Godzilla: King of the Monsters Director Michael Dougherty Reveals Design for Film’s Mysterious “Queen Muto”

One thing that left fans and audiences scratching their heads at the end of Godzilla: King of the Monsters was the unexpected appearance of a new MUTO. What was it doing there if Godzilla slew the MUTOs in the previous film?

Well, KOTM’s director Michael Dougherty gave us an answer. Now that he’s set up an Instagram, Dougherty has been sharing concept art and giving background on the various kaiju in last year’s epic MonsterVerse installment.

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He posted a 360-degree look at a 3D rendering of the female creature he dubbed Barb and explained she is the Queen MUTO. Barb is “older than the MUTOs we saw before,” topped with a dorsal “crown” denoting “her royalty status.”

Dougherty wrote “I loved Gareth’s creatures from the 2014 film and wanted to keep the species alive,” but he wanted to add a few differences. Hence, he gave Barb “scars from past battles…or mating rituals.”

Check out the detailed render:

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Dougherty also shared an early sculpt of Mothra and discussed creative choices made to differentiate her from “past incarnations.” She’d have to “defend herself and scrap with the boys” or predators in her hostile habitat ergo she has the stinger.

Wrote Dougherty:

“Every aspect of her design and personality is meant to evoke a careful balance of beauty, danger, elegance and ferocity.
I like the notion that Mothra isn’t a literal moth but the ancient ancestor, or mother, of nearly all insects. Maybe of life itself…”

Again, it’s an early sculpt and doesn’t completely match the film’s final look for Mothra – the eyes are set lower and less prominently, for one thing – but have a look:

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He posted a design of Mothra’s wings too, meant to mimic Godzilla’s eyes, giving the two one more subtle connection. And here’s that:

Last but not least, Dougherty showed off a 3D sculpt of Monster Zero himself, King Ghidorah. Enjoy!

What do you think of the sculpts? Tell us down below.

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