Godzilla Vs. Kong: King Kong's Axe Explained
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Contains spoilers for Godzilla vs. Kong
For the first time in Legendary Entertainment's MonsterVerse, the King of Monsters himself shares the screen with the Eighth Wonder of the World in Godzilla vs. Kong. The fourth epic film in the rebooted franchise dropped on March 31, landing both in theaters and on HBO Max. As huge as both of these formidable behemoths of cinema are, the battle between them is a spectacle to behold no matter the size of the screen.
Godzilla vs. Kong takes its audience into a new realm — specifically, Hollow Earth — along with a group of new characters. Alexander Skarsgard (True Blood) joins the cast as reclusive scientist, Nathan Lind, and Rebecca Hall (Iron Man 3) plays Ilene Andrews, an advocate for King Kong who will do whatever it takes to ensure his protection. Millie Bobby Brown returns to reprise her role as Madison Russell, the young woman who sets out to prove that Godzilla's motives for destruction are not what they seem. This time Madison is joined by her friend Josh Valentine, played by young Kiwi actor Julian Dennison (Deadpool 2).
But Godzilla vs. Kong has more than just new cast members and a new story — there's also a nifty new artifact with its own bit of lore to explore. This time, Kong has more than his giant fists to use when pounding away at his enemies, and we're here to talk about the mysterious weapon discovered deep within the bowels of Hollow Earth: King Kong's axe.
The story behind the axe of King Kong
It's not as if King Kong really needs a weapon, given his sheer strength, size, and intimidating presence. Yet the filmmakers of Godzilla vs. Kong decided that the fans needed a new piece of lore to speculate over, and the axe that appears in the movie certainly provides one.
As Kong finds his way back home in Hollow Earth, he discovers a crudely fashioned axe embedded in the skull of a dead creature and picks it up. Later, inside a grand hall within what appears to be an ancient castle, Kong finds an axe-shaped hole in the ground. As soon as Kong places the axe in its place, the room begins to light up and the axe starts to glow.
So just what is this enigmatic weapon, and what special powers does it have? Although they are somewhat keeping mum about the subject, Godzilla vs. Kong's director, Adam Wingard, and writer, Max Borenstein, both spoke with Collider to give fans a few clues. "Yeah, it's something that we just kind of tease at in the movie and hopefully we can explore in later films," hinted Wingard.
Borenstein elaborated a bit further, suggesting that the axe was originally fashioned from the scales of a Godzilla-like creature, which would perhaps explain how Godzilla was able to charge up the axe with his atomic breath at the climax of the film. The writer also suggested that this axe, in particular, was likely made just for Kong. "Presumably there are more like it, but it feels like the iconic scepter of the King," said Borenstein.
The axe is a symbol of Godzilla and Kong's ultimate alliance
It certainly stands to reason that the giant, glowing axe would be a weapon intended for Kong, rather than a happenstance discovery. In the movie's mythology, Kong hails from an ancient and fallen kingdom contained within the Hollow Earth. The very fact that the axe was discovered in this subterranean cavity — and that it interacts with the ancient castle — suggests this deadly artifact might have once been part of the raiments of Kong's station. We're guessing Borenstein's use of the word "scepter" is no coincidence. Borenstein has been one of the main creative influences in Legendary's MonsterVerse since the beginning, so if anyone has the long game in mind, it's him.
Although there may be more axe mythology coming in later films, it still plays a pivotal role in the resolution of Godzilla vs. Kong. The axe is an object that actually unites the two titular monsters. It's an artifact from Kong's buried past, fashioned from the body of Godzilla. In that way, the axe becomes a symbol of their alliance to take down Mechagodzilla. Of course, it's also the literal means of their salvation; in the climactic battle, Godzilla "charges" up the axe with nuclear breath, and Kong swings it for the win.
So when will we get to learn more about the weapon's origins in the deep recesses of MonsterVerse lore? That depends on whether or not the studio decides to make a sequel to Godzilla vs. Kong. "I think the MonsterVerse is at a crossroads where audiences need to vote that they wanna see another one of these films before they continue," Borenstein told Collider.