When the trailer for Godzilla: King of the Monsters roared into Hall H at San Diego Comic-Con it offered the first looks at the new monsters joining the sequel - Rodan can be seen soaring through the sky, Mothra spreading her wings, and even King Ghidorah looms menacingly in the fog. But, there’s another shot of Ghidorah in the trailer you may have missed, and it teases a real close encounter with the three-headed beast.
Across the 60+ year history of the Godzilla franchise, the other monsters - or Titans, as they’ll be referred to in Michael Dougherty’s sequel - have acted as both friends and foes to humanity. Similarly to Godzilla himself, the role each kaiju plays depends on the story being told and the crisis facing the Earth. Mothra, for instance, has in the past fought against Godzilla on the side of the humans, while at other times teaming up alongside Godzilla, Rodan, and other giant monsters to fight an even bigger threat, like King Ghidorah.
Related: Rodan, Mothra, and Ghidorah Explained
It’s still unclear exactly what role each Titan will have in King of the Monsters, but it’s likely that Ghidorah will again be the main threat to all life on the planet and it’ll be some combination of Godzilla, Rodan, and Mothra that will be needed to take him down. Early in the trailer, Ghidorah - easily identified by his distinct three dragon heads - can be seen frozen in ice and later on, rising from the ocean and spreading his massive wings. But there’s another shot of Ghidorah where he’s seen prowling behind Millie Bobby Brown’s Madison Russell, suggesting that she’s in for a close encounter with the massive, three-headed dragon.
The shot in question (at roughly 1:55 in the trailer) sees Madison standing with her back to a large window as she looks scared and panicked. It’s a blink and you’ll miss it kind of shot, but if you look closely, there are two of King Ghidorah’s three dragon heads peering through the window at her. It can be a little tough to distinguish given how dark the scene appears, but the multiple glowing eyes are the clue that there’s more than one giant monster head looking in the window. And there’s only one Titan with more than one head.
Of course, it’s impossible to know exactly where this scene falls in the movie, but seeing as Ghidorah is frozen in the Arctic at the start of the film, this scene must come after he’s been awakened. We know Madison and her mother, Vera Farmiga’s Dr. Emma Russell, are at one point kidnapped by an organization with nefarious plans for the Titans, so it’s possible this organization is responsible for unleashing Ghidorah. By looking at other shots in the trailers, this mysterious organization (possibly Monarch) are who bring Madison and Emma to the Arctic base where they're holding Ghidorah, suggesting that mother and daughter are somehow necessary in awakening the monster. Emma's research reportedly involves communicating with the Titans via bioacoustics, but then it's also been suggested that Madison holds a special connection to the monsters - specifically Mothra, which is backed up by a scene of her reaching out and touching the creature when it's in its larvae form.
No matter how it is that King Ghidorah is awakened, the massive dragon is sure to wreak havoc wherever it goes. Thanks to that quick shot in the trailer, it appears that at least some part of its rampage will see it near a building where Madison has taken refuge, possibly even the same building Madison is seen standing on the roof of at the start of the trailer. We won't learn what happens to Madison after Ghidorah spots her until Godzilla: King of the Monsters releases, but it's sure to be an absolutely terrifying sequence. After all, a giant kaiju with one head is scary enough, but three! That's horrifying.
