Everything in Godzilla: King of the Monsters' First Trailer, Explained

After quite a bit of teasing, from cryptic images released online from the crypto-zoological agency Monarch to sound bytes of mysterious creatures traversing the planet, fans have finally gotten their first taste of the monster-brawl to come in Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

To be honest, the trailer, which debuted at Comic-Con International in San Diego, doesn't blatantly reveal too much, especially in the way of which fellow kaiju Godzilla will be facing off against (and there seem to be quite a few). But it does highlight the large scale destruction to come and the sinister role humanity may be playing behind the curtains.

There’s a lot to unpack from more than two minutes of footage, so let’s get started with the big moments.

Earth Belongs to the Titans

Warner Bros. set the stage by revealing the history of the kaiju, or as they're now known here, the Titans. The trailer opens up with Vera Farmiga's Dr. Emma Russell, a Monarch paleobiologist, laying down their origin stories, as we gloss over humans and their early encounters with the monsters.

As we see her daughter, Madison (Millie Bobby Brown), fleeing and seeking refuge from an electric storm, Emma more or less indicates Earth belongs to the Titans and it's up to them if they'll allow humanity to exist. "The mass extinction we feared has already begun, and we are the cause. We are the infection... The Earth unleashed a fever to fight this infection. Its original and rightful rulers, the Titans," she says. With shots of mankind in awe, shock and yes, horror, as the landscape literally changes, Emma says they're no longer willing to remain hidden after thousands of years.

It's now down to natural selection taking its course so that only the strong will survive. There are even hints she helps free them to do battle, with hints of her husband Mark (Kyle Chandler) condemning her actions -- a surprise given she's kidnapped by a secret science team -- and Madison calling her "a monster." While this could be sly editing, at first glance it's just enough to leave you wondering if Emma's really the 'villain' of the film, as she's also seen pushing buttons suspiciously before explosions and disasters ensue.

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Mankind Has Allies in the War Ahead

Emma does hint though that humanity has allies, and that by finding all the Titans, they can discover who's on their side. "Unless all the Titans are found, our planet will perish, and so will we. They are the only guarantee that life will carry on," she says, building to the 1:08 mark when she takes Madison to meet Mothra in what's assumed to be a facility in the Yunnan Province of China, carving out an endearing scene a la E.T. or Super 8.

The trailer then quickly cuts to Mark and a naval fleet meeting Godzilla, clearly in his presence for the first time, as director Michael Dougherty unleashes that glorious sequence of the beloved Titan shooting its atomic breath, illuminating the rainy night. It's long been known Godzilla, as he did in Gareth Edwards' 2014 flick which kicked off the MonsterVerse, will be trying to help mankind once more.

Right after, we see a beautiful shot of Mothra with its wings fully spread, and towards the very end, it seems to be in full-glow emitting its blinding ‘god rays’. As per Monarch's site, it's one of the deadliest and most beautiful natural phenomena in Earth’s history. More notable is that it seems Godzilla might have a tag team partner after all, especially as the trailer concludes with Madison smiling as if she's happy her friend is now free, perhaps painting it as a force for good, balancing out things a la Godzilla.

Rodan Wants To Watch The World Burn

Around 1:33 we see the giant Pteranodon known as Rodan, a volcanic being which is seen flying over towns and thanks to its giant wing-span, actually tearing it apart. Not only does the trailer have quick cuts of it attacking American fight jets, we also see the beast flying over a totally destroyed (and seemingly incinerated) Capitol Hill around the 1:50 mark.

Monarch has deemed it the "king of the skies" and in this shot of Washington, there are electric storms in the background, hinting at Ghidorah as well, leaving us wondering if they'll fight or join forces. In the edit, while we don't really get to see Rodan's face, its crusty skin stands out, hinting it has indeed adopted the traits of the Isla de Mona volcano it was incubating in.

The Monarch site revealed Rodan’s skin isn't made of rock, but is comprised of volcanic sediment collected from centuries of dormancy. They're theorizing this evolutionary trait may be from centuries of camouflage against mountain or large rock formations, confirming it's definitely a Titan forged in fire, and one that clearly has no love for mankind at all. In the trailer, this is all too obvious as it swats the army away like flies repeatedly.

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King Ghidorah Wants The Throne

Early on in the trailer, we see a cave painting depicting Ghidorah (a throwback to 2016's Kong: Skull Island post-credits with Monarch and images of the Titans), and around the 2:00 mark, the payoff comes as we see a silhouette of the three-headed dragon-esque being. It's a haunting tease but one that we don't mind being kept secret, for now.

Monarch has classified Ghidorah, found in slumber in Antarctica, as "Monster Zero," hinting their tests might date it as the oldest of the Titans. Their files also indicate once it takes flight, electric storms, gravitational shifts and seismic activity will rock the globe, as it's a conductor capable of carrying immense bioelectrical currents throughout its body; capable of causing worldwide catastrophe as seen in the trailer, from storms to tidal waves to cyclones.

In its brief screen-time, there's a slight growl from it, subtly hinting it's more about action than noise, as we see it generating lightning in the frozen tundra in the background. This signals Ghidorah may well be the true king of all the monsters, coming to reclaim its throne, but as the trailer's final scene shows Godzilla roaring, with the US fighter jets backing him up, the three-headed kaiju will have a lot do if it wants to wrest that title away.

Releasing in theaters on March 22, 2019, Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a production of Legendary Entertainment directed by Michael Dougherty and starring Vera Farmiga, Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins, Kyle Chandler, Millie Bobby Brown, Bradley Whitford, Thomas Middleditch, Charles Dance, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Aisha Hinds and Zhang Ziyi.