TohoFrom the moment that iconic screech resounded in the latest Godzilla Minus Zero trailer, most die-hard fans knew who the King of the Monsters would be facing off with this time around. Ghidorah was the name on every fan’s lips: it wasn’t a matter of if the titan would appear in Takashi Yamazaki’s latest film, but when. Minus Zero fortunately doesn’t leave fans hanging for long. Its opening scene introduces Ghidorah as it ravages Matsumoto City, teeing up a monstrous showdown with the film’s titular kaiju. It’s just one thing that makes Minus Zero feel so much bigger than its predecessor, Godzilla Minus One. Of all the monsters Godzilla could have faced, though, why Ghidorah? King Ghidorah, ExplainedWhen choosing an antagonist for Godzilla, Yamazaki didn’t waste much time. | TohoFirst introduced in the 1964 film Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster, King Ghidorah is a three-headed dragon and archenemy of Godzilla. His origins vary: sometimes he’s an extraterrestrial planet-destroying dragon, other times a genetically engineered creature from the future, a guardian monster of ancient Japan, or a godlike being from another dimension. Either way, he’s one of Godzilla’s oldest and most fearsome kaiju rivals, appearing in 11 Godzilla films in the since decades since he’s been introduced, including in Hollywood’s Monsterverse films.Ghidorah’s appearance is partially inspired by the legendary Japanese dragon Yamata no Orochi, as well as by other mythical creatures like the hydra and Cerberus. In fact, the name “Ghidorah” comes from the Japanese pronunciation of the word “hydra” in Russian. In Godzilla Minus Zero, the characters name Ghidorah out of a portmanteau of the words "chimera" and "hydra.” Ghidorah’s powers include “gravity beams” that he blasts from his three mouths, the strength of which rival Godzilla’s atomic breath. In fact, power over gravity is a consistent facet of Ghidorah’s characterization over the years: Ghidorah has been shown to fly even after losing a wing, crush and destroy planets, and even cause nearby objects to float around him. Ghidorah has also been shown to have an affinity for lightning and electricity; generating powerful bursts of wind that cause yellow lightning storms to manifest around him. And, like Godzilla, Ghidorah has incredible healing and regenerative abilities. Most of these powers manifest in Godzilla Minus Zero, where we see Ghidorah possess power over lightning, as well as be drawn to lightning storms as they move across the country. But it’s Ghidorah’s ever-evolving regenerative abilities that make him such a terrifying foe for Godzilla, which is why director Takashi Yamazaki chose the kaiju for his sequel.Yamazaki’s personal connection to GhidorahIt’s life-or-death not just for the civilians in Minus Zero, but for Godzilla itself. | TohoYamazaki actually had a pretty personal reason for selecting the three-headed, dragon-like kaiju as the first real test of this Godzilla’s power. “Ghidorah first appeared on the big screen in 1964, which is also the year I was born,” the director tells Inverse. “I think there’s a connection there between myself and Ghidorah.”That connection extends even further than their shared birth date. “[In] one of Ghidorah’s first appearances [Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster], it flies over Matsumoto City in Nagano Prefecture, which is also where I’m from,” Yamazaki adds. “I remember begging my parents to take me to a theater to see that because I just wanted to see our city represented in a film.”Yamazaki might have learned there what so many fans of the “Goji-verse” understand about Ghidorah: he’s one of Godzilla’s fiercest rivals for a reason. “Looking at all of Godzilla’s history, I think Ghidorah is very much positioned as a very strong rival to Godzilla,” the director says. When it came time to choose an antagonist for Minus Zero, Ghidorah “made a lot of sense in that regard,” too.Godzilla, right before facing Ghidorah. | TohoThe stakes in Minus One were high enough with only Godzilla stomping around; the addition of a new kaiju had to present a reckoning not only for Japanese citizens fighting to survive, but for Godzilla itself. “When thinking about what Godzilla is going to fight, it needed to be a kaiju that had the potential to best even Godzilla,” Yamazaki continues. “Even when writing the screenplay, it was important that this was a fight to the death. It was a duel between these two massive godlike creatures... Ghidorah is one of the few kaiju that checked all those boxes.”As Minus One effectively brought Godzilla back to square one, it feels like we’ve yet to see this version of the creature at such a disadvantage. Godzilla might need help from the very civilians he once terrorized. It feels counterintuitive to root for such a team-up, but with a threat like Ghidorah stalking the skies, the enemy of one’s enemy becomes a powerful weapon.Godzilla Minus Zero is now playing in theaters.