The Monsterverse has been building to the epic showdown of Godzilla vs Kong for a while, and now it is finally here. The two iconic monsters go head-to-head in the latest HBO Max release, with many fans and critics saying the movie more than delivers on its promise of giant monster fights.
With so much excitement leading up to this moment, there were plenty of fan theories floating around, from speculation behind the reason for the central brawl to ideas for some potential huge twists in the story. Now that the movie is out, fans can see which of these theories were surprisingly close and which were way off the mark.
True: Hollow Earth
A big question about this franchise has been where the monsters came from. While there are unexplored parts of the world, it seems odd that these gigantic beings went unnoticed for so long. Kong: Skull Island introduced the idea of the Hollow Earth theory, which is mentioned briefly in that movie. Fans began to suspect this pocket beneath the Earth’s crust where unknown lands reside would play a role in this movie.
Indeed, not only is the Hollow Earth theory confirmed to be where these monsters come from, but there is actually an extended sequence set there where Kong rediscovers his roots.
False: The Other Titans Are Featured
While Godzilla and Kong are obviously the big names of the franchise, they are far from the only monsters out there. The Godzilla series introduced various beasts known as “titans” which included the likes of Mothra and Rodan. At the end of Godzilla: King of Monsters, Godzilla becomes… well, king of the monsters, leading many to suspect the other titans would show up in this movie.
Oddly enough, the other titans that are known to still be out there are not even mentioned in the movie. Aside from the skull of Ghidorah, it is as if the other titans no longer exist.
True: Battle To Be Alpha
There was a lot of speculation about the cause of the fight between Godzilla and Kong in this movie. While there were many elaborate theories trying to come up with an epic answer, one theory offered the simple answer that these are two alpha beasts looking to establish dominance.
In this case, the simplest answer did turn out to be the correct one. Once Kong leaves Skull Island, Godzilla takes this as a threat to his king status and seeks him out. Kong is not willing to bow to any monster, which sets the conflict between them.
False: Baby Godzilla
Leading up to the match-up, one huge concern was the size difference between Godzilla and Kong. The movies established that Godzilla was a much bigger creature than Kong. However, fans noticed that the trailers showed these two to be of relatively similar sizes. This led to the theory that Godzilla in this movie would actually be a younger spawn of the original monster.
Instead of a baby Godzilla running amok, the movie simply stated that Kong grew over the years. Given that he was last seen in Kong: Skull Island which was set during the Vietnam War, it’s not impossible to imagine he grew that much over the years.
True: Godzilla Is Trying To Stop Apex
Another question that was brought up by the trailers was the fact that Godzilla is seen to be destroying cities and being a threat to humans. This goes against his guardian role in the previous movies. Among the ideas of why he was suddenly becoming destructive was the idea that he was actually trying to stop the villainous Apex organization.
That turned out to be exactly what was going on. Somehow, Godzilla was aware of Apex’s operations and that they planned to challenge him for world dominance.
False: Godzilla Is The Villain
While many theories sought to explain why Godzilla was perceived to have turned bad, one fan theory suggests it wasn’t some misunderstanding. The idea was that Godzilla’s rule as king of the monsters had gone to his lizard head and he becomes corrupted by the power. He becomes the villain of the story while Kong is the hero sent to stop him.
While that might have made for a more interesting and high-stakes showdown, the movie was not ready to suggest that either one of these monsters was actually a bad guy.
True: Ancient War
In both the Kong and the Godzilla movies, there had been teases about the titans’ long history on this earth, including the ancestors of the two titular monsters. This led some fans to speculate that this battle between the two giant monsters was actually continuing an ancient war.
While this doesn’t turn out to be the main reason for their fight, it is explained that Godzilla and Kong have a long hatred for each other and their ancestors have indeed been fighting each other for a long time.
False: One Will Die
As soon as the movie was announced, the biggest and most obvious question became which of these monsters would win the fight. When the marketing for the movie started promoting the tagline, “One will fall,” fans started theorizing that one of the great monsters would actually die during the battle.
In the end, the marketing was a big lie, as neither of the titans died and, in fact, there wasn’t really one clear winner. The movie sort of copped out at the end with the typical move of Godzilla and Kong battling a common enemy together.
True: Mechagodzilla
The Godzilla movies have had a lot of fun bringing in some of the classic monsters from the past Godzilla movies. But there was still one big name missing, as fans waited for Mechagodzilla to appear. While some thought a robot Godzilla was too silly, others suspected the fan-favorite beast might appear in this movie.
Once again, fans were right on the money, as Mechagodzilla becomes the real villain of the story. Developed by Apex to stop Godzilla, the robot goes rogue, leading Godzilla and Kong to take him on together.
False: Fake Godzilla
While the prediction of Mechagodzilla showing up was correct, some theories about what role he would play in the story were too outlandish for even this movie. With the trailer showing a more destructive Godzilla, the theory suggested Mechagodzilla was actually wearing a Godzilla disguise to turn the public against the supposed hero monster.
Thankfully, the movie was wise enough not to go that crazy with its plot, as a robot Godzilla was a hard enough pill to swallow on its own.
