies suggests that the Norse myths are real, the massive snake-like skeleton makes it only natural that Jörmungandr might come to mind.
Another option in the Reddit thread is Magita, a gigantic Trilopod monster with fangs reminiscent of those on the skeleton. However, since Magita is basically a huge trilobite, it would have an exoskeleton different from the traditional skeleton formation found in "Godzilla x Kong." Hands down, the most bonkers theory to materialize is that the skeleton belongs to the monster from the "Cloverfield" universe. Fans got a bit of exciting news in 2022 that another "Cloverfield" movie could be in the works, but this skeleton coming from that franchise seems like a stretch. After all, the MonsterVerse is owned by Warner Bros., while Paramount is behind the "Cloverfield" films.
Until there's direct confirmation, the identity of the skeleton remains a mystery for now. Regardless of what it is, it brings up the terrifying possibility that the skeleton's owner was killed by something even bigger ... and it could still be lurking out there in Hollow Earth.