Godzilla is unquestionably the King of the Monsters, but every king needs a queen and, in the MonsterVerse, that queen is Mothra. Fans of the franchise got a nice little surprise when the beloved kaiju showed up in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire this year, as she was very much hidden from viewers in the marketing. But her appearance did leave some lingering questions given that we did see Mothra die in 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Now, Wingard has cleared things up by confirming a pretty neat detail about Mothra.
The Art of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire hits shelves on June 25 (you can pre-order on Amazon now). The folks at Comicbook.com got an early look at the book and have shared a cool little tidbit from Wingard. The filmmaker addressed the version of Mothra we see in his film, which did indeed leave some questions since we saw Mothra die in the climactic battle of King of the Monsters. Well, it turns out the version we see in New Empire was that one’s mother. As Wingard explained…
“This is essentially Mothra’s mother. The eggs that were laid on the surface were laid by The New Empire‘s version of Mothra and this film establishes that she is the protector of the pathways to the surface which are vortexes. And so, theoretically, this Titan has access to these vortexes and laid eggs on the surface, which is what we saw in King of The Monsters. She is the original one.”
So there we have it! There is an awful lot going on in Godzilla x Kong and, as the climax of the film approaches, it would have been a lot to ask for another info dump explaining the complexities of how Mothra works in the MonsterVerse. It’s a “strap in and enjoy the ride” kind of movie. But what Wingard lays out here does make a pretty fair amount of sense within the universe. Speaking a bit further, he explained it was his dad that got him thinking about Mothra when it came time to approach his films within the franchise.
“When King of the Monsters came out, my dad went to go see the movie, and the first thing he said was how much he loved Mothra and that always stuck with me. That was a character that just instantly, people loved. The other Titans, you want to see them pounding into each other, Mothra is more of an ethereal presence, which we needed in this movie.”
Now, as for Mothra’s on-screen future? This version of the monster did make it out alive so she can certainly show up in future adventures within the MonsterVerse. There is ample opportunity for that to happen. Warner Bros. and Legendary are making a sequel to Godzilla x Kong, though Wingard will not be returning to the director’s chair. Apple TV+ is also moving forward with a second season of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, as well as several spin-off shows set within the universe. So we probably haven’t seen the last of the Queen of the Monsters just yet.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is in theaters and on VOD now. For more, consider picking up a copy of FANGORIA Vol. 2 issue #11, which features Godzilla vs. Kong on the cover.
