According to the much-anticipated first Godzilla vs. Kong trailer, the upcoming movie will see Godzilla playing the villain, but why is this the case? After over a year of glimpses, teases, and tantalizing snatches of early information, You’re Next director Adam Wingard’s Godzilla vs. Kong has finally dropped its first trailer, and the reaction from fans has been huge across the internet.

The long-anticipated face-off between two of the most beloved creatures in monster movie history was always going to need a hero and a villain, and it seems, from the action seen in the trailer at least, that Godzilla will be fulfilling the heel role. Both monsters are often portrayed as tragically sympathetic figures, although Godzilla is arguably less humanized than his great ape nemesis. However, with this sequel following on from the same continuity as Kong: Skull Island and Godzilla: King of The Monsters, it is worth delving into why the movie is depicting Godzilla as its villain.

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From the Godzilla vs. Kong trailer, viewers can see that the former is being set him up as the villain of the piece, with Godzilla glimpsed attacking humans and laying waste to a city. However, Godzilla was last seen helping humans recuperate after Ghidorah almost destroyed the world in Godzilla: King of The Monsters. So, when did the character change allegiances and decide he was anti-human? In terms of plot mechanics, the answer is obvious, as the movie needs a villain for the pair to face off in the first place. But the specific decision to make Godzilla that villain is an interesting choice, and already there are a lot of fan theories positing explanations for the switch (some more believable than others).

Mechagodzilla Is Disguised As Godzilla

Mechagodzilla Godzilla Kong Titans

Of course, the easiest explanation is also possibly the most plausible, which is that Godzilla underwent a fundamental character shift seemingly overnight because that’s not actually Godzilla that viewers are seeing in the trailer. According to this fan theory, the monster seen throughout the trailer’s action, smashing his way through cities and slaughtering civilians, is not the real Godzilla at all, but rather his identical robotic clone Mechagodzilla. There's precedent for this in Toho's films, wherein Godzilla has faced off against Mechagodzilla so many times that the robotic doppelgänger is considered his arch-nemesis as much as King Ghidorah.

It’s very plausible that Charles Dance’s villainous eco-terrorist Alan Jonah, last seen purchasing the head of Ghidorah for some nefarious purpose at the close of Godzilla: King of The Monsters, is the man behind this new mechanical monster that is mimicking the real Godzilla. What’s less immediately clear is why the human villains responsible for building this movie’s version of Mechagodzilla thought that the real deal wouldn’t resurface to defend his turf (and reputation) when a mechanic imitation started tearing through human-inhabited cities, but that’s a question only the action of Godzilla vs. Kong can hope to shed some light on.

Godzilla Wants To Defeat Kong To Remain The Alpha

Godzilla vs Kong trailer featured sad king kong

Discounting the (very real) possibility that the Godzilla seen indiscriminately destroying a city in the trailer for Godzilla vs. Kong isn’t really Godzilla, there is another explanation for why the legendary kaiju would want to take on the great ape of Skull Island. As noted in the trailer, Kong "bows to no one”, and the massive beast has already seen his home of Skull Island overrun by other movie monsters since the close of Godzilla: King of The Monsters. As a result, Godzilla may be fighting Kong to maintain his dominance and remain, as his title claims, the King of the Monsters. This theory makes particular sense because Kong was likely largely undisturbed between the events of Kong: Skull Island and Godzilla: King of The Monsters, and the arrival of unexpected Titans to his island home could be what prompts the rivalry, with Kong annoyed that Godzilla led countless monsters to his home and Godzilla annoyed that some upstart is challenging his royal title.

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Someone Is Controlling Godzilla

Jonah Ghidorah Godzilla king of the monsters

Savvy viewers may recall that Godzilla: King of the Monsters set up the possibility of humans controlling the titular beast via the Orca. A device that Vera Farming’s Emma used to control Mothra, the Orca makes it clear that it's canonically possible for humans to control the actions of at least some of the kaiju seen in this series’ canon. As a result, a version of the Orca may have come back into use, particularly when the aforementioned series villain Jonah wouldn’t have much use for Ghidorah’s served head without a means to control the beast upon potential revival. While it’s possible that the Godzilla seen in the trailer is not the same Godzilla from Godzilla: King of The Monsters but a robot replicant instead, it’s also equally possible that it’s the same Godzilla but he has lost his autonomy and is being remotely controlled by the Godzilla franchise’s human villains.

Godzilla & Kong Are Finishing An Ancient War

Godzilla vs Kong - A shot from beneath Godzilla with debris flying in the sky above

Sometimes, the simplest explanation is the correct one, and since it is natural for animals to fight over territory and try to gain the status of the apex predator, Kong and Godzilla may simply be fighting to finish an ancient war between their species. After all, it’s clear that their respective species were ancestral enemies, and nothing makes more sense than the two monsters duking it out to put an end to a millennia-long battle between their kinds. Judging by the dialogue heard in the Godzilla vs. Kong trailer, this final theory seems to be the most likely explanation of the lot. However, fans should be wary.

As proven by Godzilla: King of The Monsters, humans are often the secret villains behind the destruction and death that takes place in the Godzilla movies, and King Kong is also often depicted as a peaceful and well-meaning beast caught up in the affairs of greedy and avaricious human characters. As such, it seems likely that human intervention will play some pivotal role in the face-off, even though Godzilla and King Kong returning to a centuries-old conflict on their own terms is a plausible possibility. It’s true that this approach wouldn’t necessarily fit with the Godzilla canon’s recurring themes of humans needing to be responsible with their treatment of the planet, but it’s already clear that Godzilla vs. Kong will be upending the expectations of franchise fans, so anything is possible.

Next: Godzilla vs Kong: Every New & Returning MonsterVerse Character

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