A 70-Year-Old Kaiju Movie May Explain That Massive Monsterverse Reveal

Warning: Spoilers for Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 2, episode 10

The season 2 finale of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters dropped a welcome, yet head-scratching, reveal about one of the most popular creatures in the Godzilla franchise. After a seven-year absence, Rodan finally returned to Legendary's Monsterverse. The fact that Rodan survived the events of Godzilla: King of the Monsters created the impression he could easily show up again, but both of its sequels avoided him.

Since Rodan is still very much alive, there's always been an easy way to bring him back. Since he recognized Godzilla as the alpha of the Titans, the latter could simply call him out of hibernation for a future battle. That was the most obvious route that the Monsterverse could have taken, but instead, Rodan made an appearance in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, at a point in the Monsterverse timeline that actually precedes King of the Monsters.

In the final scene of the season 2 finale, Kurt Russell's Lee Shaw arrives in what appears to be Thailand, on the hunt for a creature that he knows is also being sought by Kentaro Randa and Isabel Simmons, presumably due to its proximity to another Axis Mundi rift. There, Lee Shaw catches sight of the Fire Demon standing atop a volcano, laying the groundwork for what may be a Rodan-centric season 3 of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.

As exciting as this was, it doesn't exactly make sense in terms of the timeline of events established by Godzilla: King of the Monsters. However, Rodan's presence in Thailand may not be a retcon if the Monsterverse is taking inspiration from his film debut.

Rodan's Surprise Appearance Creates Some Major Monsterverse Questions

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 2 takes place in 2017, two years before Rodan is awakened by the Orca device in Godzilla: King of the Monsters. There's two problems with this, one of which is that his location doesn't fit with the timeline. In the movie, Rodan was nesting in a volcano at Isla De Mara in Mexico, not Thailand. Rodan relocating from Thailand to Mexico between 2017 and 2019 seems unlikely, considering that Monarch set up Outpost 56 at Isla De Mara to monitor him in 1991.

That's not the only reason that King of the Monsters' Rodan appearing in Thailand in 2017 would amount to a retcon. It's also been understood that the scene where Rodan awoke from hibernation was his first time ever emerging on the surface in modern times and interacting with humanity.

The Original Rodan Movie Featured Two Rodans

Interestingly, the Monsterverse could sidestep both of these plot holes if it's confirmed that the Rodan seen in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is not the same version that appeared in King of the Monsters. A Titan sharing the planet with another of the same species in the present day would be unusual for the Monsterverse, but not unprecedented for this particular creature.

In the original Rodan movie, released in 1956, one of the film's most pivotal moments came when the human protagonists came to realize that the giant pterodactyl monster threatening Japah had a mate. This upped the ante in a big way for the characters, as they were already faced with a tremendous challenge just fighting Rodan; a second Rodan made matters all the more complicated. In the end, both monsters tragically died.

It's possible that Rodan is the true inspiration for what happened in the Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 2 finale. If that's the case, the series can chart its own path for this incarnation of Rodan, as he wouldn't be destined to wind up in a volcano in Mexico, fight Ghidorah and lose, and sully his reputation as a hero by killing Mothra. Rather, he could facilitate the highly-requested Godzilla-Rodan team-up his predecessor never got to be a part of.