One Godzilla Rule Confirms A Major Detail About His Monsterverse Future
Godzilla recently celebrated his 70th anniversary, and the rules that have governed his character for decades may provide some insight into what his ultimate fate will be in Legendary’s Monsterverse. The radioactive lizard has gone through many iterations in his history, from the silly, child-friendly version of the Showa Era to the terrifying nuclear metaphor of Godzilla Minus One, but certain elements have remained the same throughout the years, like Godzilla’s atomic breath. The rules long-recognized by Toho were formalized by the recently-established committee known as the “Godzilla Room.”
The 14-person committee oversees and protects the integrity of the Godzilla brand, and also develops business around the character. As such, they have a say in how each version of Godzilla is depicted, regardless of what country the movie is being made in. While Legendary’s Monsterverse isn’t likely required in any legal capacity to follow the Godzilla Room’s rules, they have followed them so far and can be expected to in the future. One rule in particular, if followed, provides a hint at what could happen to Godzilla in future Monsterverse movies.
The Three Rules All Godzilla Movies Need To Abide By
Tha aptly named “Godzilla Room” formalized three rules for his character
According to the Japanese website Natalie, which spoke with the head of the Godzilla Room, Tetsuya Yoshikawa, Godzilla depictions are guided by three core restrictions:
- Godzilla can not eat people (or be shown “preying” in general)
- Godzilla can not die completely
- Godzilla can not speak
These rules are important to ensuring that Godzilla maintains a well-established personality, aura, and authority as a powerful monster and an on-again/off-again defender and enemy of humanity.
The Godzilla Room was established after the success of 2016’s
Shin Godzilla
from Toho and 2014’s
Godzilla
from Legendary, both of which encouraged Toho to put more effort and emphasis into Godzilla’s brand.
Eagle-eyed viewers will recognize that the recently-created Godzilla Minus One flirts with breaking two of the three. In Godzilla Minus One, the smaller version of Godzilla on Odo Island bites down on several soldiers, but he throws them with his mouth instead of eating them. He is also “killed” at the end of the movie, but the final scene shows that a piece of his body is regenerating deep in the ocean. The second rule about Godzilla never completely dying is the most important, as it guarantees that the Godzilla character will continue to live on, albeit in different forms.
What Toho’s Biggest Godzilla Rule Means For The Monsterverse
Godzilla’s ultimate fate may already be decided
The second rule is the one that is most important for Godzilla’s future in the Monsterverse. So far, Godzilla has been injured plenty of times in the Monsterverse, and both the Oxygen Destroyer and Mechagodzilla took Big G to the brink of death. Some of Godzilla’s greatest threats have not yet made an appearance in the Monsterverse, and there are multiple Godzilla rivals who could theoretically kill Legendary’s Godzilla. However, thanks to the Godzilla Room’s rules, it’s clear that even a death at the hands of Destoroyah, SpaceGodzilla, or another lethal Titan won’t be the end for Godzilla.
The original 1954 Godzilla is the only version of the monster that has truly “died”, as all other versions of Godzilla have been resurrected in some way or had offspring carry on in their stead.
Some form of resurrection will likely be in play if Godzilla does die somehow, and Toho has already laid out a few different paths for the Monsterverse to follow. One of the easiest solutions to the problem of Godzilla dying is to introduce another member of his species, allowing a new Godzilla to take the place of the old one. Godzilla could also justifiably go into a deep state of hibernation and regeneration, as he intended to do after he was nearly killed by the Oxygen Destroyer in Godzilla: King of the Monsters. No matter how the Monsterverse continues, the Godzilla Room’s rules ensure that Godzilla has a future.
Monsterverse
The Monsterverse is a giant kaiju franchise that began in 2014 with Legendary’s Godzilla starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Bryan Cranston, and Elizabeth Olsen. The film was followed up by Kong: Skull Island, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Godzilla vs Kong, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.
