Godzilla’s squad put to the test
Ken Watanabe said it so perfectly in 2014’s “Godzilla”: “Let them fight.”
Still, the beastly conflicts of that movie have nothing on the battle royale (barely) contained in the new sequel “Godzilla: King of the Monsters.” Not only is Godzilla itching for a throwdown – and crushing the box office – but so are revamped versions of his old cinematic foes Rodan, Mothra and Ghidorah.
After watching the epic amusebouche leading up to next year’s main course of “Godzilla vs. Kong” (in theaters March 13), it’s pretty easy to nerd out thinking up dream matches that pit Godzilla’s squad against the biggest and baddest in pop culture.
“If we’re talking monster fights, it’s all make-believe anyway, so let’s just take it a step further,” says “King of the Monsters” actor O’Shea Jackson Jr. We couldn’t have said it better ourselves: Jackson, co-star Millie Bobby Brown (of “Stranger Things” fame) and “Godzilla” director Michael Dougherty let their imaginations go wild for these high-profile cage fights.
So let’s get ready to rumble!
Godzilla vs. the Mind Flayer from ‘Stranger Things’
Tale of the tape: In this corner, the master blaster himself … the reigning champ ... Godzilla! And in the far corner, all the way from the Upside Down, the interdimensional shadow monster who makes enemies of ’80s kids.
Winner? Brown calls it a draw (“One’s like a spiritual being and then one’s a physical being, so they actually couldn’t fight at all”), but Dougherty and Jackson are quick to give Big G the “W.”
Ghidorah vs. Voltron
Tale of the tape: The three-headed golden dragon gives Godzilla fits in the
new movie as he tries to become the alpha monster, but the massive 1980s defender of the universe, made up of five robot lions, is a totally different animal.
Winner? “It would all depend on whether or not Voltron’s sword would be able to slice through Ghidorah,” Dougherty says. Jackson is torn, too (“Yo, Voltron is a beast!”), but eventually sides
with Ghidorah: “I’m promoting a movie, man!”
Mothra vs. Optimus Prime from ‘Tranformers’
Tale of the tape: This intergender face-off features the giant queen moth who’s as deadly as she is majestic against the uber-heroic leader of the Autobots from the “Transformers” movies.
Winner? Jackson sweats a little bit for his large winged co-star against a Transformer with a sword. “It’s an unfair match-up, bro,” he says. “You know what, she’ll web him up, throw him in the ocean or something, and he’ll be frozen in a block of ice.” But Dougherty thinks there’d be more hugs than punches: “I feel like they’d be allies.”
Rodan vs. the Tyrannosaurus rex from ‘Jurassic Park’
Tale of the tape: Rodan is the pterodactyl-like firebird who emerges from a volcano and doles out some sick burns for his opponents. Meanwhile, T. rex is the headlining dinosaur from the megapopular “Jurassic” franchise.
Winner? This one’s probably over pretty quick, folks. “The T. rex would just be a light snack for Rodan,” Dougherty says. Brown agrees: “The T. rex has little arms. He’s got no chance.”