The Loch Ness Monster Is Part Of Godzilla And King Kong's Canon — Here's How It Works

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The MonsterVerse has truly become a gigantic sandbox full of monsters of all shapes and sizes. 2014's divisive box office hit "Godzilla" paved the way for the MonsterVerse as we know it, but it's since blossomed to include far more than just the King of the Monsters and King Kong. It even includes a rather famous cryptid. Believe it or not, the Loch Ness Monster (or a version of it, anyway) is part of this universe — though one would be forgiven for not noticing.

In the lead-up to the release of 2019's "Godzilla: King of the Monsters," the Monarch Sciences website had a feature that let fans track Godzilla's whereabouts. The site also featured tracking for other Titans based on their known locations. One of the locations listed at the time in 2018 was the North Scottish Highlands. That naturally led to a lot of speculation about the Loch Ness Monster, aka Nessie.

That speculation wasn't pointless, as this theory did bear fruit ... sort of. Up to this point, Nessie hasn't seen any meaningful action in the MonsterVerse, but the beast does occupy the same universe as these other legendary Titans. But how does the Loch Ness Monster fit into the complete MonsterVerse timeline alongside Godzilla and Kong? Is there a chance we'll see the creature on screen at some point? We're going to break it all down as best we can. Let's get into it.

Even though 2019's "Godzilla: King of the Monsters" isn't regarded as one of the best MonsterVerse movies, director Michael Dougherty's entry into the franchise was important as it expanded our knowledge of the Titans and their history on Earth. That included introducing classic Toho monsters such as Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah. It also showcased lots of other monsters, many of which were new creations. Most of them received minimal screen time.

In the case of the Loch Ness Monster, the beast never actually appears on screen in the flesh. Rather, as we can see near the top of the image above, there's a scene where we see a map indicating where Monarch has Titan containment sites around the world. One is near Loch Ness in Scotland, housing a Titan dubbed "Titanus Leviathan." This is evidently the MonsterVerse's version of the Loch Ness Monster.

The term Leviathan could refer to the Biblical meaning, which refers to a giant sea creature created by the Christian God. This version is generally described as a serpent-like crocodile or a beastly whale. It could also refer to contemporary definitions, i.e. "a large sea animal" or "something large or formidable."

The novelization of "King of the Monsters" goes a little further into this particular Titan's history in the MonsterVerse, detailing a monster that was found in Loch Ness — one that Monarch had been monitoring and had been in containment (via Mr H Reviews). It's not uncommon for novelizations of popular movies to add something to the proceedings. The novelization of "Revenge of the Sith" is held up as one of the all-time best "Star Wars" stories, for example. In this case, the novel offered just a bit more insight into this creature's history in this universe.

The only other instance of Titanus Leviathan appearing in the MonsterVerse was in a very brief photograph seen in King Kong-centric "Skull Island" anime series on Netflix, but it was one of those blink-and-you'll-miss-it things. For the most part, this franchise's version of the Loch Ness Monster is more of an Easter egg than a meaningful addition.

That said, it's an addition that makes sense. In the real world, it's been theorized that the Loch Ness Monster is actually a dinosaur — more specifically, a surviving plesiosaur. It's also accepted in certain interpretations that Godzilla is a dinosaur transformed by nuclear radiation. King Kong is a giant ape. Through that lens, Nessie fits in nicely. 

There's also an in-universe explanation for how Nessie could go from Loch Ness to elsewhere in the world. While "Godzilla vs. Kong" director Adam Wingard thought of the concept of Hollow Earth as a "Star Wars" audition, it resulted in a significant expansion of Titan lore. Titanus Leviathan, in theory, could travel through tunnels in and out of Hollow Earth, if there were one in or near the loch. Why not? It gels with the logic of this universe.

Whether or not we'll ever see Titanus Leviathan on screen in the MonsterVerse remains unclear, but it seems like a distinct possibility. "Monarch: Legacy of Monsters" is getting a spin-off series on Apple TV. We also have "Godzilla x Kong: Supernova" due in theaters in 2027. The franchise is going strong, and there's always room for more monsters. It's just a matter of whether Legendary or the filmmakers want to go down this road, or if they're content with leaving Nessie as a kaiju-sized Easter egg.

You can grab the "Godzilla x Kong MonsterVerse 5-Film Collection" on 4K or Blu-ray from Amazon.