Unused concept art and a tease from the Godzilla vs. Kong novelization have some fans convinced that SpaceGodzilla is lurking in the MonsterVerse. The Toho kaiju has never been directly teased in a MonsterVerse project, but a big-screen role in its universe is far from impossible. Though not the most popular Toho villain that Legendary could use, SpaceGodzilla is at least a possibility for a later MonsterVerse installment.
Thus far, SpaceGodzilla has only made a single appearance in the movies. Introduced in 1994’s Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla, the creature was introduced as a supremely powerful monster created when some of Godzilla’s cells were mutated by the energy of a black hole. After arriving on Earth, the evil SpaceGodzilla kidnapped Godzilla’s son and gave the King of the Monsters one of his most challenging battles of all time. Powered by giant white crystals, the villain was so strong that it actually took a team-up with Moguera for Godzilla to finally take him down. Since then, he’s been utilized in a number of comics and video games but has been absent from the movie side of the Godzilla franchise.
SpaceGodzilla potentially joining the MonsterVerse became a topic of discussion among fans following the release of an official MonsterVerse art book, Godzilla vs. Kong: One Will Fall. A mural depicting the original Titan War shows Godzilla and several members of Kong’s species attacking a mysterious flying Titan in the center. This mysterious creature appears to be a winged Godzilla of some sort. Many have connected this to a reveal from the movie’s novelization, which mentioned what seems to be an evil version of Godzilla. According to an Iwi myth, the Kongs battled Zo-zla-halawa, an evil monster who “ate a star”. The book left the impression that the subject of the story is Godzilla, but others are thinking that Zo-zla-halawa is in fact the monster on the art book’s mural – and possibly the MonsterVerse’s SpaceGodzilla.
The “star” line hinting at an outer space connection and the look of the creature in the art book is what’s driving most of the SpaceGodzilla speculation. However, none of these things mean that Godzilla and Kong secretly battled SpaceGodzilla in the MonsterVerse’s ancient history. Chances are, Zo-zla-halawa really was Godzilla. The term “evil” really doesn’t fit him, but it very well could have represented the Iwi tribe’s impression of him. As for the winged Titan in the art book, SpaceGodzilla isn’t the only explanation for what it could be. Others have theorized that it’s Mothra carrying a Godzilla ancestor or a fusion of Godzilla and Mothra.
Either way, the concept art never made into the film, which means of course that the history it implies isn’t MonsterVerse canon. Godzilla and Kong’s ancestors ending their war to team up against a more powerful Titan is an idea that might have been toyed with at some point, but it wasn’t incorporated into Godzilla vs. Kong’s interpretation of the original Titan War. That being said, SpaceGodzilla showing up and forcing an alliance between the two is exciting nonetheless, and could still become the plot of a future MonsterVerse movie.