I'm Convinced Godzilla X Kong: Supernova Includes This 29-Year-Old Unused Villain After New Set Photo
A recent set photo from the production of Godzilla X Kong: Supernova teases the inclusion of a famously unused monster from Godzilla's history, and I'm convinced it's evidence it'll be included in the next chapter of the Monsterverse. Currently slated for a March 2027 release date, Godzilla X Kong: Supernova will be the sixth entry in the interconnected universe. While there are no major plot or character details available with the release date still so far off, that hasn't stopped Godzilla and Kong fans from crafting theories about what comes next for the Monsterverse. Most of the early speculation around the movie's plot has revolved around the Supernova subtitle, which the most popular theory says is an indication of SpaceGodzilla's imminent arrival. The Supernova subtitle certainly points to a cosmic villain like Hedorah, Orga, or Gigan if it isn't SpaceGodzilla, but there is always the possibility that the next movie's villain isn't any of the popular choices. In fact, a set photo from the production of Godzilla X Kong: Supernova points to an unused American monster from Godzilla's past being the true villain.
A Recent Godzilla X Kong: Supernova Set Photo Teases The Unused Monster Gryphon
Oscar Winner Stan Winston Designed A Cosmic Villain For Tristar's Godzilla
Image from Stna Winston School of Character Arts
As pointed out by X user @Mr_goji54, a recent photo posted to the Instagram story of cinematographer Simon England from the set of Godzilla X Kong: Supernova's latest shooting location in Moab, Utah shows a distinct red patch on a camera. That patch, although not 100% clear, shows an outline of a winged four-legged creature with a bolt of lightning in the background. That creature looks exactly like a monster known as the Gryphon, an alien kaiju that was intended to be Godzilla's primary adversary in Jan De Bont's scrapped 1996 Godzilla movie. That movie would go on to become the 1998 Tristar version of Godzilla, which focused on Godzilla as the villain and contained no other monsters.
Legendary's MonsterVerse - Key Details
Movie/TV Show
Release Date
Budget
Box Office Gross
RT Tomatometer Score
RT Popcornmeter Score
Godzilla
2014
$160 million
$529.1 million
76%
66%
Kong: Skull Island
2017
$185 million
$568 million
76%
70%
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
2019
$200 million
$387.3 million
42%
83%
Godzilla vs. Kong
2021
$200 million
$470.1 million
76%
91%
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
2023
N/A
N/A
86%
77%
Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire
2024
$150 million
$572.3 million
54%
89%
The Gryphon was designed and even worked into models by legendary special effects artist Stan Winston, who won Academy Awards for his work on Aliens, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and Jurassic Park (with nominations for a number of other classics). Winston designed the Gryphon as a winged monster with the body of a puma, with massive front claws and sharp hooves for feet. The Gryphon's scripted origin borrowed from classic Godzilla lore; it was a biological weapon designed by an alien race, sent to Earth to wipe out all life so that the aliens could take the planet for themselves. It arrived on Earth in a meteorite, and adopted the genetic material of several Earth animals to come up with its final monstrous form.
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After Teasing It 6 Years Ago, Godzilla X Kong: Supernova Needs To Use One Of The World's Most Terrifying Creatures
Godzilla X Kong: Supernova has the opportunity to give Monsterverse fans a real big-screen introduction to perhaps the most terrifying original Titan.
In addition to its winged attacks and massive claws, the Gryphon was able to fire blasts of lightning out of its wings, not dissimilar from Ghidorah's Gravity Beams in appearance. The Gryphon was essentially a stand-in for King Ghidorah, in fact, as Tristar and Toho negotiated rights and licensing for the characters.
Gryphon Is A Perfect Fit For Godzilla X Kong: Supernova
His Origin And Power Set Fit What We Know, And He Doesn't Need To Be Licensed From Toho
The Gryphon actually makes an incredible amount of sense as one of, if not the primary villains for Godzilla X Kong: Supernova. For starters, the camera patch from the set was seen while shooting in Utah, which is where the Gryphon's meteorite was supposed to land in the original script from Jan De Bont's version of Godzilla. His alien nature, along with the fact that he arrives on Earth in a meteorite, satisfies the apparent connection between the Supernova subtitle and a cosmic villain. The Monsterverse has already seen one alien monster in Ghidorah, so the Gryphon could come from the same alien race or planet that sent Ghidorah, which would explain his similar attacks and body type.
The Gryphon's ability to assimilate DNA from other creatures to create a final form was supposedly borrowed for the creature Orga in Godzilla 2000: Millennium.
The Gryphon is also a monster that wouldn't require Toho's involvement, which has been a roadblock for Legendary and Tristar in the past. It's expensive to license each Toho monster, and they need to be licensed individually. The process is so complicated that Legendary even made a brand-new monster named Phosphera that would have slotted into Mothra's peacekeeper role in Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire. Frankly, the Gryphon seems like a perfect fit for the Monsterverse, especially given how neatly its backstory aligns with the Monsterverse in its current state. Godzilla blogs, fansites, and Reddit communities generally approve of the Stan Winston's original Gryphon creature design, which is a major factor in how well a new monster is typically received. The Gryphon's origin even fits in as a good foil for the Monsterverse's Godzilla, who has now on multiple occasions shown the ability to assimilate DNA from other monsters. He used Mothra's DNA to help power up into his Burning Godzilla form in Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and used Tiamat's as he powered up into Evolved Godzilla in The New Empire. The Monsterverse's Gryphon, instead of using genetic information from other animals, can use genetic information from other Titans to achieve its final form. That would allow for screentime for some of the Monsterverse's named but unseen Titans, like Typhon, Bunyip, or Baphomet in addition to introducing the Gryphon, which would be a great celebration of Legendary's creative team. The camera patch seen in the recent Godzilla X Kong: Supernova set photo has me convinced that the Gryphon will show up in some capacity in the movie. It may not turn out to be the "final boss" of the movie, but it would make a great secondary villain at the very least. Source: Simon England
Godzilla x Kong: Supernova
Release Date
March 26, 2027
Director
Grant Sputore
Writers
Dave Callaham, Michael Lloyd Green
Producers
Mary Parent
Dan Stevens
Trapper Beasley
