One of the unseen Titans in Godzilla: King of the Monsters has even more heads than Ghidorah in Legendary’s MonsterVerse. This mysterious Titan, whose name is Yamata no Orochi, hasn’t been officially revealed, but it has been confirmed that he – similar to Ghidorah – has multiple heads.
In Godzilla: King of the Monsters, it was discovered that the MonsterVerse is the home to a large number of Titans. Godzilla, Ghidorah, and Mothra, Rodan, and Kong are all based on existing monsters, while the rest are original to the MonsterVerse. Four of them (Scylla, Behemoth, Methuselah, and a third M.U.T.O.) all appeared in King of the Monsters as temporary minions of the “The False King”, Ghidorah. There were 11 more Titans as well that were woken up by Ghidorah’s wide-reaching call, but none appeared onscreen. However, their names were included on monitors. Their names and locations provide clues as to the nature of these Titans and what they look like.
Yamata no Orochi, the Titan that was being kept at a Monarch outpost on Mount Fuji in Japan, is based on the legendary Japanese creature of the same name. The mythical beast is said to be a red-eyed dragon with eight heads and eight tails. Of course, this description doesn’t necessarily mean that the MonsterVerse’s Orochi shares the same physical characteristics, but King of the Monsters director Mike Dougherty has even confirmed in response to a fan question that the MonsterVerse version of the creature is also indeed a multi-headed monster.
This confirms that Yamata no Orochi has eight heads, but exactly what he looks like in the MonsterVerse has yet to be revealed. He’s a dragon in the legends, but he could be a totally different creature in the MonsterVerse. He could have received the “Yamata no Orochi” name from Monarch simply because of the location and the number of heads. Or, it’s possible that he is a dragon, but differs from Ghidorah in a big way. He may look a bit more like the serpent-like dragons from Asian cultures. Orochi could be one of several dragons hiding in the MonsterVerse. Furthermore, his similarities to Ghidorah open up questions about his origin. Ghidorah is an alien; is the MonsterVerse's other multi-headed Titan a visitor from another planet as well?
It’s interesting to note that Ghidorah himself was inspired by the legend of Yamata no Orochi back in the 1960s. Toho has also adapted Orochi to the big screen in 1959’s Birth of Japan and the 1994 monster movie, Orochi, the Eight-Headed Dragon. It’s worth wondering how the MonsterVerse’s Orochi differs from Toho’s versions and King Ghidorah. Regardless, an eight-headed monster would certainly be a sight to see in a future MonsterVerse movie. Tangling with a creature with eight heads all snapping at him at once would undoubtedly create a unique challenge for Godzilla. Alternatively, Orochi could be one of the Titans now under Godzilla’s control. If so, he could end up serving as a powerful ally.
