Warning: Spoilers for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

Summary

• Mothra's return in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire was a plot hole, but introducing Battra could fix it and add depth.
• The Monsterverse set clear expectations for Mothra's return, but the sequel's storyline went against it, hinting at a deeper twist.
• The introduction of Battra as Mothra's ancient rival could explain the unexpected revival and add intrigue to the Monsterverse.

Mothra's return in Mothra to defy death and re the Monsterverse. However, the specific story the Godzilla vs. Kong sequel used to bring her back went against the Monsterverse's pre-existing setup.

The Godzilla: King of the Monsters credits set clear expectations for how Mothra's eventual return would work. According to one of the newspaper clippings shown in the credits, scientists in "Mothra's territory" stumbled upon an egg believed to belong to the Queen of the Monsters. This tease went hand-in-hand with comments from King of the Monsters director Michael Dougherty, who confirmed that the nature of Mothra's life cycle would allow her to be reborn through one of her eggs. Based on this, it made sense that the hatching of this egg would lead to Mothra being alive again. Instead, she emerged from someplace else entirely.

A Monsterverse Version Of Battra Would Explain King Of The Monsters' "Mothra" Tease

Monarch may be unknowingly guarding a Battra egg

Mothra being reborn from within the Monsterverse's Hollow Earth world, as opposed to the egg she laid before her death in King of the Monsters certainly feels like a retcon, but the introduction of Battra could prove otherwise. In 1992's Godzilla vs. Mothra, Battra debuted as Mothra's ancient rival and a monster who despises humanity for the harm it inflicts on the natural world. As an insect kaiju who's essentially a malicious counterpart to Mothra, it's not impossible that a Monsterverse incarnation of Battra could be the true owner of the egg teased by Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

Though it's obvious that the point of the newspaper clipping was to let audiences know that Mothra had a way of returning, it could be that an alternative explanation was secretly planned. The Monsterverse may have intentionally set up the possibility that Battra emerges from the egg by noting in the article, "Could giant insect egg be a second Mothra...or something else?" With Mothra's rebirth happening inside the Hollow Earth and there being no further updates on the egg in Monarch's custody, the latter is the more likely answer to this question.

How Battra Could Fit Into The Monsterverse

Does the Monsterverse's Mothra have her own ancient rival?

By unleashing Battra on a Monarch facility, the Monsterverse can perfectly pay off Godzilla: King of the Monsters' egg setup and justify Godzilla x Kong's decision to change directions with Mothra. To use him would be an appropriate move for the Monsterverse, considering that the kaiju fits in well with the recurring theme that presents humans as a threat to the planet. Battra ri to attack humanity as he did in Godzilla vs. Mothra would be consistent with that.

As for when and how Battra's arrival in the Monsterverse could happen, it's not hard to imagine Battra appearing as a secondary villain in a follow-up to Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. This would allow Mothra to have her own opponent to fight while Godzilla and Kong deal with the central villain(s). Or, there's a chance that Mothra will be the subject of one of the "multiple" Monsterverse TV spinoffs Apple TV+ has in development. If so, Battra could be the main antagonist of that story instead.