Doing something a little different this week. The story from the previous two weeks is on hold for a tiny bit. I’m going to do a movie pitch, which is maybe more in line with how I originally intended this blog to go. Still, it’s creative, it’s writing, I am meeting my deadline of writing something new every week. Living The Motern Method.
Sequel to the Sequel of Godzilla x Kong Movie Pitch
Those of us with insider knowledge know Godzilla is going to die in the next Legendary Monsterverse film. Sorry to spoil that, but hey, there’s no brakes on this machine. We already need to get to work on continuing the money train, and that’s where I come in.
Our movie starts several decades after Godzilla’s death. The surface world is overrun by titans wreaking havoc. There’s little humanity can do to stop them. Introduced in the previous picture was Godzilla Jr., the spitting image of the elder titan in looks, but not in spirit. Then he was just a little guy, now he’s grown into a full-size Godzilla. However, Godzilla Jr. has no interest in taking up the family business. He’s content to let the world burn.
Enter a rather unusual looking titan, Titanus Minira, AKA Minilla (Author’s Note: I am partial to the name “Minya”, used in the English dub of All Monsters Attack (1969), but Minilla is more in line with the intent of his name in Japanese. “mini-(goji)-ra” / “mini-(godzi)-lla”), the other son of Godzilla.
He barely looks anything like Godzilla, he’s small, pudgy, his face is flatter. He’s far less threatening. He was hatched sometime after Godzilla’s death, so he never knew his father. The scientists at Monarch are convinced he’s not actually related to Godzilla at all.
Unlike his brother, Minilla wants to do what his father did, but he’s no match for these bigger monsters. He knows who can train him, though.
Deep in the Hollow Earth we meet Kong, greying, hunched over, a bit broken, no longer the spry titan he once was. His ape kingdom has cast him out, run now by a new ape king. His adopted son, Suko? Nowhere to be seen. When Minilla first comes to him he doesn’t even react, as he doesn’t realize he’s one of Godzilla’s species.
Minilla recites all of Godzilla’s fights with Kong, blow by blow, to Kong’s amazement—wait, are you confused that the monsters are speaking? Yes, they speak in this movie. Is that too ridiculous for you? This is a serious movie. Keep up!
Kong tries to turn Minilla away from wanting to take up the family business. He tells Minilla that he watched his father die fighting other titans, and was powerless to help him. Does he want to end up the same way?
Minilla is determined, and so they begin training. Along the way it becomes clear Kong is not up to the task, he’s sickly, weak. He’s ready to give up. Minilla inspires him to get back on his feet and keep going.
Minilla goes back to the surface world where he takes on a titan that’s attacking a city. The fight is tough, but he succeeds. His roar is still weak and he’s unable to conjure Godzilla’s atomic breath, instead blowing little harmless rings.
The victory celebration is short lived. He’s raised the ire of Gabara, the new “king of the monsters”, a real bully. Gabara calls upon other nearby monsters to go after Minilla. Minilla can keep some of them at bay, but then Gabara charges in and gets the better of Minilla.
After a thorough beating, Gabara tosses Minilla away, crashing through some buildings. Kong rushes to his side and tells him they must get out of there, or Gabara will kill him.
Minilla pleads with him to let him stay and fight. Kong asks why it matters so much. He’s survived this long, and the monsters have left him alone. They’ll leave him alone if he runs and hides. Minilla proclaims he needs to prove that he wasn’t a mistake, that Godzilla really wanted him to be his son.
Kong sees the spark in Minilla’s eyes and tells him “Don’t convince me, convince yourself!”
Minilla rises to his feet. Akira Ifukube’s Godzilla Theme blares. He begins another weak roar, after two tries it manifests into Godzilla’s roar, shattering the buildings that are still standing, and causing all the monsters in the vicinity, who are searching for Minilla, to stop in their tracks, terrified.
Gabara now sees Minilla and himself looks a little shaken. He hurriedly gestures for the other monsters to go after him. All of them hesitate. A few even flee. Gabara grabs one smaller creature and throws it in the direction of Minilla.
It lands a few hundred feet away. Up close, seeing Minilla is still the same little monster, it gains its courage and charges at him. Here the ultra-violence gets ramped up. Minilla grapples with the monster, pins him to the ground, and then begins snapping limbs. The monster’s screams are muffled by Minilla’s roars, until he finally goes silent.
Gabara continues urging the other monsters, who form a circle around Minilla and start closing in. One by one they leap at him and he bats them away. Finally they all pile on, beating on him. We see Minilla’s little tail sticking out, the spines beginning to turn blue. A burst of blue energy pulses out of the middle of the pile. The monsters all jump away. One slowly stands up, looks down at the hole through his chest, then falls over.
Minilla rises to his feet, his eyes glowing in blue flame. He unleashes his atomic breath again. The monsters all dive to the ground or leap out of the way.
Among Gabara’s gang is none other than the new ape king. Gabara signals to him. He readies the Godzilla Spine Axe he stole from Kong, and leaps through the air toward Minilla. With a quick burst, Minilla fires off his breath, severing the ape king’s arm. He tumbles to the ground, crying out in agony. Minilla wrenches the axe from the ape king’s detached arm, then buries it in his chest, killing him.
One by one Minilla charges at the other monsters who aren’t fleeing. He rips them limb from limb, tears them in half, he is covered from head to toe in their blood. To help the director understand the idea I’m going for I’ll show them Asuka’s fight from End of Evangelion. That’s the violence level this fight needs.
When all have fled, or are destroyed, only Gabara remains. The two charge each other and grapple.
Having trained with Kong, Minilla is adept at wrestling and using Gabara’s weight against him, better than Godzilla ever was. The fight is extremely difficult, Minilla and Gabara are both severely wounded. They charge at each other one last time, in the tussle, Minilla bites down on Gabara’s neck. Gabara cries out.
We see a flat shot on Gabara’s anguished face. There’s bright blue flash. Gabara’s eyes go out of focus, and his jaw goes slack. Cut to an angle of Gabara already falling over behind some buildings, Minilla is on the edge of the frame, from the chest down. Once Gabara’s body has settled, his head falls from above frame, where Minilla’s mouth is.
Minilla lets out a triumphant roar.
Kong comes out of hiding and hobbles into the ruins of the city, shocked by the carnage. Minilla places his foot on the chest of the dead ape king and pulls the Godzilla Spine Axe out.
“You are Godzilla’s son.” Kong says proudly.
Minilla hands the axe to Kong.
Kong takes it cautiously and asks “And what would Godzilla say to this?”
“I’m not Godzilla.” Minilla says. “I’m—”
Cut to the title card:
ミニラ
“Minilla”
With an accompanying roar.
Wait a damn minute, did I just adapt the movie Creed into a giant monster movie?
I did.
Much like Creed, it’s imperative that this movie take itself hyper seriously, despite the ludicrous premise. That’s the only way it will work. I want audiences in tears when Minilla pleads with Kong to not drag him from the fight. I want goosebumps when the Godzilla theme plays. And when Gabara’s severed head drops to the ground I want the audience on their feet cheering. And when that title card comes up at the end, without any hint of irony, people will lose their minds.
Anyway, look forward to this movie some time in 2028.
Armchair Screenwriter 