Godzilla x Kong’s Sequel Tease Makes A Classic Toho Villain Perfect For Godzilla’s Next Movie

Summary

• Director Adam Wingard has hinted at a
  Godzilla X Kong
  sequel, setting the stage for a classic Toho villain to enter the Monsterverse.
• The focus on Kong’s history in the latest entry could lead to a similar exploration of Godzilla’s backstory in a sequel.
• Hedorah could be the perfect villain for a Godzilla-centric movie, embodying the destruction of the natural world.

Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire director Adam Wingard has already teased a sequel to 2024’s epic Titan clash, and it sets the stage for a classic Toho villain to enter the Monsterverse. The latest entry into the Monsterverse saw the two most iconic monsters in cinema team up against a world-ending threat in the form of two Titans who weren’t pulled from Toho’s stable of monsters, Shimo the ice dragon and the tyrannical ape Skar King. The story focused largely on the history of Kong, and ended with him finally earning his proper title after 83 years.

Following the release of Godzilla X Kong, director Adam Wingard hs stated his interest in adding the final chapter in what he envisions as his own trilogy for the Monsterverse. While both Godzilla X Kong and Godzilla vs. Kong focused heavily on Kong’s journey and evolution, Wingard has indicated that he’d like to do something similar with Godzilla’s backstory in a sequel. The King of the Monsters would have his lore adapted to match the expanding narrative of the Monsterverse, but it would also provide an opportunity to bring back one of Godzilla’s original villains from the Showa Era.

The Monsterverse’s Next Movie Should Feature Hedorah

The wacky classic villain should be updated with a modern design.

1971’s Godzilla vs. Hedorah featured the radioactive lizard squaring off against Hedorah, an extraterrestrial who evolves over the course of the movie. The bizarre Hedorah came to Earth on a comet, starting as a tadpole-like creature before growing into a massive kaiju by feeding on the Earth’s pollution. Over the course of his evolution, Hedorah took a flying form that spread toxic mist wherever he went, and ended up as a massive bipedal smog monster that was far larger than even Godzilla.

Hedorah is seen in five different forms in
Godzilla vs. Hedorah
: his Initial Stage, Aquatic Stage, Landing Stage, Flying Stage, and Perfect Stage.

Hedorah is famously one of Godzilla’s more dangerous enemies from the Showa Era, as he not only kills thousands of people with his toxic mist, but he does severe damage to Godzilla with its poisonous body and eye bolts. The walking pile of sludge was finally destroyed by a combination of Godzilla’s atomic ray, his physical attacks and a human-made electric device that helped dehydrate Hedorah. It’s noted at the end of the fight that while Hedorah was defeated, ongoing human pollution makes the creation of a new Hedorah an ever-looming possibility.

Why Hedorah Would Fit So Well In the Monsterverse

He is a natural foil for Godzilla in his role as the protector of nature.

After numerous mentions in the Monsterverse, Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire finally spelled out the historical Titan hierarchy: the apes protected humanity while Godzilla protected nature. As the alpha Titan, Godzilla maintains order on the surface world, as evidenced by his battle with a powered-up Scylla in Rome. That role is what makes Hedorah the perfect villain for a Godzilla-centric sequel; Hedorah is not only not an alien, and therefore not part of the natural order, his deadliness is a direct result of human pollution. Hedorah embodies the destruction of the natural world that Godzilla is supposed to protect.

Hedorah’s story echoes Ghidorah’s, as they are both aliens who could cause damage to the Earth on an unimaginable scale. However, while Ghidorah landed on Earth in his final destructive form, Hedorah’s evolution is a direct result of humans ravaging the planet for centuries. It would be a great callback to Dr. Emma Russell in Godzilla: King of the Monsters, whose entire mission was to restore the Earth’s natural order by reversing the damage humans have done. Hedorah’s existing lore makes him an ideal enemy for a movie focused on Godzilla’s role as the Earth’s protector.

How Hedorah Could Appear In the Monsterverse

Hedorah’s lore would blend nicely with the direction of the Monsterverse.

Hedorah could be folded into the Monsterverse with virtually no changes to his Toho backstory. After two movies focused on Kong and the Hollow Earth, a Godzilla-focused movie should take place on the surface world with a villain who doesn’t originate in the Hollow Earth. While the notion of a giant humanoid pile of sludge seems as though it might be out of place and silly in the (somewhat) realistic and serious Monsterverse, Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire moved the goalposts on what is an acceptable level of fantasy in that cinematic universe.

Godzilla X Kong
director Adam Wingard named
Godzilla vs. Hedorah
as his favorite movie from the Showa Era due to its experimental nature.

Hedorah’s lethality can be adapted to fit the current times and make him a recognizable threat to modern audiences. His airborne toxicity and aquatic origins can lead to making parts of the planet uninhabitable, as a natural reversal of how Godzilla’s radiation breeds new life wherever he goes. Hedorah could also have a larger-scale goal in mind, like destroying the ozone entirely and risking the viability of the planet in general. Hedorah’s status as an avatar for human pollution makes him the perfect villain for the Monsterverse’s Godzilla, who acts as the protector of nature.