The ending of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters‘ second season created the impression that there may be, not one, but two versions of Rodan active in the Monsterverse. The final scene of the Apple TV show’s season 2 finale took Kurt Russell’s Lee Shaw to a place presumed to be Thialand, where he caught sight of Rodan, a classic ally from Toho’s Godzilla movies and one of the Titans featured prominently in Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters’s ending notably didn’t kill off Rodan, and instead saw him bow down to Godzila, thus laying some clear groundwork for a possible return in a future Monsterverse installment where Rodan could act as an ally to Godzilla. Since the story didn’t allow for the classic Godzilla-Rodan team-up fans of the classic Toho movies had hoped to see, there was still much the Monsterverse could do with the monster. However, neither Godzilla vs Kong nor Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire made any use of him.

It’s taken seven years, but the Monsterverse has finally brought him back via Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. But interestingly, King of the Monsters’ setup for his return had nothing to do with it, considering that the events of the second season actually takes place two years prior to King of the Monsters.

Showing a pre-KOTM Rodan was entirely unexpected, and for good reason: Monsterverse canon seemingly stands in the way of it, which is partially why one of the most commonly held interpretations of the finale is that the series has introduced a second Rodan.

Rodan Appearing In 2017 Would Create Complications For The Monsterverse Timeline

Statements from Godzilla: King of the Monsters Michael Dougherty and other details have created a clear picture of what Rodan’s backstory was in the Monsterverse. In 1991, Monarch built Outpost 56 at the volcano in Isla de Mara, Mexico to monitor the pterodactyl-like Titan.

From the looks of things, Rodan had lived its entire life inside the volcano. Because as Dougherty has said, Rodan’s parents left his egg within the volcano. Apparently, Rodan had been dormant for thousands – if not millions – of years until the moment where the Orca device roused him from his slumber.

That means that if Monarch: Legacy of Monsters has indeed brought back the very same Rodan, that perception of his past has been false. Not only would it prove that Rodan was active and on the surface before 2019, but he wasn’t even in the same volcano during the timeframe that he was supposedly being monitored. For there to only be one Rodan, it would have to be revealed that Rodan was in the Isla De Mara volcano in 1991, relocated to a different volcano, and then returned to Mexico before 2019.

How Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters Can Explain Its Rodan Being The Same As The 2019 Version

It’s a bit of a logical leap, but there is at least a way it could make sense (albeit with some retcons). Because of the way Titans are able to traverse the world through Axis Mundi rifts and Hollow Earth tunnels, it’s not entirely implausible that Rodan has a migration pattern, not unlike Titan X in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. Theoretically, he could have used an Axis Mundi rift underneath the Isla De Mara volcano and then traveled through another rift to reach the volcano in Thailand.

For that to work, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters season 3 would need to ensure that Rodan survives the upcoming battles and ends up back where he belongs in Mexico by the end of the storyline. Of course, this would put some creative constraints on the show and the directions it can take with the Titan, so an alternative narrative route feels more likely at this point. Rather than try to avoid any messiness when it comes to the Monsterverse timeline, the series can confirm the existence of two Rodans.

The Existence Of Two Rodans In The Monsterverse Wouldn’t Be Without Precedent

The notion of two Rodans being alive at the same time would be surprising, but it’s far from unprecedented. There were clearly two Rodans before, as evidenced by one of the murals shown in King of the Monsters. What’s more, there was a pair of Rodans in the movie in which the monster debuted. In fact, much of the story was predicated on this twist, as the 1956 film tragically ended with one Rodan dying and its mate purposely landing in the lava beside it, as it would rather share the same fate than live without it.

What happened in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters may really be a tribute to Rodan. And due to the fact that it has happened before in Toho’s movies, it wouldn’t be considered a major deviation from classic Godzilla lore. All things considered, the existence of a second Rodan shouldn’t be ruled out. But as it stands, either explanation for the twist appears to be on the table.

What The Backstory For A Possible Second Rodan Could Be

Were Monarch: Legacy of Monsters to head in this direction, it’s worth wondering how the show would go about explaining his presence alongside the other Rodan. Perhaps the simplest answer is that Rodan’s parents laid two eggs, one in Mexico and another in Thailand. If so, this Rodan could have essentially the same history as its King of the Monsters counterpart.

Or, it may be that the second Rodan is one of the two parents of the previously introduced version. Some Titans, like Godzilla, can live for several millennia, so it’s not necessarily a certainty that both of Rodan’s parents are dead. One could still be out there, hibernating in a volcano in Thailand.

A mural in Godzilla: King of the Monsters that showed Rodan, Godzilla, and Mothra fighting Ghidorah curiously implied that a Rodan was once counted as an ally to Godzilla. Where that was one of the parents of King of the Monsters’ Rodan or an unrelated member of their species, it could be that the ancient Rodan from the mural is the one occupying the volcano in Thailand. If so, the Titan may have a different relationship with Godzilla than the one seen in the 2019 film, which would be an interesting avenue for the series to explore.

Release Date

November 16, 2023

Network

Apple TV

Showrunner

Chris Black, Matt Fraction

Directors

Julian Holmes, Matt Shakman, Mairzee Almas, Andy Goddard, Hiromi Kamata

Writers

Al Letson, Karl Taro Greenfeld, Chris Black, Mariko Tamaki, Amanda Overton, Andrew Colville, Matt Fraction, Milla Bell-Hart

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  Kiersey Clemons

  May Hewitt