‘Godzilla vs Kong’ Screenwriter Reveals That Third Monster Was Supposed to Appear in an Earlier Movie

Godzilla vs. Kong may have divided the Godzilla fans and the King Kong fans. Fans picked their sides in movie theaters and on HBO Max. No matter whose side you were on, everyone could probably agree the third monster the film introduced was an awesome surprise. 

[Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for Godzilla vs. Kong and Godzilla: King of the Monsters.]

Screenwriter Max Borenstein spoke to Showbiz Cheat Sheet by phone on March 24. Borenstein wrote the 2014 Godzilla, Kong: Skull Island and Godzilla: King of the Monsters, too. So he shared that the third monster in Godzilla vs. Kong almost appeared in a previous entry. 

‘Godzilla: King of the Monsters’ almost debuted this classic nemesis

Godzilla: King of the Monsters introduced the most opponents to Godzilla of the Warner Bros. Monsterverse movies. In that sequel, Godzilla faced Rodan, Mothra and Ghidorah. When Borenstein had his turn with the King of the Monsters script, he thought MechaGodzilla would fit, too.

“It was considered for King of the Monsters,” Borenstein said. “At least I thought it was a great idea to have there and I wrote a draft with him in there. Ultimately for a number of reasons beyond me, they were not ready for that. But, then felt like this was the right time. I think it’s great and this is the moment for it honestly.”

Godzilla and King Kong team up to battle MechaGodzilla

MechaGodzilla is Apex Cybernetics’ idea to create a human piloted opponent to Godzilla. Of course, the giant robot malfunctions, so King Kong and Godzilla have to put aside their differences to save the world from MechaGodzilla. When Godzilla vs. Kong hired Borenstein, it was his idea to bring back MechaGodzilla.

“I had a good relationship with that whole team,” Borenstein said. “They got me a little closer to the prep phase to take the pieces that they had at that point, some of which were pieces that we had toyed around with in different iterations in other movies, like MechaGodzilla, that had found their way into this movie. It was okay, how do we assemble the whole?”

MechaGodzilla paid homage to a fallen character

The pilot of MechaGodzilla is Ren Serizawa (Shun Oguri), son of Ishiro Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) from Godzilla and King of the Monsters. The name Serizawa itself pays homage to a character in the original 1954 movie. In King of the Monsters, Serizawa sacrificed himself to help Godzilla, which was bittersweet to Borenstein.

“Serizawa’s always been my favorite,” Borenstein said. “I respect Michael [Dougherty]’s decision to kill him off in Godzilla II but I was sad to see him go.”

So, Borenstein was at least able to extend the Serizawa family lineage. Unfortunately, Serizawa Jr. steps in it too.

“I brought that to this film,” Borenstein said. “When I came in, I sort of created this idea that it was Serizawa’s son had a particular respect for how we should interact with Godzilla. In my original version, I can’t remember to be honest, but it wasn’t dissimilar in the sense that it’s an effort to interact with the creatures that was well-intentioned but ultimately wrong-headed.”