Back in June, director Mike Dougherty was asked on Twitter if there were any references to monsters that fans should look out for. His response was that the skeleton of a creature that might or might not be Anguirus is briefly visible in one shot, just outside Godzilla's lair. For those who don't know what Anguirus is, he is a classic Godzilla monster from the classic Godzilla movies that looks like an ankylosaur covered in spikes from head to tail. Fast forward two months later, Godzilla: King Of The Monsters was just released on digital and we finally get an actual look at the skeleton. This is making everybody question if this is fossil is really our favorite spiky armadillo. Could it be Anguirus or just a look alike?
In the special feature video, "Monarch In Action: The Undersea Lair," director Mike Dougherty was explaining the intricate details on Godzilla's lair. He explains that he always wondered where Godzilla swims off to after each fight and that every animal has some sort of nest that they go to. Near the end of the video we get a much more clear look at Godzilla's lair and we see the skeletons in almost its entirety.
As we can see in the image above, it looks like it could be Anguirus. It has the crown of spikes on his head, the horn at the tip of the snout, the spikes on his back, and he is on all fours. However, what makes this not Anguirus is that it is not covered with as much spikes as the previous incarnations of the character and a lack of a shell.
In my opinion, that is definitely Anguirus if I ever saw one. Everything about this fossil tells me that it is Anguirus from the skull to the spikes and the posture. It just looks very obvious. It could be the reason why Mike Dougherty said that it might or might not be him is because they don't have the rights to the character and he went ahead and used him anyways. It is also the reason why the scene in the movie where you would see him goes by quickly. It is so then TOHO wouldn't notice.
On the other hand, I feel as though if Warner Bros. did not have the rights to the character TOHO would have caught this anyways and told them to either change the design or get rid of it all together. I think that if Dougherty really wanted it to be inconspicuous and make a "not Anguirus" monster then he could have at least changed the head. Perhaps, instead of a crown of spikes it has a bony frill with like a Triceratops or a Styracosaurus. Instead, he went for the classic design, removed a few row of spikes, and that was it. To me, that is not enough to warrant a "not Anguirus" tag.
Also, look back at the design for Methuselah. Before Godzilla: King Of The Monsters was released in theaters, many were convinced that Methuselah was Anguirus and I explained how there could be monsters that resembled a classic Godzilla monster, but really weren't the monsters we would recognize. It looks vaguely similar to Anguirus and yet there are enough differences to be its own monster. The design even resembles a bull more than an ankylsaur. So we recognize that this is not Anguirus. The fossils, however, has all of the distinct characteristics to be Anguirus no matter how I try to look at it.
I am not going to say that the bones that sit outside Godzilla's lair isn't Anguirus because to me that is clearly him, but in terms of whether or not Warner Bros. actually had the rights to use the character is debatable. It could be that they didn't have the rights and put him in the movie anyways or they do and this is the best they could come up with.
What do you guys think? Are these bones of Anguirus or do you think it's not Anguirus? Leave a comment in the comment section on your thoughts of the fossil. If you would like to help support my blog just click on the donate button which can be found at the top of the page. Make sure to follow me on my Facebook and Twitter pages to stay up to date for more news, reviews, and discussions.