Mechagodzilla is undoubtedly one of the coolest aspects of the MonsterVerse. The villain introduced in Godzilla vs. Kong gave us some visually extravagant scenes and proved a tough adversary for the Titans. Surprisingly, the villain was not initially planned for Godzilla vs. Kong but for another MonsterVerse project.
The MonsterVerse is known for bringing cool big-screen spectacles with its projects. Before appearing in the 2021 monster blockbuster, Mechagodzilla was slated to increase the visual appeal of Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
Writer Max Borenstein confirmed that he wanted to introduce the Gundam beast in the monster-studded 2019 Godzilla film, but he agreed that the monster made more sense in Godzilla vs. Kong.
Why was Mechagodzilla not introduced in Godzilla: King of the Monsters?
Despite being pitched as a mega conflict between the two renowned Kaijus, Godzilla vs. Kong featured the two Kaijus teaming up at the end to fight against the Mechagodzilla. The mechanical beast, made from the remains of King Ghidorah, was being mind-controlled by Shun Oguri’s Ren Serizawa until Ghidorah’s subconsciousness hijacked the beast and created a huge mess.
Max Borenstein, who was on the writing team of almost every MonsterVerse film, told Syfy that Mechagodzilla was slated to appear in Godzilla: King of the Monsters. But he agreed that the studio’s decision was better as Godzilla vs. Kong needed an iconic villain to bring both the Kaiju heroes together.
It took a lot of tinkering to get it to work. Initially, in my first draft of ‘Godzilla: [King of the Monsters]’, the piece that was in my version was Mechagodzilla appearing in that film. They punted that, but ultimately, it was cool to see it re-emerge when I came back in on ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’. It made a lot of sense to be there because then you have these two iconic adversaries, but neither one is a villain. So let’s introduce an iconic villain.
As Mechagodzilla was a human-controlled creature, the MonsterVerse writer added that he was the “obvious candidate for creating human conflict and human interaction with the monsters.” According to Borenstein, he was a more perfect “avatar for human agency” than Godzilla or Kong.
What do we know about the MonsterVerse’s future?
The MonsterVerse has shown healthy growth with every passing project. Despite being critical failures, the films never fail to go big at the box office and disappoint the fans. On the other hand, the Apple TV+ series Monarch: The Legacy of Monsters was both a critical hit and garnered good viewership.
The recently released Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire hit it out of the park after collecting a massive $565 million (via The Numbers). It is also the second-highest-grossing flick of 2024. But the Titans universe has reached an interesting place right now after Adam Wingard had to leave the sequel to Godzilla x Kong due to scheduling conflicts.
Nevertheless, the writer of the upcoming film is confirmed to be David Callaham. The writer has worked on a wide range of projects, including the fan-favorites Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse.
Sadly, we could not get an Adam Wingard MonsterVerse trilogy. The director proved that the Monster films can also be enjoyable blockbusters instead of critical favorites. It will be exciting to see if the Marvel writer, with a new director, can give a new direction to the franchise.
All the MonsterVerse projects can be streamed on Max, while Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire can be rented on Apple TV+.
