The second trailer for Legendary and Warner Bros’ Godzilla sequel, and third entry in their “Monsterverse” string of films has dropped – and it is a doosy. Fans will certainly recall the magnificent first trailer which its fantastic score and cinematography (can be re-watched by clicking here). While the first trailer appealed in a more artistic/subdued manner, the second gives everyone what they were missing from the first. ACTION.
The second trailer which was released online December 10th of 2018 (can be viewed by clicking here) was highly anticipated by fans and the tease of having the release date of the second trailer delayed made it all the more exciting when it finally debuted. The trailer was actually released the day before at Brazil’s Comic Con as director Michael Dougherty had promised fans, and the delays before doing so were likely the result of the new Avengers trailer being released in a similar time frame.
So for the trailer breakdown:
The opening scene is one we have seen before from the first trailer and the pair of teasers, albeit that this time the dialogue is discernible. We see Millie Bobby Brown’s character Madison trying to reach another party (presumably the Monarch agency) on dated radio equipment. The scene then briefly shifts to a shot of a large body of water with numerous dead fish floating on the calm surface. In the distance a buoy can be seen. The scene shifts again when she resumes speaking – this time to a shot of a Central American town where a large evacuation is taking place. The colour scheme here is unmistakably that which was used for Rodan in the first trailer and we are once again treated to his shadow flying over the city as his sonic shock wave follows soon after causing mass destruction. After this, there is another pause between Millie’s breaths ad we are switched to a new scene taking place in Washington D.C. which has obviously seen better days. The word “apocalypse” certainly comes to mind. Perhaps the most interesting part of this scene is the cockpit of the aircraft the viewer is inside of. Obviously a next gen model and perhaps something that Monarch has had up its sleeves.
In the final segment of the radio switchbacks we see Millie again at the radio. This time looking on with an air of excitement and concern as she is contacted. Her reaction soon turns to dread as the person on the radio exclaims “Everything is burning – is there anyone out there?!” and then, hidden in the static we hear Godzilla and Ghidorah’s trademark roars.
We then cut to black and see the studio logos. From here on out, everything moves quite quickly as we are treated to some really fantastic teases of what is to come.
The first thing we see is the Central American Volcano we know that Rodan will emerge from. It is erupting. The second scene is of (and correct me if I am wrong) a Boeing Osprey landing in the Antarctic base where we know Ghidorah is being researched “The Wall of Serpents” as Monarch calls it.
I was personally expecting to see Mothra’s initial location as all of the other “Big Four’s” locations were foreshadowed previously in the trailer but this isn’t what happens, or at least we are not sure if this relates to Mothra at this time. In the next split second we are shown the legs/claws/pincers of a giant invertebrate rising out of the ground with extreme prejudice.
The next few scenes set up our main characters. No word yet on some characters’ names but the actors presented are Kyle Chandler and Charles Dance. In the background we hear a debrief given to a senate committee by Monarch agents describing the menace of the titans, and how those known are only “The tip of the iceberg.” thus hinting that there is much more to come.
There are a few flashes of scenes: Sally Hawkins, Rodan emerging from his volcano as advanced aircraft take off, and a very interesting scene of a kaiju moving underground. There has been a fair amount of buzz surrounding this scene and many are suspecting Mothra, Kumonga or even Angilas of being the creature under the Earth. I personally suspect that it is the same invertebrate creature encountered earlier in the trailer, but I am hoping for a certain spikey fellow.
We are then treated to a scene, again these are moving in quick succession, to the entrance to what I have put together to be Godzilla’s lair. Three Monarch submersibles appear to be moving down a corridor of ancient undersea pillars while a warm glow can be seen up ahead of them and a stream of molten rock below. The scene is over in perhaps a second, and then we move to a generic explosion at the Antarctic base.
We then see Zhang Ziyi staring at a blue glow, and then it cuts to an underwater viewing area where a character is walking towards Godzilla, who is flashing blue in the depths. The senate committee debrief is still doing on in the background and the character giving the debrief gives a plot hint that some of the kaiju may not be as malign as others.
We then cut to Mothra who is in the process of cocooning itself in the middle of a military installation. It seems pretty calm all things considered. Of course the next scene is also of Mothra unfolding its wings in a blinding flash of light, again with a character in the foreground. We then cut to Rodan doing a flyby of the same Central American city as before, but as a treat this time it is from a civilian perspective.
What follows next is a money shot of Ghidorah as the character, again speaking about the intent of these creatures gets to the part where he says “…here to threaten us.” I love this bit. As we see Ghidorah take a step as we pan up and up. One of the tails sweeps by majestically and the spikes unfold with a characteristic “unsheathing” sound. We then cut back and Ghidorah is on the ground, all three heads beginning to look up, their necks dancing with yellow light.
Cut to black and we are now looking at the debriefing. The senator in charge of the committee then askes “So you would want to make Godzilla our pet?” To which Ken Watanabe (aka Dr. Serizawa) unloads one of those great one liners: “No. We would be his.”
The next scene is presumably Dr. Serizawa walking up to Godzilla in his lair, which doubles as a deserted temple to him. I feel like I can say this having seen a number of production images of Ken Watanabe in the PPE, as well as in the same lighting. If it isn’t him though it is still interesting as Godzilla, lying down but awake, allows the human to approach.
Millie Booby Brown (aka Madison) then askes “Will he be ok?” presumably about her father played by Kyle Chandler in the film, but in this trailer it feels like Godzilla is implied – and no sooner has she finished her sentence than we see Godzilla very quickly swimming by the underwater viewing dome we saw earlier.
We see Millie/Madison’s on screen mother tearing up, and then there are a few split second images of destruction/very worries scientists and then a shot Ghidorah landing and snarling into the camera with all three heads. The background music then develops a rhythmic rock oriented beat that carries through to the climax of the trailer.
The words “This summer” come up and then we are shown another scene which has fans asking questions. An object falling through the sky, apparently either on fire or burning up on entry through Earth’s atmosphere. There are some that speculate that this could be a flashback of Ghidorah falling to Earth in ages past. I would love to see this as the ruins and previously hinted human interactions with the kaiju (Titans) has been teased in more than one form of media by Legendary/WB.
We cut next to Sally Hawkins (aka Dr. Graham) who tells us “They are everywhere, fighting for dominance…a rival alpha to Godzilla”. While this is happening we see three awesome things. Rodan’s talons reaching for a fighter jet, Mothra dive bombing a soon to be unfortunate something, and Ghidorah and Godzilla squaring off.
The scene goes black again and then we see that it wasn’t black, Godzilla has just eclipsed the light source. As he turns toward us, in a beautiful shot, we see that he has had much better days and he grimaces.
We cut to our heroes again, and a solider who utters “You gotta be kidding me”.
After this, Ghidorah presumes to light up the screen with gravity beams, something blows up, Mothra chirps while flying (and looks awesome), more stuff blows up, Serizawa is shown deep in thought with his father’s watch, more stuff blowing up, RODAN DOES A BARREL ROLL….and cut to black…
Millie/Madsion is shown and she doesn’t quite get to finish “Holy shit!” as the screen then cuts to Godzilla RUNNING and Ghidorah charging towards each other from opposite sides.
The trailer ends then with the film title and dates etc.
So what did we think?
This was awesome. As much as I loved the first trailer, this second one blew it out of the water – maybe not in terms of beauty or score, but in plot points that we got out of it. Roll on May 31st!
Thoughts? (Potential spoilers)
We have known for a while now that the Madison family is at the core of this film. It has been hinted at and explained before that Mrs. Madison has some ties to Monarch and that she will be the one to unleash the chaos factory that is Ghidorah. This lets us assume some ties about the other Madison characters in the film, although what they end up doing/how they fit in is left pretty open. Although their plot is being kept fairly secret, it is nice to see some elements in a trailer.
Potential for more kaiju has always been in the books. In this trailer we were hinted one, maybe two more kaiju that may make appearances. At the moment I am leaning towards one as both shots that hint involve something subterranean. I hope I am wrong though. Promotional photos have also already told us at least one dead MUTO will make an appearance, so I am interested to see what has become of them (you can’t just leave giant radioactive bodies lying in San Francisco Bay).
Godzilla’s lair and communication with Godzilla are two very interesting elements that I feel have been thrown in, and it is this potential communication aspect that could see him turn from anti hero, to hero to villain if the wrong people are “talking to him” thus setting up his “Kongfrontation” in the third film. The lair itself looks to be an amazing set piece, and I love the idea that Godzilla has been interacted with sentient beings before. I am leaving out human interaction for the moment because those look to be some pretty advanced and ginormous ruins. Probably human though…probably.
I am not gonna lie, I was grinning like an idiot there towards the end. Seeing Godzilla run was crazy enough but to see he and Ghidorah charging full tilt toward one another upped it to a new level. I think it is pretty safe to say that while there is a definite human plot line to this film, the powers that be have heard the call for more monster action, and we shall receive just that.
Well, I have typed enough over less than 3 mins worth of trailer. I am curious to know your thoughts – you you have a favourite moment? Any Easter eggs you noticed? Let us know in the comment section below and don’t forget to check out our Facebook Page for more kaiju goodness!
Until later kaiju fans!