Godzilla’s MonsterVerse journey.
Regardless of whether the MonsterVerse uses him in Godzilla vs. Kong 2, or a different movie altogether, the groundwork has already been created for Destoroyah’s long-awaited debut. In the 1996 film, it was explained that the evil kaiju was born from the use of the Oxygen Destroyer against the original Godzilla in 1954. The same origin was set up in King of the Monsters when the American military deployed the iconic weapon against Godzilla and Ghidorah. As a result, it’s now theoretically possible that Destoroyah can rise out of the depths in a future movie for an epic fight with the alpha of the Titans.
It's worth noting that one of the most important parts of Toho’s Godzilla vs. Destoroyah story was already adapted to the MonsterVerse. The burning form that Godzilla used in the movie came directly from Godzilla vs. Destoroyah, where it was revealed that Godzilla was dying from a massive buildup of radiation inside his body. Because of this, the humans understood that Godzilla’s death would result in an explosion that would take out of all Tokyo. This defining element of the story was carried over to King of the Monsters’ ending, which saw the human characters express a similar concern. But it was short-lived, as Godzilla used up all of the energy from his burning form to defeat Ghidorah. Since the MonsterVerse has already made use of this particular dilemma, there wouldn’t be much point in revisiting it.
Godzilla’s burning form and the threat of him exploding were integral to Godzilla vs. Destoroyah’s story and a major reason why it’s such a beloved Gojira film. It provided a memorable ending to the Godzilla franchise by having the King of the Monsters kill Destoroyah and sacrifice his remaining lifeforce to his son, who was expected to continue Godzilla’s legacy offscreen. Without the burning form and the radiation problems that plague Godzilla throughout the fight with Destoroyah, this story wouldn’t really work as his MonsterVerse finale.
Since King of the Monsters quietly adapted Godzilla vs. Destoroyah’s biggest plot device already, Godzilla’s MonsterVerse ending – if he gets one at all – should lean in a completely different direction. As for Destoroyah, he could still appear in Godzilla 3 or Godzilla vs. Kong 2 as a villain, but he’s unlikely to play the same role as his Toho counterpart. After all, Godzilla: King of the Monsters already reduced the significance he’d have. Destoroyah can no longer be the terrifying personification of the weapon that killed Godzilla, considering that the MonsterVerse version of the weapon doesn’t have that history. So If the next movie does choose to use him, its take on the Destoroyah story should be completely unique to what came before.
