In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Mothra made her surprise return and helped the movie's title characters put their differences aside. The iconic Kaiju perished in Godzilla: King of the Monsters courtesy of the evil King Ghidorah, making the apparent retcon confusing for many fans.
A Mothra egg was discovered shortly after her death, though an explanation for how it was transported into Hollow Earth has never been shared. So, was the Mothra we met a resurrected version of the one that died, the Titan that came out of the egg, or the true original?
Talking in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire's "Art of" book (via SFFGazette.com), filmmaker Adam Wingard confirmed a big theory about Mothra and finally set the record straight on this apparent plot hole.
"When King of the Monsters came out, my dad went to go see the movie, and the first thing he said was how much he loved Mothra and that always stuck with me," Wingard explained. "That was a character that just instantly, people loved. The other Titans, you want to see them pounding into each other, Mothra is more of an ethereal presence, which we needed in this movie."
"This is essentially Mothra's mother," the filmmaker confirmed. "The eggs that were laid on the surface were laid by The New Empire's version of Mothra and this film establishes that she is the protector of the pathways to the surface which are vortexes."
"And so, theoretically, this Titan has access to these vortexes and laid eggs on the surface, which is what we saw in King of the Monsters. She is the original one," he concluded.
Whether Wingard had plans for Mothra beyond The New Empire is hard to say, but he won't be at the helm of the next instalment to round out what would have been a MonsterVerse trilogy. A fresh pair of eyes won't hurt, though, and Grant Sputore (I Am Mother) has been tasked with taking charge of the franchise moving forward. You can hear from him on that here.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire stars returning Godzilla vs. Kong actors Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, and Kaylee Hottle alongside Dan Stevens (Legion), Alex Ferns (The Batman), and Fala Chen (Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings).
The screenplay is by Terry Rossio (Godzilla vs. Kong) and Simon Barrett (You’re Next) and Jeremy Slater (Moon Knight), from a story by Rossio & Wingard & Barrett, based on the character "Godzilla" owned and created by TOHO Co., Ltd.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is still playing in theaters and available on Digital platforms.