The newest Godzilla film is shaping up nicely for fans of the franchise. As opposed to the previous entry which introduced new monsters for the titular monster to fight, this one will be bringing in revamped versions of some fan favorites. This includes Mothra, Rodan, and the terrifying King Ghidorah. And now director Michael Dougherty has teased a direct connection to the 1954 original.
While the behind the scenes photo Dougherty recently posted to Twitter doesn’t reveal any monsters, it’s still rather exciting. If you’ve seen the original Godzilla, you’ll recognize the weapon as the Oxygen Destroyer. It was used in the original film to remove the oxygen from the body of water Godzilla was inhabiting, which finally killed him.
Day 41. @GodzillaMovie pic.twitter.com/n1YpMzE81G
— Mike Dougherty (@Mike_Dougherty) August 14, 2017
It could simply be an easter egg, but it’s also possible the weapon could play a larger part in the film. In the original it was created by a Dr. Serizawa. This also happens to be a name shared with Ken Watanabe’s character; an individual who features in this upcoming film as well as the one from 2014. There’s a possibility that Watanabe’s Serizawa will have a plot connection with this new version of the Oxygen Destroyer.
It’ll be interesting to see how this movie will use the Oxygen Destroyer, and what other connections to the franchise we’re likely to see.
The film will also star Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine), Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air, The Conjuring), Kyle Chandler (The Wolf of Wall Street, Manchester by the Sea), Bradley Whitford (Get Out), Thomas Middleditch (Silicon Valley), Charles Dance (Game of Thrones), O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Straight Outta Compton), Aisha Hinds (Star Trek Into Darkness), Zhang Ziyi (Memoirs of a Geisha) and Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things).
This will be the third film in Legendary Pictures’ Monsterverse, following Godzilla, and Kong: Skull Island. It has a release date for March 22, 2019. It’ll be followed by Adam Wingard’s Godzilla vs Kong in 2020.