The Ending Of Godzilla Vs. Kong Explained
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The year is 1962. Japanese cineplexes are filled to the brim with audience members who are champing at the bit to watch two titans of the silver screen — King Kong and Godzilla — finally engage in a battle of fisticuffs with the classic King Kong vs. Godzilla. After falling off a cliff, King Kong is the only monster we see emerge from the water below at the end of the film, making him the presumptive winner of that bout. Naturally, Godzilla couldn't take that defeat lying down, and we're finally seeing a rematch 60 years in the making with Godzilla vs Kong.
Instead of guys in rubber suits punching each other, the two beasts are brought to life using state-of-the-art CGI, allowing them to fight one another in a manner befitting their respective legacies. Whether you're able to catch the flick on the big screen or at home on HBO Max, there are plenty of moments in the film to make you pump your fist in the air. It's a movie about a giant ape fighting a giant radioactive lizard, and that really does sum up most of the plot audiences will care about. By the looks of it, critics are raving about Godzilla vs. Kong.
Everything gets wrapped up pretty tidily by the end, but there may be some lingering questions about how the movie sets up the future of the MonsterVerse. But never fear! We're here to explain the show-stopping finale in case there was anything that was more confusing than seeing a podcaster actually be correct about a conspiracy theory.
The King of Monsters reigns supreme
For months, people have been debating online about who would emerge victorious. Would Godzilla lay down the hurt with his atomic breath? Would King Kong offer the upset of the century with a surprise blowout? There are essentially three different "rounds" throughout the movie between the two, but in the end, Godzilla proves he's the toughest around by knocking Kong out. While Kong's able to get a few good hits in and is able to use his shiny, new axe to powerful effect, Godzilla starts clawing at Kong's chest, pinning him to the ground where the two growl at each other before Godzilla ultimately walks away.
We obviously don't know what the two titans are saying to one another, but our best guess is that Godzilla was trying to exert dominance. You could almost view it as Godzilla yelling, "Submit!" And eventually, Kong acquiesces. At that point, there's no need for the God of Destruction to deal the fatal blow for himself, as he's already established himself as the alpha. It turned out to be a fortuitous decision on Godzilla's part, as Kong lent a necessary assist when Mechagodzilla came into the picture, but more on that later.
The moment in which Godzilla becomes the clear winner is an emotional one, and it's a significant beat that wasn't lost on director Adam Wingard. In an interview with SlashFilm, Wingard said "It's a very long moment in the film because they roar for a while. Every time I watch it, I'm like, 'This is what it's all about. All the work, the three years that I put into this thing. All the heartache and the worry, it's all worth it for this one moment right here, because this is what everybody's paying to see.' It's so cool." We've known for a while the movie wouldn't sidestep the central premise by having a draw or anything. There was always going to be a definitive winner between Godzilla and Kong, and to see it play out was a moment truly worthy of the big screen.
The true winner in Godzilla vs. Kong is friendship
Remember in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice when Batman and Superman stop fighting so that they can deal with the bigger threat of Doomsday? Well, something similar happens in Godzilla vs. Kong. No, Kong doesn't tell Godzilla to save Mothra, which forces Godzilla to scream, "Why did you say that name?" Instead, we get the big reveal that the sketchy Apex Corporation has been working on their own titan, namely Mechagodzilla, to take out any monsters in its path. The robot proves too much for Godzilla to handle on its own, so King Kong has to get back into the fight to lend a hand.
Despite having an ancient rivalry, the two are able to set aside their differences so that they can lay down the law, and the only way they're able to defeat the robot is by working together. The big lizard supes up Kong's axe with its atomic breath, powering it up and making it strong enough for Kong to turn Mechagodzilla into robotic sashimi. The titans may go their separate ways by the end of the movie, but it's clear there's a level of respect. They're probably going to leave each other alone moving forward, and it does raise some questions about how a theoretical Godzilla vs. Kong 2 would play out and what could make them hate each other once again.
Humanity has breached Hollow Earth
Throughout the MonsterVerse movies, particularly Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Kong: Skull Island, there have been references to a primordial realm known as Hollow Earth. We finally get to see this hidden side of the planet in Godzilla vs. Kong as researchers Dr. Nathan Lind (Alexander Skarsgård) and Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall) lead an expedition to discover what's really beneath Earth's surface. Of course, their journey proves to have just been a ruse set up by those at the Apex Corporation to harness the energy necessary to fully power Mechagodzilla. All of the bad guys meet their demises by the end of the movie, but as the final scene showcases, we're not done with Hollow Earth just yet.
By the looks of it, Kong's now living where he belongs, and Monarch has set up a full-scale research site in a tucked-away area, hopefully away from the various monsters and creepy-crawlies lurking about. Considering there are a ton of people in the scene, it's safe to say they've found more HEAVs to more easily transport others from the surface world to Hollow Earth. This sets up the possibility of being able to go back-and-forth between the two areas, potentially even allowing King Kong to return to the surface in case Godzilla needs another hand taking down some more sinister beings. For now, Kong is home, no longer confined to the enclosed area of Skull Island. He can roam about as he pleases, and given his stance at the end, it's safe to say he's one happy ape.
The future of the MonsterVerse is left open-ended
The last scene of the film shows Kong back in Hollow Earth, and presumably, he's going to stay there while Godzilla remains on the surface. That allows them to be the kings of their respective domains, but it doesn't mean more monsters couldn't come to the forefront for future installments. The one thing that's abundantly clear as of this point is that the franchise hasn't tied itself down to a singular direction as of this juncture. There were rumors Godzilla vs. Kong would include a post-credits scene, but as anyone who sat through the credits can tell you, no such scene emerges. Some speculated that this additional scene could tie the MonsterVerse into the Pacific Rim movies and open the doors for giant mechs to go toe-to-toe with the King of the Monsters. Other theories put forth that the extra scene could hint at which monster Godzilla will go up against next. As it stands, the film doesn't really hint at what a sequel would entail, and, according to Wingard, that was very much intentional.
In an interview with Dread Central, the director mentions that they actually did shoot a post-credits scene, but as he explains, "It kind of got cannibalized and ended up sort of being the end of the movie. We used it in a slightly different context than it was originally shot for." He goes on to elaborate, "If a movie is totally contingent on a sequel then you are just talking about the next thing that is coming up and you can't totally enjoy that ride." As of right now, no other MonsterVerse movies have been announced, likely until Warner Bros. is able to figure out how profitable Godzilla vs. Kong ends up being.
What could the future of the MonsterVerse entail?
Having Godzilla and King Kong fight each other really feels like an Endgame-level event, in the sense that it's hard to figure out where exactly the franchise goes from here. There's definitely no shortage of kaiju from the original Toho films for Warner Bros. to utilize, from Gigan to the Gargantuas, but those just kind of seem like small potatoes after watching Godzilla take on a robotic version of itself. Multiple monsters could always team up together to take on the Primeval Champion, but we already basically saw that with King of the Monsters when Rodan and King Ghidorah emerged to try to become alphas.
Looking at what Wingard further told Dread Central, it's really up in the air at the moment: "The MonsterVerse is at a crossroads now. It's really at the point where audiences have to kind of step forward and vote for more of these things." Honestly, it would be pretty neat if future installments looked toward some of the discarded Godzilla movie ideas of the past, such as when the monster had to take on a giant Frankenstein's monster. There was also an idea years ago to bring body horror into this universe with an alien threat coming into the picture that would add some interesting wrinkles to the MonsterVerse, and with that in mind, all we can think about is getting Possessor director Brandon Cronenberg to direct such a film.
Now that Godzilla and Kong have fought, anything is really possible, and we just hope the studio continues pushing the boundaries and getting even weirder with the future of the MonsterVerse.