MonsterVerse Era Godzilla Films | |||||||
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Godzilla: King of the Monsters
(2019 film)
Alternate Title: | Godzilla: King of Monsters (2019) |
Directed By: | Michael Dougherty |
Music By: | Bear McCreary |
Rating: | PG-13 |
Running Time: | 132 minutesJP and US (2 hours, 12 minutes) |
Aspect Ratio: | 2.35:1 |
Monsters: | Godzilla Mothra Rodan King Ghidorah Methuselah Scylla MUTO Behemoth Kong |
Summary
Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a 2019 American science fiction monster film produced by Legendary Pictures, and the third entry in the MonsterVerse. It was released to American theaters on May 31, 2019.
The sequel to Legendary's Godzilla, King of the Monsters picks up five years later, where many are in favor of exterminating Godzilla and all the other Titans like him. The scientific organization Monarch however believes Godzilla and some other Titans to be benevolent and is against killing them. When the eco-terrorist Alan Jonah and his men steal the ORCA, a sonar device developed to communicate with Titans, Monarch pursues the terrorists to Outpost 32 in Antarctica: the resting place of the colossal Monster Zero. They are unable to stop Monster Zero from being unleashed, after which the three-headed terror awakens many of the other dormant Titans around the globe and bends them to his will. Now, Monarch must work alongside Godzilla and his mystical ally Mothra to stop Monster Zero and his pawns before the entire global ecosystem is destroyed.
Plot
In 2014, Mark and Emma Russell desperately search through the ruins of San Francisco for their son Andrew. As Mark comes to the realization that his son is gone, he witnesses Godzilla emerge from behind a building and walk past.
Five years later, Emma is separated from her husband and lives with her now 12-year-old daughter Madison. Madison receives an email from her father asking to catch up. Upon reading it, Madison initially hesitates before beginning to type a response stating that she is worried about her mother. However, the smoke detector begins to go off as Madison realizes the bacon she was cooking is burning. Emma enters the kitchen and tries to turn the alarm off and asks her daughter what is going on. Madison responds that she was trying to make breakfast, but accidentally overcooked the bacon. Madison closes her laptop before Emma can see it, and says that her father has been contacting her. Emma asks if she has responded, and she replies that she hasn't yet. Emma then informs Madison that she has finally finished her sonar device: the Orca. Suddenly, their apartment is shaken by a deafening screeching noise. Emma is contacted and told that she needs to go to the containment area immediately, prompting her to grab the Orca and leave the apartment with Madison. Their apartment is actually in the middle of China's Yunnan rainforest, just outside of Monarch Outpost 61: the Temple of the Moth.
As Emma and Madison enter the temple, adorned with ornate carvings of a huge moth, they are greeted by Monarch entomologist Dr. Tim Mancini, who informs them that the Titan housed there has suddenly become incredibly active after sleeping peacefully previously. As they enter an observation room overlooking a large chamber, they gaze upon a giant glowing blue egg. As the egg begins pulsating and glowing brighter, it becomes clear that the Titan inside is about to hatch. Soon, a gigantic mass breaks through the egg. As the hatchling sheds the amniotic fluid covering it, it reveals itself as a giant larva. Dr. Mancini introduces it as Titanus Mosura, better known as Mothra. A containment field is activated around the colossal larva, but inexplicably deactivates shortly afterward. Dr. Mancini informs Emma that it seems some outside party is interfering with their systems. As Mothra sees the armed men standing around her, she becomes agitated and lashes out. The men try to stun her with electrical rifles but she proceeds to spit silk at them and thrash about the chamber. Mancini prepares to activate a protocol to kill Mothra, but Emma begs him not to. She runs into the chamber holding the ORCA and gently sets it down in front of Mothra. As Emma tries to set the Orca to the correct frequency, she only enrages Mothra further. Madison rushes to her mother's side, and just as Mothra bears down upon them both, Emma activates the Orca and successfully pacifies Mothra. Mothra's red bioluminescent glow is replaced with the soft blue color she emitted when she hatched, and she backs down. Madison reaches out her hand and touches Mothra's face, with the creature releasing a strong blast of air through her nostrils. The peaceful moment is interrupted by a bomb explosion that strikes the observation room. Armed assailants enter the room and promptly gun down most of the Monarch personnel. Dr. Mancini gets to his feet and surrenders to the attackers, but is promptly shot in the head by their leader.
Meanwhile, Drs. Ishiro Serizawa, Vivienne Graham, and Sam Coleman are speaking before a Senate committee on behalf of Monarch, with Admiral William Stenz and other military officials in attendance as well. Sam explains that they are now witnessing the reemergence of the Titans, and that Godzilla, the MUTOs, and Kong are just the "tip of the iceberg." Monarch believes many such creatures are still in hiding around the world, and could awaken as well. Sam argues that Monarch is specially suited to determine which of the Titans are threats to humanity, and which may be able to protect them. Senator Williams of Hawaii is dismissive of Sam's arguments, believing that the Titans are nothing more than threats that must be dealt with. Serizawa and Graham interject that humanity should try to find a way to coexist with the Titans rather than kill them, effectively forming a symbiotic relationship. Williams sarcastically asks if Monarch intends to make Godzilla humanity's pet, but Serizawa responds that rather they would be his. When Graham and Serizawa receive a digital message about the events which just transpired in China, they excuse themselves from the meeting. Senator Williams angrily calls after them, but Sam attempts to ease the tension by bringing up a presentation on "Titan reproduction," showing a clip of the MUTOs performing their courtship in 2014, before leaving with Serizawa and Graham.
The three travel to Colorado, where Mark Russell now lives in a secluded cabin and photographs wolves. Mark is in the middle of photographing a wolf pack feeding on a deer carcass before they are scared away by the Monarch Osprey. Inside Mark's cabin, the three explain the situation to him. Emma and Madison have been kidnapped by an unknown force, and the Orca has been stolen with them. They convince Mark to accompany them to Monarch's underwater base, Outpost 54: Castle Bravo. Mark is introduced to Monarch scientists Ilene Chen and Rick Stanton, along with G-Team members Col. Diane Foster, Chief Warrant Officer Jackson Barnes, Staff Sergeant Anthony Martinez, and First Lieutenant Lauren Griffin. There, they discuss the situation. Emma and Madison have been kidnapped by a man named Alan Jonah, a misanthropic former British Army colonel and MI6 agent-turned eco-terrorist obsessed with using the Titans to end humanity's reign on Earth. Recently, Jonah has begun trafficking in Titan DNA. Undoubtedly, he now plans to use Emma and the Orca for his own violent agenda. While Monarch initially presumes Jonah aims to use Mothra, who has now cocooned under a waterfall, for this purpose, Mark believes this is a smokescreen and Jonah really has his eyes on a much bigger prize.
Mark's fear is right, as Jonah's terrorist mercenaries have commandeered a Monarch Osprey and flown it to the off-the-books Outpost 32 in Antarctica. Upon landing, Jonah and his men exit calmly before opening fire and killing all of the Monarch guards, while Emma and Madison listen in horror from inside the Osprey. Jonah comes aboard and tells them both to disembark, and they all enter the Outpost. Inside, they are faced with a wall of ice containing what look like frozen serpents. Madison immediately recognizes this Titan as "Monster Zero." Jonah's men begin using machines to drill into the ice while Emma calibrates the Orca to Monster Zero's frequency.
Back at Castle Bravo, Monarch detects Godzilla approaching unusually close to the base. G-Team mans the base's Maser Turrets and prepares to open fire on Godzilla, but Mark tells them to stand down. While Mark wants Godzilla dead as much as anyone else, blaming him for the loss of his son, he says that unless Monarch believes they can win this fight that they have to stand down. Serizawa agrees and tells G-Team to deactivate the turrets. Godzilla's heart rate begins to decrease, and Mark says to lower the shields in order to signal that they are not a threat. While Stanton scoffs at the notion, Serizawa orders the shields to be dropped. As the shields open, everyone sees Godzilla slowly swimming toward them from outside, his dorsal fins emitting a bright blue glow. Graham identifies this as an intimidation display, akin to a gorilla beating its chest. Mark approaches the window to the ocean and watches Godzilla's approach, before the blue glow vanishes and Godzilla seemingly backs off. Everyone breathes a sigh of relief before Godzilla suddenly turns and charges past the base, leaving everyone shaken. Mark asks to see Godzilla's patrol patterns, and says that if he is leaving his hunting grounds he must feel threatened by something. Monarch studies Godzilla's current course and determines he can only be heading to one place: Antarctica.
Monarch follows Godzilla inside their flying flagship the USS Argo, before Godzilla drops from detection. Stanton is certain that this is evidence of Dr. Houston Brooks' Hollow Earth hypothesis; Godzilla is using underground tunnels and pockets to move more quickly. Once the Argo reaches Antarctica, it deploys two Ospreys to Outpost 32. G-Team disembarks and finds the fatalities Jonah's men have left behind. The team enters the Outpost and searches through the long passageway inside, but can find nothing until the terrorists ambush them and open fire. G-Team engages in a firefight with the terrorists as Emma and Madison are escorted out by Jonah and some of his men. Upon seeing a video feed of Emma and Madison inside the outpost, Mark exits his Osprey and grabs a gun from one of the bodies before charging in himself. He fights his way to a catwalk where he comes face to face with Emma and Madison, aiming his gun at Jonah. Col. Foster manages to shoot one of the terrorists, Asher, who was carrying a detonator. To Mark's shock, rather than run to him, Emma and Madison stay with Jonah. Emma grabs the detonator and apologizes to Mark before telling him to run. She presses the detonator, setting off charges planted in the ice and causing it to crack open. Jonah flees with Emma and Madison and gets back into his Osprey, while Mark tries to pursue them in an elevator. However, Mark sees the members of G-Team still struggling to escape and takes the elevator back down to assist them. Aboard Jonah's Osprey, Madison exclaims that they need to go back for her father, but is held back. Jonah tells Emma to wake Monster Zero, and she obliges. Emma activates the Orca and emits a sonar that awakens the long-frozen creature. First, a spiked tail rises from the fissure in the ice, shaking like a rattlesnake's tail. Then, gradually three demonic dragon heads emerge one by one, shaking the ice from themselves. The members of G-Team look up bewildered at the creature before opening fire with their rifles. Monster Zero seems almost intrigued by them, dropping his heads to the ground and observing them. Then, Monster Zero stands up and a yellow glow moves along his necks before each of his mouths spews golden beams of pure bio-electricity, vaporizing several of the soldiers. Barnes and the others retreat to their Osprey, as a blue glow becomes visible underneath the ice. Godzilla bursts out from the ice and challenges Monster Zero, with the two Titans charging at each other. One Osprey is damaged in the battle and unable to take off. The Monarch scientists run to reach G-Team's Osprey amidst Godzilla and Monster Zero's clash. Godzilla fires his atomic breath, but his enemy's heads dodge it and counter with gravity beams that knock Godzilla off the ice shelf. Monster Zero again turns to menace the fleeing humans, and bites down on eats a huge chunk of ice, swallowing Dr. Graham with it. The Argo enters the battle area and opens fire on Monster Zero, who seems to have had enough and takes flight as Godzilla attempts to reenter the battle.
Having been knocked unconscious after a stray missile exploded near him, Mark awakens aboard the Argo. On the bridge, members of Monarch discuss what just happened while Serizawa quietly grieves for Graham. Col. Foster insists that she saw Emma set off the detonator, but Sam is in denial that she would do such a thing. Mark enters the room and interjects that Foster is right: Emma acted of her own volition and was responsible for unleashing Monster Zero. Monster Zero has vanished into a tropical storm over Brazil, while Godzilla appears to be following Jonah's Osprey to Isla de Mara, Mexico: the site of Monarch Outpost 56. Monarch concludes that Jonah and Emma aim to awaken the Titan within the volcano there. The Argo then receives a transmission from Emma, who explains her actions. Human activity has damaged the environment to the point that a mass extinction is inevitable, she says. She believes the Titans are essential to saving the world from the apocalypse mankind has started, but the U.S. government is intent on exterminating them all instead. So, she took matters into her own hands and is awakening them herself before this can happen. Mark and the others are horrified at Emma's actions, accusing her of losing her mind and gambling with billions of innocent lives, but she maintains her resolve and warns them to seek shelter before signing off. Monarch finds that Emma's broadcast did not come from Isla de Mara, but rather the signal is being bounced off of multiple satellites and she could really be anywhere. Matters become worse as Monarch finds that the containment field over the volcano's crater has been deactivated. G-Team lands in the village near Isla de Mara to evacuate civilians before the Titan is unleashed.
In the bunker where they are holed up with Jonah and his men, Madison begs her mother to stop proceeding with this plan. Jonah is infuriated, stating that Emma knew exactly what was going to happen because she approached him and orders her to activate the Orca. Emma tries to ask Jonah to give civilians more time to evacuate, but she is informed that they need to act immediately. Emma apologizes to Madison and activates the Orca, with the sonar being broadcast through speakers at Outpost 56. The terrified civilians in the village below witness the volcano begin to erupt, after which a huge flaming creature emerges from the crater. Dr. Chen informs Mark that according to local legends, the creature is called Rodan, the Fire Demon. G-Team's fighter jets open fire on Rodan, angering him to the point he takes flight and pursues them along with the Argo. As Rodan flies above the nearby village, the resulting shockwave tears buildings from the ground and launches debris, vehicles, and even people into the sky. G-Team saves as many citizens as they can and evacuates them onto an Osprey. While chasing after the Argo, Rodan engages in a dogfight with G-Team's jets, gradually destroying them each by creating a sonic boom, tearing them apart with his talons, and finally performing a spinning maneuver that crushes several jets with his wings. Eventually, only the Argo is left, and Rodan is hot on its heels. Monarch has also determined that the tropical storm into which Monster Zero disappeared is actually being generated by the creature himself, and is heading right toward them. The Argo lures Rodan directly into the storm and dives out of the way before reaching Monster Zero. Rodan initially evades the creature before charging directly at him and attacking. The two monsters tear into each other with their claws and teeth, prompting Stanton to remark that they're killing each other. The G-Team Osprey races to the Argo, but Monarch is unable to open the hangar doors. Monster Zero overpowers Rodan, restraining his wings with his side heads and firing a gravity beam from his middle head that blasts Rodan into the ocean below.
Admiral Stenz contacts the Argo and informs Monarch that the U.S. military is taking over the situation. He says they have developed an experimental chemical weapon, the Oxygen Destroyer, to kill the Titans. The weapon has already been launched and will kill everything in a two-mile radius on impact, so he warns the Argo to evacuate immediately. Mark is able to force open the doors on the Argo and allows the Osprey to make an emergency crash-landing inside of it. While everyone survives the impact, Monster Zero quickly closes in on the Argo. Just before he can reach it, Godzilla leaps from the water and drags Monster Zero under. The two Titans struggle underwater, with Godzilla fighting to keep all three heads submerged. Godzilla is able to bite down on Monster Zero's left head and forcefully tear it off. Despite Godzilla nearly being victorious, the Argo is forced to retreat as the Oxygen Destroyer draws near. The missile carrying the weapon strikes the water where the Titans are fighting, and produces a massive green explosion. The blast produces a mushroom cloud, and when the smoke clears countless dead fish float to the surface. Shortly after, the two-headed Monster Zero flies from the sea, seemingly unaffected by the blast. Godzilla, however, is seriously wounded and begins to sink into the deep, his vital signs dropping drastically. Finally, all signs of Godzilla vanish and Dr. Stanton regretfully informs everyone that he is gone. Serizawa bitterly tells Mark that he finally got his wish.
Monster Zero touches down on the Isla de Mara volcano, where a truly hideous display takes place. An elongated tongue sprouts from the stump where the creature's left head once was, followed by sinews, skull bones, and lumps of flesh which become surrounded in a placenta-like sac. The middle head removes the sac with its mouth as the head beneath it fully regenerates in a matter of moments. Whole once more, Monster Zero shrieks out to the heavens, his call serving as a mass awakening for all of Earth's Titans. The spider-like Scylla emerges from underground in Sedona, Arizona, and the horned, mountain-backed Methuselah erupts from underground near Munich, Germany. It becomes clear that Monster Zero is no ordinary Titan, he has awakened all of the others and seemingly taken command of them. Jonah and Emma observe the mass awakening on a screen in their bunker, with Jonah remarking that he was under the impression they would awaken each Titan individually. Emma replies that she isn't doing this, prompting Jonah to look at Ghidorah on the screen and declare "Long live the king." Rodan lands at the foot of the volcano and submits to Ghidorah, as do the other Titans all around the world. All except one. In China, a Monarch team including Dr. Brooks and Dr. Chen's twin sister Dr. Ling is observing Mothra's cocoon. They both witness the creature's beautiful imago stage emerge from the cocoon and spread her glowing wings from under the waterfall.
Aboard the Argo, Dr. Chen determines from further mythological research that Monster Zero may not be part of the natural order at all. She says that ancient legends called him "Ghidorah, the One Who is Many." A dragon that "fell from the stars," Ghidorah seemingly fought Godzilla in the ancient past as evidenced by cave paintings of the two locked in battle. Monarch therefore concludes that Ghidorah must be an alien creature, explaining his unnatural abilities such as his immunity to the Oxygen Destroyer and his instant regeneration of his missing head. When the Argo reaches Castle Bravo, they find it surrounded by a U.S. Naval fleet. Inside the base, Admiral Stenz addresses the current crisis before Monarch. Titans are assaulting the globe. Not only are Ghidorah, Rodan, Scylla, and Methuselah loose, but others such as the tusked sloth-like Behemoth and the Queen MUTO are on the rampage as well. When Stenz describes the Titans' behavior as "erratic," Chen interjects that he is wrong. Mark explains that they are demonstrating pack behavior. They are all responding to an alpha, Ghidorah. If they can stop Ghidorah, he says, they might stop them all. Unfortunately, the only creature seemingly capable of combating Ghidorah was just killed by the military. Mark prepares to leave Castle Bravo aboard an Osprey to search for Madison himself, but is interrupted by a bright light in the sky. Mark exits the Osprey to get a better look and witnesses the clouds part as the imago Mothra appears in the sky above. Monarch detects that Mothra is emitting a sonar frequency and receiving a response... from Godzilla. They conclude that Godzilla is still alive, and that they have to find him before Ghidorah destroys the world. Mark, Chen, Stanton, and Serizawa depart via a Navy submarine and follow Mothra to Godzilla's location, while G-Team boards the Argo and heads to the U.S. to battle Ghidorah and Rodan alongside the military.
Madison has come to grasp the horror of what her mother unleashed, and takes it upon herself to set things right. After overhearing her mother discuss with Jonah the potential to use the ORCA to control the Titans, she steals it and escapes the bunker where they are hiding in Boston. The submarine comes upon a whirlpool that pulls it deeper underwater. Stanton concludes that this whirlpool is actually an entrance to the Hollow Earth, and is where Godzilla retreated. The doctors are all shocked to see ancient ruins on the ocean floor. Proceeding further, they come upon an entire sunken city. Mark notes that the ruins resemble those of ancient Egypt or Rome, but Stanton states that they are considerably older. Adorning the city's walls are paintings of humans worshiping a figure that is unmistakably Godzilla. Finally, the sub detects an air pocket, and sends drones inside to investigate. They find an incredibly radioactive chamber surrounded by molten lava flows where Godzilla is lying atop a giant altar. They realize that this is Godzilla's lair, and where he goes to recover and feed on the natural radiation. Unfortunately, Godzilla may take years to recover through this process, meaning he won't be able to stop Ghidorah in time. However, it may be possible to accelerate the process by exposing Godzilla to one of the sub's nuclear torpedoes. Unfortunately, the sub sustained damage from the whirlpool and cannot fire its torpedoes. Furthermore, the heat and radiation in Godzilla's lair are so lethal that no one could survive manually placing the warhead and arming it. However, Serizawa declares that he will do it himself.
Meanwhile, Madison makes her way to Fenway Park, where civilians are being evacuated, and attaches the Orca to the stadium's sound system. Serizawa dons a radiation suit to protect him long enough to arm the warhead, and bids farewell to Stanton, Dr. Chen, and Mark. Before leaving, he entrusts Mark with his notes. When Mark asks Serizawa if he is sure about this, he says he firmly believes that Godzilla is not only proof that man can coexist with the Titans, but he is the key to coexistence. Serizawa takes the warhead aboard a smaller submarine and departs. The sub surfaces in the air pocket and Serizawa disembarks. Fighting through the lethal radiation and heat, Serizawa drags the warhead to the top of the altar and arms it. He removes his helmet and approaches Godzilla, who opens his eyes and looks at him. Serizawa gently places his hand on Godzilla's face and says his final words: "Goodbye, old friend." The warhead explodes, annihilating the sunken city and propelling the submarine back to the surface. Mark and Chen exit the sub and look to see if Serizawa was successful. They witness a whirlpool open near them, from which Godzilla emerges fully rejuvenated and pulsing with nuclear energy. Godzilla triumphantly fires his atomic breath into the sky, then leans forward and observes the humans. He briefly locks eyes with Mark before turning and making his way to the East Coast of the U.S. for a final confrontation with Ghidorah.
Upon realizing Madison has taken the Orca, Emma sets out to rescue her. Before she can board a jeep to leave, Jonah and his men surround her. Jonah mocks Emma's preoccupation with finding her daughter over their mission, but she draws a gun on him. Jonah tells his men to let her leave, as they already have everything they need. In Boston, Madison has activated the Orca, which causes the Titans around the world to suddenly cease their rampage. Ghidorah, however, is alerted to the disturbance and makes his way from Washington D.C. to Boston. He is accompanied by a massive storm that sweeps through the city before he lands at the ballpark and searches for the source of the signal. Ghidorah bites down on the loudspeakers and destroys them, then peers into the pressbox to see Madison inside. He charges his gravity beams and fires them, with Madison barely being able to evade the blasts. Madison flees into the center of the stadium but is knocked down by a nearby blast from Ghidorah. She defiantly throws the Orca at Ghidorah, who looks down at Madison and prepares to finish her with his gravity beams before being knocked off his feet by a blast of atomic breath.
Madison turns to see Godzilla triumphantly march into the city, accompanied by a full military escort. After Ghidorah gets back up, Godzilla begins running at his foe and the two Titans collide with each other, producing a shockwave that reaches the Argo. Now back aboard the Argo with the others, Stanton determines that the amount of radiation Godzilla absorbed from the explosion is too great, meaning he will explode like an atomic bomb in about 12 minutes. The priority becomes rescuing Madison before this happens, and Mark accompanies G-Team to Fenway Park inside two Ospreys while Godzilla and Ghidorah battle to the death. Ghidorah begins to gain the upper hand over Godzilla, but Mothra arrives and pins his heads against a building by spitting silk at them. Ghidorah tries to free his heads but Godzilla seizes the opportunity to tackle him through the building. As Godzilla closes in on him, Ghidorah calls out to Rodan, who arrives and attacks Mothra. With Godzilla and Ghidorah fighting on the ground while Mothra and Rodan duel in the sky, Madison seeks refuge in her and her mother's former home in Boston. Back at Fenway, Mark and G-Team cannot find Madison though they do find the damaged ORCA. Emma pulls up in her jeep and orders them all to get in. They are able to track Madison down to the house, and find her unconscious hiding inside a bathtub. Fortunately, she regains consciousness and the family is reunited at last in an embrace.
Rodan seriously injures Mothra by burning her wings, and slams her against a skyscraper. Mothra uses her claws to knock Rodan off the side of the building, but he immediately flies back and pins her on the top of the building. Mothra dodges as Rodan attempts to stab her with his beak, and finally impales him through the chest with her stinger. Rodan looks down in shock as the sting immobilizes him, and he soon falls screaming furiously into the flaming city below. Ghidorah feeds on a nearby electrical transformer, charging his body with electrical energy that he projects from his wings in countless directions. He leaps at Godzilla and restrains him with his legs and tails, and begins pulling him into the air. Ghidorah wraps his middle neck around Godzilla's throat and strangles him until he goes limp, all while flying progressively higher into the sky. After soaring above the clouds, Ghidorah releases Godzilla and sends him plummeting back to the ground. Godzilla strikes the ground lifelessly, and can barely move as Ghidorah lands to finish him off. However, the injured Mothra crawls onto Godzilla and defiantly spreads her wings at Ghidorah. She then flies directly at him, only to be disintegrated by gravity beams from all three of his heads. Mothra's glowing blue energy descends onto Godzilla, causing red cracks to begin to form on his skin. Ghidorah seizes the opportunity and constricts his necks around Godzilla then bites down on him, draining his energy through his mouths. Emma and Mark race to repair the Orca so that Ghidorah can be drawn away from Godzilla before he kills him. Mark, G-Team, and Madison board the Osprey as Emma stays behind to finish calibrating the Orca. Once it is activated, Ghidorah releases Godzilla and begins making his way in the humans' direction. As Ghidorah draws near the Osprey, Emma realizes that it won't be able to escape him with the Orca aboard. She takes the Orca and enters the jeep, causing Ghidorah to chase after her while the Osprey escapes. Ghidorah pursues Emma furiously before destroying the jeep with a gravity beam. Emma is thrown from the vehicle and lands on the ground mortally wounded. As Ghidorah looms over her, she utters the phrase "Long live the king."
Godzilla appears behind Ghidorah, the radiation inside his body built to critical levels to the point his skin is covered in fiery fissures and everything around him melts from the intense heat. Godzilla roars at his nemesis as his dorsal fins spark and glow. A huge nuclear pulse of energy bursts forth from Godzilla, taking the shape of Mothra's wings and making the sound of her screech. The pulse incinerates the flesh from Ghidorah's wings, causing him to reel back. Ghidorah falls onto his back, and frantically fires his gravity beams in retaliation. Godzilla is unaffected this time, however, and emits another pulse that disintegrates both his left and right heads. As Godzilla stomps down on Ghidorah's chest, the energy inside him finally explodes, leveling a huge portion of Boston in a fiery burst of energy. The rubble left behind begins to move, after which the burned but recognizable head of Ghidorah emerges. However, it is soon revealed to be nothing more than Ghidorah's final disembodied head, and is hanging from Godzilla's mouth. Godzilla fires his atomic breath, igniting Ghidorah's head until it finally burns away into nothing. Godzilla turns to see that Scylla, Behemoth, Methuselah, and the Queen MUTO are approaching him, while several smaller Leafwings flutter around him. He prepares to fight again if necessary. Rodan, bearing a massive wound in his chest but still very much alive and mobile, approaches Godzilla and roars up angrily at him. Godzilla stares down at Rodan, and his expression convinces the winged Titan to back down and submit to him. The other Titans follow suit, each "bowing" in their own way to the new King of the Monsters.
In the aftermath of the battle, the Titans have become docile under Godzilla's reign and have helped to rebuild the world's ecosystems. Rodan has nested in a volcano near Fiji, while Monarch has uncovered a new Titan egg that could be another Mothra or something else entirely. Not all is well though, as Skull Island has become unstable and Kong may no longer be able to keep it under control. The waters around Isla de Mara are still contaminated by the Oxygen Destroyer, and local fishermen can no longer make a living. However, one fisherman uncovered something else from the water, something which Jonah and his men have come to Mexico to see. The man leads Jonah into a room, where he shows the object in question: the head Godzilla had torn off of Ghidorah in their second battle. Jonah observes the head with diabolical intent before simply saying "We'll take it."
Japanese Release
Toho released Godzilla: King of the Monsters theatrically in Japan as Godzilla: King of Monsters. While it is the first Godzilla film released during the political Reiwa period of Japan, as an American production it is not considered part of the series' Reiwa era. Whereas the first entry in the MonsterVerse, Godzilla, arrived in Japan over two months after its U.S. release, the sequel was released on the same day, May 31. A Japanese dub for the film was recorded at Toho Studios, with Ken Watanabe, Rieko Takahashi, and Godzilla series veteran actor Katsuhiko Sasaki all reprising their voice roles from the previous film's dub. The rock band [ALEXANDROS] provided a theme song titled "Pray" exclusively for the Japanese-dubbed version of the film, which plays over the end credits in place of "Godzilla." In addition to the dubbed version, the film was also screened in its original English language with Japanese subtitles. A special early screening event for the film was held at the Toho Cinema Shinjuku on Monday, May 27, with a blue carpet ceremony featuring many of the film's staff and cast members taking place beforehand. The theater is located in Hotel Gracery Shinjuku, the site of the Godzilla Head and the premiere of Shin Godzilla in 2016.