Something tells me Josh is gonna cause some irreversible damage to his own person given he seems to relish killing so much. That can't be a good sign alright.
Anyway, long time coming again but I finally finished the final entry to the Godzilla Anthology, hope you fellas love this version of the Monsterverse
The Godzilla Anthology
The Monsterverse (2014 - Present)
After the success of
Godzilla vs Gamera, Toho retired the franchise for a decade as was planned back during the scrapped Godzilla movie under the tutelage of Babelsberg. Toho's demolition of the pool used for Godzilla's ocean scenes further added to the message of them retiring the character for ten years . In 2012 during the Alexandrian Comic-con a teaser trailer depicting a new Godzilla design was revealed to the world, and with it the official announcement of a Roman Godzilla movie.
The history of the development of the Monsterverse officially begins in 2004 when Yoshimitsu Banno, director of Godzilla vs Hedorah appealed to Toho for plans to direct a spiritual sequel to his film with usage of the new IMAX technology. Colleagues that worked with him during Honda's time got wind of his plans and decided it was at that moment that they gave Banno the green light for his project, but this time to a much grander scale. Banno and Toho's assigned creative team were given the resources necessary for a Roman Godzilla film, with Toho collaborating with Babelsberg. Big named studious were considered and negotiated with, among them Tristar pictures and Hitler Productions. Eventually a final decision was made with Legendary Studious taking the helm. The new Godzilla cinematic universe was named the Monsterverse (Not to be confused with Universal Studios' Monster Universe). Sometime after the 2014 Godzilla reboot was released that same year Legendary would reveal they had acquired the rights to Rodan, Anguirus, Mothra and King Ghidorah around 2013, a year after the Godzilla teaser was shown. Following the release of the trailer for the new Mothra movie, Legendary and Toho would reveal that they also lended the latter company the rights to two other monsters in the Godzilla pantheon, one fighting Mothra in her solo movie while the other has yet to appear.
Initially, Legendary Pictures had made plans to create a film universe in the spirit of Universal's Monster Universe and Toho's Xuantong Era with iconic monsters such as King Kong and the Rhedosaurus and other originals had Toho not agreed to lend the rights of the Godzilla franchise, but with negotiations succeeding (With Yoshimitsu Bannu overseeing in Toho's name), the Monsterverse was created
The new Monsterverse is an ambitious project by Legendary Pictures, the creative team responsible for the development of the franchise were all avid Godzilla fans and have expressed their desire to not only make the series unique to the rest but also pay tribute to the legacy of the Godzilla franchise as well as ensuring Ishiro Honda's final wishes for the franchise be respected. As such the subsequent films tend to go back to the original 1954 film's message of man's folly and how his actions led to tragedy, to both his fellows and to the environment.
Godzilla's design for the monsterverse was also revamped and reworked to fit an idea of a bit of realism to the creature with the Monsterverse version showing to have gills and the posture of a bear with similarities to a komodo dragon. It is also the tallest Godzilla to date with Toho surpassing it eventually with their Shin Godzilla design in 2016 to which amusingly even surpassed that incarnation of Godzilla by a single meter in King of the Monsters.
Production for the series initially hit a wall after the 2014 reboot as while scripts for the immediate sequels (with one catered to the inevitable showdown between King Kong and Godzilla) were written, they were almost cut out immediately due to executive meddling and conflict of interest. Many executives had wanted the series to be more catering to the masses and instead of the slow worldbuilding the team was going for. The Rodan movie in particular was notorious for being stuck in brief development hell despite having already finished fifty percent of the filming, with the reason being that the themes in said movie supposedly cater to the Mexicans and invoking sympathies for the MSC (The protagonist was after all half Roman, half Mexican), Banno and the Toho creative team were also reportedly barred from overseeing the series due to 'conflict of interest'. Toho immediately stepped in after this debacle and sent their own representatives, Legendary did the same to ease the tension. During the leaking of the Sentinel Files, the names of the executives and other personalities involved in the incident were found in said files, this would later lead to the changing of the guard in Legendary Pictures. After this, the creative team responsible for the Monsterverse were given free reign to continue their vision of a slow worldbuilding and respecting Honda's wishes for the franchise. Aside from this, the human element has also been built up, with Dr. Ishiro Serizawa (played by Ken Wattanabe) playing the modern day role of Professor Ru Huizhong as he appeals to the rest of the world of a need to co-exist with the Titans (as the kaijus are officially called in Rodan: Fire Demon and onwards). MONARCH, the modern stand in for the G-Force/Division also plays a significant role in all the subsequent films, usually as the human protagonists whose job is to contain and protect the Titans and enforce a degree of leaving them alone, opposing them are the human supremacist and anti-Titan group, the Children of Adam (Who are seen for the first time in Rodan) who despite their goals, do not have any qualms in attempting to use the titans as both weapons to get their message across and a means to an end. A degree of mysticism and the implication of these Titans being the Gods or guardians of mythologies are also present (With Rodan garnering controversy in MSC controlled Eimerica for the supposed implication of Rodan's status as the Aztec sun god)
MONARCH's insignia in-universe, which also doubles as the logo for the Monsterverse in marketing material. (Logo is not mine obviously)
Despite this however the appeal of seeing these iconic monster fighting on the big screen with the latest technology was one Legendary was not willing to just collect dust; And much like how the Xuantong Era had a very stark difference between the Original 1954 film and Destroy All Monsters, so too did the 2014 Reboot and its latest entry to the franchise, Godzilla vs Kong. Honda's wishes were still respected by the time the latest movie was released albeit kept in as a secondary (but still important) plot. As of the release of Godzilla vs Kong back in 2024, there is still no news as to how the Monsterverse will go from there since the film in question was made to be a swan song for the Monsterverse should Legendary fail to renew the rights to the monsters. Many avid fans, casual viewers and critics began to clamor for the continuation of the plotlines built up since the 2014 reboot. Mikhael Dougherty, director of King of the Monsters also expressed interest in filming a movie in the ancient humanity setting to show how they survived and came to worship the Titans as well as humanity's first encounter with Godzilla and the christening of their relationship with said Titan. But as of this year, there is still no further news concerning the continuation of the Monsterverse….
- Excerpt taken from Godzilla: A Cinematic Legacy of Destruction by Professor Ioannes Mouzalon, film analyst major, University of Antioch
Below are the films for the Monsterverse:
Godzilla (2014) - A nuclear 'test' in the Pacific Ocean by the Reich supposedly awakens a creature. Decades later an incident occurs in an abandoned Japanese nuclear plant as a humongous creature awakens from slumber, culminating in the awakening of another creature made from Nature's elements, a great battle occurs in Adamshaven and ultimately ending in Jinshan; In the aftermath, the world is suddenly awakened to the reality of giant monsters, and the implication that humanity were not the masters of the planet. (Same as OTL, except the Brody family is replaced by Chinese actors, with the father of the soldier surviving his injuries and ends up working in MONARCH).
Anguirus the Unbelievable (2015) - Sometime around 1955, at the height of the Cold War, the Russian Commune unearth frozen remains of huge creatures in Siberia, alongside a cavern that presumably leads to another world. Plans are made by the Politburo to use these new resources to further the revolution. China and the Reich, having agreed to a truce, sent representatives in order to appeal to the Commune of the dangers of meddling with forces beyond their comprehension. Among the representatives is Dr. Ewelina Grzalak, a Polish biologist (And Ishiro's mother)and her assistant, a young Willhelm 'Bill' Randa. The meeting ends in failure as the Commune unleashes more creatures from the cavern despite warnings, causing panic as they wreak havoc and terrorize the area (An infamous scene depicts the devouring of the Soviet Chairman by one of these creatures in homage to the original Varan movie). Once one of the creatures frozen is revealed to be alive and attributed to be the enemy of those from the cavern, plans are made by the survivors to utilize the creature in not only dealing with the invaders but also sealing the entrance. The movie ends with the cavern collapsing and the creature, dubbed as 'Anguirus' having died with it. The ending scene is of Ishiro Serizawa and several others watching a declassified recording of the testimony of the Roman survivors, among them being his mother. A post credit scene has Ishiro preparing for his court hearing alongside his fellow MONARCH colleagues in regards to state secrets the organization has.
Rodan: Fire Demon (2017) - In Ancient Earth, somewhere in the Eimericas, humans dressed in a combination of Mesoeimerican, European and Asian clothing are seen fleeing from signs of battle and ultimately bear witness to a titanic struggle between a serpent-like creature and a winged creature, which ends with the serpent dead, and its body grasped by the wing creature as it perches on a branch of a collapsed giant tree. It stops feeding on the corpse and looks at the humans that were watching it, its eyes intelligent and full of wisdom.
Cut to the present as it shows the opening scene as the dream of protagonist Ludwig Erentzal, a half Roman, half Mexican soldier serving in the peacekeeping forces in contested Eimerican territory. He faces discrimination from several of his Roman countrymen and from MSC prisoners of war who call him a traitor. While he does his duties with fervent patriotism, he is sent home after getting honorably discharged when he gets into a fight with a superior officer after he tried protecting his views on agreeing with Serizawa's statement of coexistence with the Titans.
Meanwhile MONARCH is under investigation after the Sentinel files leaked out the locations of facilities the organization had constructed to study the slumbering Titans. One of these facilities in Scandinavia is suddenly invaded by an armed group of people and taken over. After introducing themselves to the surviving MONARCH captives as the Children of Adam, they unleash the slumbering titan the organization was studying with explosives. And out awakens a serpent-like creature the invading group and MONARCH refer to as the Jormungändr, so named after the World Serpent of the Norse religion. The titan then proceeded to wreak havoc across the Scandinavian Empire.
Meanwhile Ludwig arrives back in his hometown in the Italian province of the Reich, opting to reconnect with his family, especially his father's Nahuatl side. During a brief conversation with his paternal grandfather, the old man recounts tales Ludwig loved as a child, mostly concerning the Aztec sun god Huitzilopochtli and the founding of the city of Tenochtitlan. Ludwig then tells his grandfather of a recurring dream he has with the old man smiling and remarking that he too had a similar dream. And that it was presumably genetic as the old man's father and grandfather had the same dreams as well. Whatever conversation both had would be stopped when a sudden eruption of Mount Etna occurs. Before they could even register what's going on, a giant creature emerges from the crater, letting out a terrible roar, everybody within sight of the volcano witnesses a pterodactyl-like creature emerging, its head covered in lava. Local Roman military forces would then attempt to engage the creature only to be repulsed as it takes to the skies, destroying its surroundings with ease. Ludwig, having seen the creature in his dreams deduces that he has a connection to it and pursues the creature.
Serizawa is then seen on television, reassuring the populace that MONARCH was doing everything they can to not only contain the titan let loose in Scandinavia but also the one causing a mess in Italy. Massive evacuation orders are planned as Roman citizens scramble to get to safety, MONARCH deduces that both Titans will have a collision course somewhere in the province of Gaul. And they were right, both Rodan and the Jormungändr make contact in the city of Orleans and engage in a titanic clash, with the Jormungändr fleeing south to Hispania with Rodan in pursuit. The aftermath leaves the city devastated alongside the surrounding areas, MONARCH is under threat of being dissolved by the UN entirely because of this as well as endangering its members (who are from different parts of the world). Ludwig meanwhile arrives in devastated Orleans and sets about finding clues as to why the titans were behaving like that. By a stroke of luck he runs into a warehouse where he spots MONARCH captives under guard. He then overhears the supposed leader of the group telling the captives that they plan to use the animosity both Titans have to wreak havoc in the Reich and cause so much devastation that it will cripple the Reich's ability to project itself across the world, thus leaving the rest of the UN no choice but to exterminate all the titans. The group then intends to leave the captives in the city where the titans will clash for one final time. Ludwig follows in pursuit. Hispania meanwhile is devastated as Rodan and the Jormungändr continue their battle until finally it comes down to one final clash over the city of Cordoba.
As the titans battle to the death, Ludwig continues his pursuit of freeing the Monarch captives, taking advantage of the chaos the titans were doing, here he gets lucky in freeing the captives and helps them subduing their captors. Ludwig then confronts the supposed leader of the captors and is shocked to learn he is a Meskawi. The leader remarked that he was drawn to the familiarity between himself and Rodan, remarking the Titan's similarities to the Thunderbird. He reveals knowledge of Rodan's species having a rivalry with the Jormungändr serpents which is the reason why both were so keen on destroying the other. He goes on to say that while the titans were deserving of worship in the days of ancient humanity, that was no longer the case in the modern world, he remarks that humanity will be the gods of the new age, and the titans will do their bidding, or if they fail at that, be destroyed by humanity. Ludwig, unfazed by the speech, declares the leader and his group terrorists to be brought to justice. They would fight right there, their ideals clashing, outside the building, Rodan continued its battle against the Jormungändr until finally, one emerged victorious once and for all. Ludwig manages to kill the leader who in his final moments warns Ludwig that the titans' awakening were just the beginning of a battle of survival. Outside, Rodan is triumphant as soon as it finishes off the Jormungändr, bringing the battle to an end.
As dawn rises over the ruined city of Cordoba, Ludwig and several of the MONARCH captives emerge from a building spared from the devastation, having defeated the Children of Adam's members and witnesses Rodan feeding upon the remains of the Jormungändr serpent, a scene mirroring the opening one. Rodan then notices Ludwig, both the opening and this scene then simultaneously play out, with Rodan creeping closer to the soldier until his beak is just meters away from Ludwig, and mirroring his distant ancestor, Ludwig touches the Titan's beak, smiling at the titan as he whispered Aztec words at it. The Roman legions then promptly surround the titan who simply stares at their actions in confusion and curiosity. Ludwig surrenders himself to a few soldiers after showing them the location of the defeated Children of Adam members and most MONARCH captives. The film ends as Ludwig is then seen being recruited by MONARCH for their G-Team armed forces not only for his skills as a soldier but also a familiarity to Rodan. Rodan meanwhile is shown being transported on a Roman carrier bound for the coast of West Africa, far away from the Reich's urban centers. As the first of the credits roll by, a scene plays in the ruined city of Orleans, two figures get out of their vehicles and discuss on a way to deal with the titans, one of them pull out dossiers of persons of interest, one of which shows Zhou Jian, the man responsible for tracking the MUTOs. A post credit scene then shifts to a dig site in China where Zhou Jian is shown sharing a conversation with seismologist and MONARCH veteran member Isaakios Brooks on his experience with the organization, with the older man chuckling at the other man's awe at what the organization had been doing since the 70s, even during the Cold War. Jian then insists Brooks on telling him about the 'expedition' some time. Brooks smiles as he shows him a journal he kept that recorded everything but just as he is about to give it to Jian, they are interrupted when one of the miners runs up to the tent both men were in and remarks they have found 'it'. Both men then get up from their seats and follow the miner, the camera however remains on where they sat, and then slowly zooms over to Brooks' journal, a slight breeze opens it, with the words 'Skull Island Expedition' being briefly seen as the scene abruptly ends.
Kong: Skull Island (2018) - As the Siam War draws to a close with Roman forces pulling out of the country, a unit of soldiers are recruited by MONARCH (led by an older Willhelm Randa) in an expedition to a mythical island in the Pacific. There they get more than they bargained for and must fight their way out to survive the Island's otherworldly elements and its natives (Same plot as in OTL).
Mothra: Guardian of Earth (2020) - As the Reich attempts to recover following Rodan's victory in Cordoba, a pollution crisis occurs all over Africa as rumors of a radiated creature made up of smog terrorizes and completely disrupts the environment. MONARCH is somehow blamed for causing the crisis, meanwhile the cries of the Roman citizens would awaken an ancient Titan from her slumber; Mothra had answered their prayers. Zhou Jian, the deuteragonist in the 2014 reboot returns and would fill in the role of Dr. Kyohei Chujo of the Xuantong era, joining him is Markos Russel (played by
Breaking Bad actor Bryan Cranston) and his wife paleontologist Emma Russel (same actress as in OTL). The trio would unveil to MONARCH a device they had been working on since Godzilla's appearance. A device capable of emitting the frequency used by the Titans and perhaps maybe able to bring them to heel.
Mothra would ultimately die after Hedorah's final defeat, however one of the MONARCH members whose connections to Mothra runs deep remarks that she will be reborn again. Emma Russel meanwhile heads to the base MONARCH had built in Antarctica, keen on observing the latest Titan they had been housing since 2016. Markos would leave MONARCH, citing to Jian how he feels disgusted that the instrument they were working on was copied by the Children of Adam and used to terrorize all of Africa. (The movie would be posthumously dedicated to Banno, who had died of old age the year prior as production was wrapping up, his vision of directing a spiritual sequel to his film finally realized albeit with Mothra fighting Hedorah instead)
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2022): Ten years after Godzilla's first appearance has tremendously changed the very planet as more Titans are known to the public. But as MONARCH and Ishiro Serizawa attempt to assure the rest of the world of the benefits of co existing with these creatures, human supremacists and the Children of Adam launch an assault on one particular MONARCH facility, the consequences of their actions results in threatening not only man's dominion over the planet but Godzilla's status as the Alpha Titan. Serizawa leads a new generation of MONARCH members (alongside older versions of those from the Cold War segments) to deal with the upcoming crisis, among these is biologist Markos Russel, having returned to MONARCH after briefly retiring following the events of the Mothra film.
Godzilla vs Kong (2024): Two Years have passed since Godzilla defeated King Ghidorah as well as MONARCH foiling the Children of Adam's plans of Titan genocide and the world is rapidly changing as technology advances and the planet starts healing itself after contributions from the other Titans. However all is not well when Godzilla attacks an Apex (A Tesla partnered robotics company) facility off the coast of Morocco, causing alarm to the Global community. With Mothra's egg still unhatched and fearing the other titans will follow Godzilla's rampage, MONARCH is forced to turn to their only hope to stop Godzilla. An older and mature Kong. As the world braces itself for the inevitable showdown, the remnants of the Children of Adam initiate plans to pave the way for humanity to be the alpha once and for all.
The stage is set as these two Alpha Titans clash for dominance. One thing is clear, What is a King to a God? And what is a God, to a non believer?
Tie-in comics and a four season tv series were also released to bridge the gap between these movies as well as further build up the Monsterverse in a way that would not be possible by cramming said elements to 2 hours worth of screentime:
Godzilla: Aftermath - A prequel tie-in comic for the 2014 reboot and set during the Castle Bravo testing, Godzilla is shown fighting off other creatures awakened by humanity as the Reich attempts to kill both Godzilla and the other monsters. The comic introduces Dr. Eiji Serizawa, Ishiro's father and one of the founding members of MONARCH.
Rodan: Call of the Ancients - Set during the twilight days of the ancient Mu Empire, a cult dedicated to Rodan attempts to call upon the titan as the Jörmungandr serpent descends upon the Muian civilization. The backdrop also includes a supposed ancient war between Godzilla and a foreign monster (Later revealed in KOTM to be Ghidorah).
Skull Island: The Reign of Kong - Follows the events leading to Kong being the last of his kind due to Skullcrawler attacks. The comic also acts as a sequel as an expedition in the 90's leads to MONARCH returning to the island and finding a much older Kong.
Godzilla: Aftershock - Set a year after dealing with the MUTOs, Godzilla comes face to face with an opponent that killed one of its species, a MUTO prime, in several battles where it is nearly killed, Godzilla suffers severe injuries (one of which had its dorsal plates deformed) before finally killing the MUTO prime with MONARCH's help. The severe injuries sustained during the fights forces Godzilla to retreat to its sanctum and hibernates there for nearly a decade. (Thus explaining its absence till KOTM).
The MONARCH Files - A four season tv series going over the world of the Monsterverse from the organization's point of view, worldbuilding is more prominent here as the series goes over subjects that would have not made it to the movies, some major elements include the organization's founding in the 1970s, the files going over the ruins of ancient human civilization. Videos and recordings of the everyday man during the rampage of the Titans. By the third season however, the series has abandoned its quasi documentary style in favor of a plotline, the first half of the third sets up the events leading to King of the Monsters (Including Emma Russel slowly going insane due to exposure to Ghidorah's frozen remains), the second half goes over what the rest of MONARCH had been doing during Ghidorah's reign of terror. The fourth meanwhile builds up the two year gap between KOTM and GvK as the world now has to deal with the reality of living with the titans as well as Serizawa's legacy and message being realized by MONARCH. A fifth season is rumoured to be currently in production as a leaked image of the set of MONARCH's flying headquarters showed Bryan Cranston conversing with actor Jean Reno. Rumors are also circulating of bringing the Rhedosaurus (the so-called Roman Godzilla) into the Monsterverse as well.