Alan Jonah had a personal reason to wake up the Titans and change the world in Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Played by Game of Thrones actor Charles Dance, Alan Jonah was the movie’s main human villain and the leader of the eco-terrorists who hatched a scheme to wake up the Titans of the MonsterVerse.
In the beginning of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Jonah and his men attacked Monarch’s base in China, stole the Orca, and took both Emma (Vera Farmiga) and Madison (Bobby Millie Brown) with them. A briefing with some of the scientists and soldiers at Monarch revealed that Jonah was a mercenary leader who used to be a colonel in the British military. Another scene in the movie revealed that Jonah wasn’t the real mastermind of the plan to unleash the Titans; in fact, Emma came up with the idea – and Jonah put it into motion – in the hopes that setting the Titans free would save the planet.
The movie made it clear why Emma thought this was the only way but didn’t go into detail about Jonah’s reasoning for taking such a drastic step. However, the Godzilla: King of the Monsters novelization sheds some light on the personal tragedy that brought him to this decision. While Jonah was serving in the military, his young daughter Lindy was kidnapped and murdered. Six days passed before her body was finally recovered from a storm drain. This could be the reason why Jonah left the military and became a mercenary – and in turn, it may be why he wants a power shift.
Jonah’s comments in the movie about humans constantly being involved in “one dirty war after another” suggests his experiences in the military already caused him to be disillusioned with the state of the world, but what happened to Lindy took things further and forced him to give up on humanity and give the world back to the Titans. Her death could also explain a key line from Jonah in King of the Monsters: “I’ve seen human nature firsthand. And I’m here to tell you that it doesn’t get any better. It gets worse.” Someone being able to murder a young child like Lindy could be what Jonah was referring to.
The movie itself doesn’t dive too deep into Jonah’s backstory, but it could be that he’ll be explored more in the future. After all, King of the Monsters did turn him into a villain that was both compelling and menacing. A return for Jonah feels not only possible, but likely, assuming that the MonsterVerse is able to continue after Godzilla vs. Kong. Dance doesn’t appear to be part of the sequel’s cast, but the Godzilla: King of the Monsters post-credits scene dropped a major tease when it showed Jonah purchasing King Ghidorah’s severed head. A different group of human villains will presumably take the spotlight in Godzilla vs. Kong, but Alan Jonah could be back with another scheme in Godzilla 3.
Key Release Dates
Godzilla Vs Kong
Release Date:2021-03-31
