The Easter Egg Only Hardcore Kaiju Fans Will Notice In Godzilla Vs. Kong
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Spoilers for Godzilla vs. Kong ahead.
Godzilla vs. Kong isn't just a story about two monsters fighting — though that's surely why some folks are streaming it on HBO Max. Ultimately, it's a story about two monsters working together to fight a third monster who is also a robot. Yes, there are human characters whose hubris leads to the creation of Mechagodzilla thus necessitating a Godzilla and Kong team-up, but really this movie is about the spectacle of monsters having a dust up and absolutely demolishing a major, metropolitan city.
That being said, it's pretty cool seeing the story of Mechagodzilla's creation in Godzilla vs. Kong. Not only does the wealthy and powerful Walter Simmons (Demián Bichir) manage to trick Dr. Nathan Lind (Alexander Skarsgård) into fetching a power source for Mechagodzilla in the incredibly dangerous Hollow Earth, but he also works with Ishirō Serizawa's (Ken Watanabe) son Ren Serizawa (Shun Oguri) to create a version of Mechagodzilla reminiscent of the Jaegers from Pacific Rim. The twist of Mechagodzilla going berserk and potentially being taken over by the mind of King Ghidorah is exciting, but it's also got precedent. Let's go over where the idea for an out-of-control Mechagodzilla originated, something only huge fans of kaiju movies may have realized.
The connection with Kiryu and Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla
Mechagodzilla has been around since the Showa-Era of Toho monster movies. After director Jun Fukuda saw Godzilla face off against Gigan and Megalon, his next picture in the series brought in the mechanical menace that is the other title character in 1974's Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (are we sensing a theme?). And only a year later, Mechagodzilla's popularity was so powerful that original Godzilla director Ishiro Honda returned to the franchise for the first time since 1969's All Monsters Attack to bring Terror of Mechagodzilla to life.
Mechagodzilla has appeared multiple times since then, but it wasn't until his 2002 appearance in Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla that we see the connection to its 2021 storyline. There are two things to know here: that the Godzilla in this movie is not the original one and that the Mechagodzilla is partially made from the bones of the original Godzilla. Just like in Godzilla vs. Kong, the 2002 Mechagodzilla, called Kiryu, loses control. In this case, when Kiryu hears the new Godzilla's iconic roar, the original Godzilla's memories resurface causing it to remember its own death and react in the exact way you would expect — by demolishing the city.
And while it's never confirmed that the 2021 version of Mechagodzilla is being operated by Ghidorah, it is made from Ghidorah's bones and, like Kiryu, loses control. Regardless, of whether or not Mechagodzilla is controlled by Ghidorah or not, it's cool seeing the connection between this story and the one from Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla nearly two decades previous.