With Monster Hunter Wilds releasing in just over a month, there's plenty for long-time fans of the series to be excited about. While Monster Hunter Wilds' roster continues to grow since it was first announced, there's still plenty of room to surprise players with some iconic monsters returning when the game fully releases. Given that only a third of the monsters revealed so far are making their return from previous entries, there are more than a few slots to fill with some fan-favorite monsters.

The second beta test could also be an excellent opportunity for Capcom to introduce a surprise monster for players to encounter, much like how Rey Dau was a secret option to discover in-game. While it's more likely that a new monster will make its way into the second beta as a secret encounter rather than a returning one, it would be a fantastic surprise for long-time fans. Even if not all of these monsters make it into the full release, any of their inclusions would be a more than welcome addition to Monster Hunter Wilds.

The Deadly Land Shark Zamtrios

Laying Waste On Both The Land And The Sea

Making its first appearance as an Amphibian-type monster in Monster Hunter 4, Zamtrios bears the intimidating appearance of a megalodon that decided to grow four additional limbs. While it doesn't look any less terrifying in its regular form, Zamtrios can transform itself by powering up with ice-like armor, covering its snout to tail in translucent white thorns. This shark-like Monster's elemental abilities don't stop there either, as it can shoot out fluid to stun hunters in their tracks, preparing them for a quick and easy feast.

Zamtrios can easily crush hunters by rolling or jumping around the environment.

Offsetting its familiar appearance as one of the sea's deadliest creatures, Zamtrios can also inflate its stomach in a way that's drastically similar to the Great Jagras from Monster Hunter World. Rather than eating other monsters to grow, this amphibian builds up internal fluids to achieve this newly rotund size; Zamtrios can easily crush hunters by rolling or jumping around the environment.

The Strikingly Beautiful Namielle

Creating Colorful Slip-And-Slides Anywhere It Goes

Namielle was by far one of the most visually stunning monsters to make an appearance in Monster Hunter World, being a fantastic debut monster for its Iceborne expansion. Inspired by deep-sea life, it's hard not to notice the glowing patterns covering its scales, with the colors across Namielle's body pulsating vibrant rainbow colors during a fight.

The only downside to a memorable encounter with Namielle is that its ability to turn the ground into water can be annoying when fighting at the best of times, especially when combined with its deadly electrical abilities.

Namielle is also unique in that it is one of the more ive Elder Dragons out there despite its deadly combat abilities, attempting to push back any attacking hunters unless forced into a fight. With Namielle's armor being some of the prettiest options in Monster Hunter World, the new unisex armor options in Wilds would make this Elder Dragon an incredibly worthwhile addition.

Breaking Nakarkos Out Of Its Shell

Providing A Unique Encounter For Late Game Hunts

Being one of the less traditional Elder Dragons in the Monster Hunter series, Nakarkos could help mix up the type of encounters in Wilds. Aside from its use of tentacles and burrowing tactics, the most unique aspect of Nakarkos is the bones that it uses to cover its skin. During a hunt, Nakarkos can even scavenge bones from the environment that change their fighting style on the go, adding new weapons like the sharp tail of a Glavenous.

Two skeletal dragon heads poised to strike at players with deadly accuracy.

While this layer of armor offers additional protection and combat abilities, it also gives the appearance of two skeletal dragon heads poised to strike at players with deadly accuracy. Given that the Oilwell Basin seems to host a similar Cephalopod-type monster, Nakarkos wouldn't be too difficult to add to Wilds.

The Electricity Empowered Zinogre

A Fan Favorite For All The Right Reasons

Even though Zinogre has received plenty of love in recent entries, appearing in both Monster Hunter World and Rise, Zinogre's absence would be sorely missed in Monster Hunter Wilds. Empowering itself over time thanks to the electricity in the Thunderbugs infesting its fur, Zinogre can quickly turn the tides of battle by unleashing a series of powerful attacks in a short period. It's no surprise that Zinogre is one of the most popular monsters of the franchise, as its unique canine-like design, coupled with its electrical transformation, creates a striking sight to behold.

Zinogre was ranked first place in the 20th-anniversary Monster Hunter popularity poll hosted by Capcom.

While Zinogre's shocking similarities with Rey Dau might make a crossover unlikely, the idea of the two lightning behemoths going head-to-head in a turf war creates an exciting image. Given that plenty of assets are readily available for this fanged-wyvern, it would be a great addition to cut down on the high amount of resources and time to design a monster.

Nergigante Could Shake Up The Food Chain In Wilds

A Perfect Substitute For Retiring Elder Dragons

Being the flagship monster for World, Nergigante has one of the most standout monster designs in recent years, being covered head to claw in deadly spikes on top of its massive horns that mark its position at the top of the Elder Dragon food chain. Its tenacious melee attack patterns divebombs, and spike launches easily match up to Nergigante's aggressive appearance, with every hunt featuring this Elder Dragon being an unforgettable experience.

Nergigante could also shake up Elder Dragon hunts by adding a sense of unpredictability, sweeping in to wreak havoc on any players that aren't equipped with Dung Pod at the ready, making some hunts a lot worse without them.

Nergigante would also be a great option to temporarily replace some of the Elder Dragons consistently appearing in recent titles, with Kushala Daora and Toestra hogging the spotlight for some time now. While Nergigante's potential for a one-hit knockout can be challenging to overcome initially, it's a much more engaging fight than the frustrations of Kushala and Teostra's AoE effects and damage negation.

Jhen Mohran To Dominate The Desert

Bringing Back The Biggest Beast Of The Wastes

While this massive Elder Dragon hunt has a mixed reception from players due to its difficulty and length, there's no doubt that Jhen Mohran is one of the most exciting prospects to consider adding to Wilds. Given that Monster Hunter Wilds even opens with a chase through the desert on a desert ship from sand-crawling monsters, Jhen Mohran would be a seamless addition to the story. As Jhen Mohran is one of the largest monsters to grace the Monster Hunter franchise, its appearance would likely be a raid encounter similar to that of Zorah Magdaros from World​​​​​​.

One of the largest monsters to grace the Monster Hunter franchise.

Each hunt featuring Jhen Mohran is a repel quest rather than a hunting one, as it's far too large to truly defeat with a single hunting party. However, players can still harvest valuable crafting materials from Jhen Mohran's back during certain stages of the fight. Even if it's somewhat of a stretch that an Elder Dragon of this caliber would return in Wilds over a brand new mountainous monster, Monster Hunter Wilds' expanded biome sizes could lead perfectly to a fight with the legendary Jhen Mohran.

Dodging Divebombs From Valstrax

Bringing A Fantastical Sci-Fi Touch To The Wilds

Making its first appearance as the flagship for Generations Ultimate and even making a welcome appearance in Monster Hunter Rise, Valstrax is an Elder Dragon that needs little introduction. The unique aspect of Valtrax's appearance is its segmented wings that shoot out powerful jets of flames, much like the jets of a fighter plane, allowing it to achieve the same level of speed as its modern-day counterpart.

Striking fear into the hearts of any hunter.

The slender appearance of Valtrax's silver scales offset by the deep crimson energy flowing underneath also aids in striking fear into the hearts of any hunter, with abilities that can take down even the most veteran players. Taking to the skies at incredibly high speeds, Valstrax soars down like a comet to leave a massive explosion in its wake that can take out players in a single hit, on top of being able to combine its jets into a single focused laser beam to deal massive ranged damage.

Surviving The Afflictions Of Gore Magala

A Monster That Embraces And Spreads Darkness

Like Valstrax, Gore Magala is one of the cooler monster designs in the franchise. It is dripping with style and energy as it prepares empowered strikes against hunters. A youthful version of the full Elder Dragon Shagaru Magala, Gore Magala has strange features like six limbs and a lack of eyes. It fully relies on its scales to sense the presence of enemies.

Gore Magala also introduces an interesting mechanic known as Frenzy, which can be used as an overtime effect and armor ive. It rewards a uniquely aggressive and risky playstyle that would be a welcome addition to Wilds. Living in the darkness itself, Gore Magala can fire out scales to darken the sky, awakening an even more powerful state with greater ferocity and new attacks for a short period.

Gogmazios Would Offer A Climactic Final Encounter

An Elder DragonThat Fits Perfectly Into Monster Hunter Wilds' Newest Biome

Being another one of the largest monsters in the entire franchise, the gigantic Gogmazios is an incredibly deadly threat for any hunter, requiring the mixed use of defensive emplacements to take down. Featuring six limbs like Gore Magala, Gogmazios stands at a staggering height of roughly 60 feet tall, with every inch of its dark scales dripping with tar.

While each part of this towering monster aids its haunting appearance, the presence of multiple weapons, including a massive Dragonator poking out of its back, shows just how dangerous this Elder Dragon truly is.

The newest Oilwell Basin featured in Monster Hunter Wilds fits perfectly with this Elder Dragon's ecology.

With the environment Gogmazios calls home entirely unknown, the newest Oilwell Basin featured in Monster Hunter Wilds fits perfectly with this Elder Dragon's ecology, covering itself in oil while searching the depths for valuable gunpowder and sulfur to feed on. Given the sheer destructive power of this Elder Dragon, it would make more sense for Gogmazios to make an appearance as a part of a master rank expansion or subsequent master rank expansion, leaving some hope for fans even if it doesn't make an appearance in Wilds' release.

The Long Lost Sea Monster Lagiacrus

A Well-Deserved Revival For This Forgotten Flagship

Out of all the options across the franchise, Lagiacrus is one of the most requested Monsters to make its way into the modern Monster Hunter entries, even obtaining third place in Capcom's recent Monster popularity poll despite its recent absences. While its popularity might seem surprising at first glance, there's more than just nostalgia at play, as Lagiacrus had incredibly iconic music and gear, on top of excellently introducing the underwater mechanics that were entirely new to the franchise.

Lagiacrus would provide a challenging yet rewarding fight for Monster Hunter Wilds

Lagiacrus is also one of the few flagships that haven't made an appearance in the new generation of Monster Hunter Titles, although the expansive water-filled areas of the Scarlet Forest would be the perfect place to battle this feared sea monster. If Lagiacrus made its way into Wilds, it would also open the door for its even deadlier Abyssal version, providing a wholly unique encounter with even deadlier abilities.

Even without the addition of the swimming mechanics that debuted alongside Lagiacrus in Monster Hunter Tri, Lagiacrus would provide a challenging yet rewarding fight for Monster Hunter Wilds.

Sources: Monster Hunter Fandom Wiki, Monster Hunter Popularity Poll