GODZILLA: KING OF THE MONSTERS Director Michael Dougherty Shares Concept Art And Backstory For Titanus Behemoth
David Gelmini
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Although most of the giant creatures featured in last year’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters had previously appeared in Toho’s earlier Godzilla movies, the film also introduced some brand new kaiju. This includes a hulking creature known as Titanus Behemoth, which looks something like a cross between a sloth and a woolly mammoth. While this new creature (which we’ll just refer to as the Behemoth from now on) didn’t have a huge amount of screen time, fans were still intrigued by this strange new beast, which is why we were so excited when director Michael Dougherty shared a piece of early digital concept art for the Behemoth on his Instagram account.
In the video shared by Dougherty, we see an early 3D rendering of the Behemoth, which rotates and gradually changes colour, along with an actual concept art drawing for comparison purposes. In the accompanying caption, Dougherty explains that the Behemoth is actually his favourite new monster featured in the film, and how he was glad to have included a mammalian kaiju, seeing as most of the other monsters were either reptiles or insects.
He goes on to describe the Behemoth as a peaceful herbivore, although it may have been enslaved and used as a giant beast of burden by an ancient human society, which explains why it was originally going to have chains hanging from its limbs before this idea was dropped. And while the creature walks on all fours, it’s still capable of standing on its hind legs when it needs to use its giant claws to defend itself from enemies. Dougherty ends by saying the Behemoth enjoys being groomed and petted by Kong, although we’re pretty sure he was joking about that!
As you can see, the Behemoth was clearly designed to resemble a woolly mammoth, with enormous tusks and a coat of shaggy fur, but without a trunk. The design was also based upon the appearances of apes and sloths, which you can see from the hunched shoulders and the long, slender limbs. According to Gojipedia, the male creature stands at 354 feet (91 meters), and is also known as Mapinguary, which is the name for a monstrous creature in Brazilian folklore. The Behemoth’s fur is also fireproof, so Godzilla won’t have much luck defeating him with his atomic breath. Interestingly, the Behemoth also has the ability to create foliage, as the radiation emitted from his enormous body causes plants and trees to grow in previously deforested areas.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters sadly failed to make a huge impact at the box office last year, although the film still continued to honour Godzilla’s legacy in a way which we praised in our review. It will be directly followed by Godzilla vs. Kong, which is set to open on November 20, 2020. Although due to the way things are now, there is a chance it could be delayed.
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