Godzilla 2 Theory: Houston Brooks Is The Secret Kong Character

Houston Brooks from Kong: Skull Island could be the secret character returning for Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Gareth Edwards' 2014 Godzilla movie rebooted the Toho franchise in Hollywood and ended up launching yet another shared universe: the MonsterVerse. Arguably one of Warner Bros.' most successful shared universes thus far, the MonsterVerse introduced a handful of iconic monsters and kaiju through the 2014 film as well as Jordan Vogt-Roberts' Kong: Skull Island in 2017.

From the start of Kong: Skull Island it became apparent that the big way the two movies would connect to one another, aside from both having iconic monsters as their eponymous characters, is through the organization Monarch. In Godzilla, Ken Watanabe's Dr. Ishiro Serizawa and Sally Hawkins' Dr. Vivienne Graham are introduced to audiences as scientists who work for a secret government agency that was established in the wake of Godzilla's discovery in 1954 (a subtle reference to Godzilla's first movie releasing that year).

At the time, it was believed that Godzilla was merely the only monster Monarch was searching for and studying, but Kong: Skull Island went even further to explain that there are other monsters that roam the Earth, and Kong is one of them. Kong: Skull Island also established the MonsterVerse's hollow earth point theory that allows the monsters to live beneath the planet's surface. Even though the connections were obvious, Michael Dougherty's Godzilla: King of the Monsters is the first movie that really bridges everything together.

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Godzilla 2 Brings Back A Kong: Skull Island Character

It was revealed in an interview during San Diego Comic-Con 2018 that Godzilla: King of the Monsters would bring back a character from Kong: Skull Island. Since the latter film takes place in the 1970s and Godzilla 2 takes place a few years after 2014's movie, there's a big gap in time, which means whoever returns from Kong: Skull Island will likely be played by another character - unless, of course, that character is revealed in flashbacks. But considering that flashbacks haven't really been explored yet, there's really no reason to start now.

Considering the people who survived in Kong: Skull Island, there are logically only four characters who could return in Godzilla: King of the Monsters; Brie Larson's Mason Weaver and Tom Hiddleston's James Conrad are the most obvious choices since they were the main characters in the movie, but Jing Tian's San Lin and Corey Hawkins' Houston Brooks are the more logical choices since they worked directly for Monarch. Given the fact that Charles Dance's Godzilla 2 character remains unknown, it's believed that Dance is actually an older James Conrad. While that certainly seems plausible, new evidence suggests it's actually another character.

Why Houston Brooks is the Kong Character in Godzilla 2

In the Legendary Comics miniseries Skull Island: The Birth of Kong, which recounts certain events that took place before and after the events of Kong: Skull Island, it's revealed that Houston Brooks and San Lin had married each other when they returned home after their bout with Kong. Even though they revealed Monarch's secrets to Conrad and Weaver in the Kong: Skull Island post-credits scene, there isn't any information that suggests those two stayed in contact with Monarch after that movie. However, Brooks and Lin continued their work for the shadow agency.

And now, new photos that surfaced online recently from a MonsterVerse panel at Los Angeles Comic Con reveal sightings of certain monsters. It's unclear when the in-universe images were taken, but it is clear that they must've been somewhat recent. Even if they were taken years ago, one of the Monarch documents shows that Houston Brooks was most likely responsible for the sighting (and possible discovery) of Mothra - one of the new monsters appearing in Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

It would make sense for Houston Brooks, of all the four characters who survived in Kong: Skull Island, to return for Godzilla: King of the Monsters because not only does he appear to have intricate knowledge of Mothra but also because he's the only one whose story continued to be fleshed out after the 2017 movie concluded. Looking at the names of the other characters on the Monarch documents, they're all prominent characters in Godzilla 2. So, it's far more likely (and somewhat unexpected) for Brooks to return, but it does make the most sense. Plus, he was the person who got approval for the Skull Island mission along with John Goodman's Bill Randa, so he's more involved with Monarch than people may realize.

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What Houston Brooks' Role Could Be in Godzilla 2

In addition to bringing Houston Brooks back to connect Kong: Skull Island with Godzilla: King of the Monsters, there's much more that can be done with the character's return. Plus, most people won't recognize Brooks, especially is he's played by a different actor, so it would be a waste to bring him back into the fold just to prove to audiences that the two movies exist in the same universe (if Monarch didn't already convince them of that).

If Brooks was actually responsible for discovering Mothra, as the Godzilla: King of the Monsters images suggest, then it would be plausible that Monarch would put him in charge of overseeing the organization's study of her (despite reportedly retiring in 2012). After all, it's believed that Mothra is shown in multiple forms in Godzilla 2; while that may not exactly be the case (there are other theories floating around right now), it does mean there's more of an emphasis on Mothra than perhaps meets the eye.

Brooks could be heading up the research on Mothra in China - specifically, in the Yunnan Rainforest at Monarch Outpost 61 - where, according to information obtained from the Monarch Sciences viral website, Vera Farmiga's Dr. Emma Russell was dispatched to by Monarch to study Mothra's hibernation. It says on the website that sonar pulses suggest Mothra is currently awakening and will soon be "reborn" - in Godzilla: King of the Monsters, of course. But, again, this is the perfect opportunity to bring Brooks back, by having him and Dr. Russell work together, perhaps earlier on in the movie.

How Houston Brooks' Return Could Set Up Godzilla vs Kong

Bringing Houston Brooks back for Godzilla: King of the Monsters would be a great way to tie Kong: Skull Island into the rest of the MonsterVerse, but it could also be a subtle way to set up Adam Wingard's 2020 movie, Godzilla vs. Kong. In the aforementioned comic book series Skull Island: The Birth of Kong, it's revealed that Houston Brooks and San Lin had a son, named Aaron. Growing up and hearing his father's stories about monsters, Aaron decided to join Monarch himself and was eventually dispatched back to Skull Island.

Aaron Brooks and his team were supposed to be on a mission in Antarctica (presumably studying Monster Zero, aka Ghidorah), but they decided to head to Skull Island instead. After some time, they disappeared and weren't heard from again, until Houston Brooks received a recorder during his retirement party, which was from his son who is still stranded on Skull Island. Apparently, Aaron had studied Kong and Skull Island and noted how both had evolved since the time his father was there. This would be the ideal way to bridge the gap between Kong: Skull Island and Godzilla: King of the Monsters, as well as indicate how Kong could potentially leave Skull Island and take on Godzilla in 2020's Godzilla vs. Kong - but it may be some time before fans get official information on that front.