Godzilla vs. Kong: The Official Movie Novelization

Godzilla vs. Kong: The Official Movie Novelization Author(s) Greg Keyes Publisher Titan Books Publish date April 6, 2021 Pages 352 ISBN ISBN-10: 1789097355 ISBN-13: 978-1789097351

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Godzilla vs. Kong: The Official Movie Novelization is the novelization for the Legendary Pictures film Godzilla vs. Kong, written by Greg Keyes. Titan Books published it on April 6, 2021. The audiobook edition, released on Audible by Blackstone Publishing the same day, is narrated by Richard Ferrone.

Differences from the film

• The novelization begins by retelling Godzilla's rescue of Na Kika in Godzilla Dominion from the perspective of a Russian gangster attempting to sell the Titan to an American businessman, implied to be a representative of Apex Cybernetics.
• Alan Jonah meets with Walter Simmons in Pensacola and agrees to sell him two Ghidorah skulls. While Godzilla severed one of Ghidorah's heads during their battle in Mexico, the origin of the second skull is left unexplained.
• David Lind's doomed trip to the Hollow Earth is told from his brother Nathan's perspective.
• Jia's family is attacked by a Sirenjaw as Skull Island is ravaged by a perpetual storm. Her sister lifts her onto a tree before being swept away by a rush of water. Kong takes notice of her and rescues her.
• Sensing Apex's tampering with the Ghidorah skulls, Godzilla rouses himself. He now resides in the ancient cavern he discovered while battling Tiamat in Godzilla Dominion, having induced all of the other Titans besides Kong to rest.
• Although the events of Kingdom Kong are referenced multiple times, the novelization contradicts the comic's ending, wherein Monarch evacuates the Iwi from Skull Island. Dr. Ilene Andrews recalls that the Iwi refused relocation, and all but Jia disappeared without a trace shortly after Andrews tried convincing them.
• The primary events of the novelization take place three years after Godzilla: King of the Monsters, while the film takes place five years later. However, Simmons still says that Godzilla "first revealed himself to the world" ten years ago.
• Miserable at school, Madison Russell tries convincing her father Mark to homeschool her.
• Monarch becomes aware that Godzilla has resumed activity well before he attacks Pensacola. Talking with a young Monarch intern, Mark recaps the events of Godzilla Dominion. He is unable to convince his superiors to order any evacuations.
• The Iwi word for "Godzilla" is "Zo-zla-halawa." Jia recalls a story her elders told her of Godzilla "[eating] a star" in the Hollow Earth that turned him wicked. The Iwi and Kongs waged war against him for a time, but they were unable to defeat him, resulting in most of the Kongs being killed by Godzilla. Ultimately, they journeyed to the surface and took up residence on Skull Island.
• Madison suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder after her experiences with Jonah and Ghidorah and has started seeing a therapist.
• Godzilla's landfall in Pensacola is told from the perspective of a park ranger.
• Watching Godzilla attack the Apex facility in Pensacola, Ren Serizawa reflects on how his father Ishiro neglected him to pursue Godzilla, who the son views as an older brother of sorts.
• After Godzilla's attack, Mark fields questions from reporters, with one asking if Godzilla is being controlled by eco-terrorists and another questioning if the Titan "hates artificial beaches."
• To safely move Kong from his enclosure on Skull Island, Monarch knocks him out with an odorless, water-soluble gas developed by sequencing his DNA.
• Before deciding to contact Bernie Hayes, Madison wonders if Apex built a new ORCA to cause Godzilla to attack their facility and frame him as a menace.
• The long list of conspiracy theories that Bernie subscribes to include a coverup of elves living at the North Pole.
• Guillermin, a minor character in the film, is the director of Monarch instead of Mark and has significantly more dialogue. Nonetheless, Simmons refers to Mark as "Director Russell" in both the film and novelization.
• Nathan's hesitation leads to Godzilla smashing a destroyer before the fleet opens fire on him.
• The Vile Vortex in Antarctica is located near Monarch Outpost 32, which once housed Ghidorah. Nathan and Ilene speculate on a connection but decide they don't have enough information.
• Ilene notes that Monarch "collected seeds, spores, cell tissue, and even eggs from many of the doomed species" of Skull Island.
• While Madison, Bernie, and Josh travel to Hong Kong alongside Skullcrawler eggs, Bernie theorizes that Apex plans to implant remote controllers in the monsters.
• In further narration, Ren expresses the belief that Titans are merely animals, meant to be conquered by humans like all the rest. He finds Ishiro's most famous quotation the sentiment of "a man who could brush aside the untold causalities that 'letting them fight' always led to." His resentment of his father reached its apex when he missed his wife's funeral, which Ren organized himself at the age of 18. His contempt extends to Simmons, who he sees only as a means to an end.
• After entering Mechagodzilla's control room, Bernie concludes that the second Ghidorah skull is inside the machine.
• Simmons is aware of Bernie's podcast and delighted to meet him, quipping that "I loved that four-part series on chemtrails. Gave me some seriously promising ideas for future projects."
• Ren sees a vision of his father just before Mechagodzilla's malfunctions kill him. After the machine kills Simmons, Madison returns to the control room in the hopes of removing Ren's helmet but finds it a ruin.

Appearances

Monsters

• Godzilla
• King Kong
• Mechagodzilla
• Skullcrawler
• Warbats
• Hellhawks
• Leafwings
• Sirenjaws
• Arachno-claws
• Foetodons
• King Ghidorah (skull; mentioned)
• Scylla (mentioned)
• Amhuluk (mentioned)
• Na Kika (mentioned)
• Quetzalcoatl (mentioned)
• Methuselah (mentioned)
• Behemoth (mentioned)
• MUTOs (mentioned)
• MUTO Prime (mentioned)
• Mothra (mentioned)
• Rodan (mentioned)
• Camazotz (mentioned)
• Mother Longlegs (mentioned)

Weapons, vehicles, races, and organizations

• Monarch
• Apex Cybernetics

Gallery

• 

  Placeholder cover

References

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