SPOILERS for Godzilla vs. Kong
Godzilla vs Kong director Adam Wingard cut a post-credits scene from the end of the film, but some elements ended up in the final cut. The highly anticipated match-up of the Titans finally released on March 31, hitting HBO Max and theaters on the same day. The battle is the culmination of seven years of storytelling in Legendary's MonsterVerse that began with 2014's Godzilla directed by Gareth Edwards and continued with 2019's Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Kong got his introduction in Kong: Skull Island, but the latest film brings the two together in an unexpected way.
The trailers for Godzilla vs Kong remained vague as to what brings Kong and Godzilla together, but fans finally found out why the two fought when the film was released. Apex wanted Kong to lead them into the long-rumored Hollow Earth, where many of the Titans are thought to have come from. Meanwhile, Godzilla is seemingly destroying cities at random at the beginning of the film when it's made clear that he's actually seeking to destroy Apex's new creation: MechaGodzilla. The two eventually come together in a fight of the alphas, with Kong winning out at the end after helping Godzilla take down MechaGodzilla.
What's next for the MonsterVerse remains a mystery, but Wingard tells Collider that Godzilla vs Kong was originally meant to set up the next MonsterVerse film with a post-credits scene. That scene actually ended up in the film as a modified version of its original conception, with Wingard choosing not to set up a sequel directly. The director does say that the scene itself didn't set up anything specific, but was more of a general hint as to what direction the franchise could take with its next film.
We actually did shoot a post-credits scene but we ended up using it in the movie. Because we shot it while we were making the film and we realized we needed a scene at the end of the movie. We had this footage, and we were like 'wait a minute, if we actually just change this thing about this footage we originally shot for a post-credit thing, we can actually use it in the movie.' And it's really effective. We kind of just sacrificed our post-credits scene. Which makes sense, because honestly, it's not even like that post-credits scene is teeing up anything specific. It wasn't like saying 'this is definitively where the MonsterVerse is going [next].
It's unclear which scene Wingard is referring to at the end of the film, but there's one moment that seems to be the scene that was meant to serve as the tease. Godzilla vs Kong ends much in the same way it began, with Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall) and her daughter Jia (Kaylee Hottle) observing Kong as they did on Skull Island. This time, though, they've set up a station within Hollow Earth. It's clear from this moment that Kong has returned to his home and is now ruling over the former land that was run by his ancestors.
What Wingard modified in this scene will likely remain a mystery, but it's like the scene could've set up an enemy within Hollow Earth that Kong could have faced off against in the next film. Godzilla vs Kong also leaves Gojira's fate somewhat of a mystery, with the Kaiju leaving Hong Kong after his battle with the primate. It's quite possible the end of Godzilla vs Kong could've teased his fate or even his arrival in Hollow Earth. Unfortunately, fans may never know, but if the movie is successful enough, a sequel seems like a guarantee.
Source: Collider
