Director Mike Dougherty’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters introduced some pretty famous Titans in Legendary’s Monsterverse with new versions of King Ghidorah, Rodan, and Mothra. Regardless of what you thought of the film, it was pretty awesome seeing these characters brought to the big screen again.
When it came to using Mothra in the film, Dougherty learned from TOHO that there was a rule he had to abide by. That rule is that Mothra is not allowed to kill people, which is something I never knew.
Dougherty joined in on a live-stream commentary for Godzilla: King of the Monsters and it’s there he revealed some interesting details. In regards to TOHO’s no-kill rule, he explained:
Originally, the larva was going to fling one of the soldiers against the wall until he fell to a splattery doom, but Toho was adamant that Mothra can’t kill anyone. It was a good note, and one I agreed with…
— Godzilla: King of the Monsters (@GodzillaMovie) April 24, 2020
Dougherty also explained why Mothra was introduced in the larvae state:
We could’ve started with Mothra in her adult form but I thought it was important to see her entire life cycle, from egg to larva to pupa to adult. She represents the constant cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth.
— Godzilla: King of the Monsters (@GodzillaMovie) April 24, 2020
The director also shared a few other cool details behind Mothra’s initial awakening, and explains why Mothra almost attacked:
In the script it was originally mentioned that this egg was over 10,000 years old, but Mothra’s cult has obviously died off since then. That’s why the larva is caught off guard when she emerges from the egg.
— Godzilla: King of the Monsters (@GodzillaMovie) April 24, 2020
I liked how Mothra was utilized in the film. What did you think of how the character was used? Will we see Mothra again in Godzilla Vs. Kong!? Did you know that there was a rule that Mothra couldn’t kill anyone?
I just want to say fight sequences between the Titans were the best part of this movie!