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Warning: SPOILERS for the Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire novelization are ahead!
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire was released to the 2024 movies schedule last month, and while critical reception for the latest MonsterVerse movie has been mixed (CinemaBlend Godzilla x Kong review’s leaned more positively with a 4/5 stars rating), it’s done well for itself commercially, making over $488 million worldwide at the time of this writing. For those of you who had a blast watching this blockbuster, you may be inclined to pick up the Godzilla x Kong novelization that’s out now. But in case you need some extra incentive, perhaps your interest will be piqued learning how King Ghidorah and Mechagodzilla factor into this expanded plot.
Shimo Froze King Ghidorah
King Ghidorah was introduced to the MonsterVerse in 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters, where it was revealed that unlike the Titans, who hail from Hollow Earth, this three-headed behemoth is an alien who arrived on our planet millennia ago and fought Godzilla. However, Ghidorah, who’d been classified by Monarch as Monster Zero, was mysteriously frozen in Antarctica and left in suspended animation until it was thawed by Emma Russell and Alan Jonah.
Per the Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire novelization (via Comicbook), it was Shimo, the ice Titan being controlled by The Skar King, who froze King Ghidorah. The circumstances of this aren’t disclosed, so it’s unclear if Shimo had been fighting Ghidorah solo or combatted him by Godzilla’s side. Either way, we have Shimo to thank for preventing Ghidorah from laying waste to our planet millions of years ago, though it was ultimately Godzilla who ended this threat for good in King of the Monsters.
Unfortunately, the threat of Ghidorah lingered thanks to Jonah purchasing one of its severed heads in the King of the Monsters end-credits scene and selling it to Apex Cybernetics. The company then used the skull to control Mechagodzilla, but the beast’s consciousness possessed the robotic monstrosity once it was powered by the Hollow Earth energy. That brings us to…
Project Powerhouse Originates From Mechagodzilla
Godzilla and Kong started out as enemies in their 2021 MonsterVerse movie, but when Mechagodzilla started wreaking havoc in Hong Kong, they put aside their differences and teamed up to defeat this mechanical predator. While this will hopefully be the last time anyone tries to construct a Titan-killing machine, it turns out that Monarch didn’t let the wreckage of Mechagodzilla go to waste.
The Godzilla x Kong novelization mentions that Project Powerhouse, i.e. the mechanical gauntlet that Kong donned after his right arm was frostbitten by Shimo, was constructed from pieces of Mechagodzilla. It’s also confirmed in the book that this movie takes place in 2027, i.e. roughly three years after the events of Godzilla vs. Kong. Hopefully Monarch did its due diligence and made sure there weren’t any traces of Ghidorah left over before putting Project Powerhouse together. It’d be a shame if one day Kong discovered that his right arm was no longer under his control.
This is just a taste of what awaits if you decide to delve into Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire’s novelization. As far as the MonsterVerse’s onscreen future goes, there’s no word yet if a Godzilla x Kong sequel will be made, although director Adam Wingard has said he envisions making a trilogy. Elsewhere, if you have an Apple TV+ subscription, you can look forward to Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Season 2 coming to the streaming service at a to-be-revealed date amongst other spinoff shows.