It didn't take long for the Godzilla vs Kong footage that Warner Bros. screened exclusively at Brazil's Comic-Con Experience to find its way online. Although the spread of the leaked video clip has been effectively being contained, screencaps and GIFs linger, causing a buzz among kaiju fandom.While only a few seconds long, the footage actually reveals a fair amount about Godzilla's primate opponent, the kind of battles that are in store for the third installment of Legendary's MonsterVerse, and even the possible tone of the film.The (extremely) brief clip shows Godzilla and Kong, face to face, atop what looks like a large ship or water-based aircraft carrier. The sea-faring location of the brawl is an unsurprising one given Godzilla's aquatic nature and the preponderance of military intervention in the franchise. This could well be off of Skull Island's shore, which is not only Kong's usual origin point but is touted to have become the MonsterVerse's equivalent of Infant Island from the Toho-verse -- a kaiju paradise of sorts.The sky is a burning orange color with the pair of Titans appearing in profile and largely silhouetted against the glowing horizon. Kong leaps forward to throw a mighty punch straight at the King of Monsters' head and then the footage cuts out. The first time these two met -- in 1962's King Kong vs. Godzilla -- Godzilla beat Kong fair and square only for the big ape to be revived, Frankenstein style, and winning with newly-gained electrocution powers. The outcome of the film even partly sparked a long-running rumor among American fans that an alternative ending was created for Japanese audiences in which Godzilla emerged the rightful victor. This time around, audiences will be hoping for a more believable, physical tussle with a decisive answer to the classic "who would win in a fight?" debate.
Of course, the literal biggest takeaway from the leaked footage is Kong's new, ginormous size, a growth spurt that we knew was coming in order for the dominant ape to stand a chance against Godzilla in their grudge match. Still, it's one thing to know it and another to see it.
King Kong was 104ft in Kong: Skull Island, which was supposedly the tallest his species could achieve, or perhaps just the tallest on record. Seeing him practically at Godzilla's height in the leaked footage from Godzilla vs. Kong means that, in the few decades that have passed since Skull Island and King of the Monsters, Kong would now have to be around Godzilla's near-400ft. How this happens is something the film will have to address but it wouldn't be the first time a kaiju has expanded to even-more-massive proportions over time. Though outside of the MonsterVerse's canon, Netflix's animated Godzilla trilogy of films introduced the biggest version of the title monster yet at about 984ft. After pushing humanity off Earth entirely, the new inheritor of the planet spent thousands of years growing to fit the proportions of his new territory; becoming one with our former homeworld's ecosystem.
The simplest explanation for Kong's drastic size change comes from the canon itself: that the Kong we saw in Skull Island was merely a youngster with more growing left to do. While acknowledging that this explanation is a serviceable one, director Adam Wingard nevertheless described it in 2017 as "a challenge we'll have to deal with," suggesting there might actually be more to it than Titan hormones at play.
Those left disappointed by the messy chaos of King of the Monsters might already be more open to the more straightforward, one-on-one scrap that Godzilla vs. Kong looks to offer (though we can't forget about the heavily implied return of King Ghidorah teased by KOTM's post-credits scene). Still, the moodier atmosphere in the footage from its sequel hasn't gone unnoticed, giving fans hope that a return to the more grounded, visceral feel of Gareth Edwards' more positively-received 2014 film might be in store.
Directed by Adam Wingard, Godzilla vs. Kong stars Alexander Skarsgard, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall and Brian Tyree Henry. The film will open in theaters on Nov. 20, 2020.