What the ‘Godzilla: King of the Monsters’ post-credits scene could mean according to the director

The movie is called “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” for a reason.

[Warning: This story contains kaiju-sized spoilers for “Godzilla: King of the Monsters.”]

The destructive power of King Ghidorah, a.k.a. Monster Zero, was beyond even what the human eco-terrorists had hoped for. But the three-headed space dragon and his lightning-breath was ultimately no match for a thermonuclear powered Godzilla intent on proving who Earth’s alpha-kaiju actually was.

It’s all a nice set-up for the showdown promised in “Godzilla vs. Kong” due out in 2020. And “King of the Monsters” definitely teases what’s to come in this cinematic universe with passing glimpses of Kong.

But instead of further teasing the upcoming film, the “King of the Monsters” post-credits scene reveals that the movie’s Ghidorah-related storyline might not be as resolved as Godzilla likely wants it to be.

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In a world where Titans roam free, there is, of course, a human black market for kaiju parts — especially in places such as Isla de Mara where Rodan’s awakening and the military’s response made it near impossible to continue in more traditional forms of commerce.

Since his plot to have Ghidorah help reset the natural order of the world by wiping out a majority of humanity didn’t quite work out the way he envisioned, Alan Jonah (played by Charles Dance) is looking for other avenues to achieve his goal.

The post-credits scene shows Jonah happily acquiring one of Ghidorah’s heads that was torn off earlier in the movie. Could Ghidorah’s body be regenerated from just its head? What can Jonah be plotting?

The scene “is meant to spark all of these questions and possibilities,” according to director and co-writer Michael Dougherty.

“The film firmly establishes that Ghidorah can regenerate. That DNA is not of this world, which means that the possibilities are endless,” said Dougherty. “I think that’s why [Jonah] definitely has a little glimmer in his eyes. Because he sees all the potential uses, whether it be the whole head itself or even just a small sample of the DNA.”

There is definitely a whole world of possibilities, especially if a mad scientist were to get a hold of some of that monster DNA. But that’s not all.

“We also see a swarm of flies that are feasting on the head,” points out Dougherty. “So how is that going to affect the insects that are eating its flesh?”

The filmmaker also didn’t discourage hopes of seeing Mecha-King Ghidorah — the man-made robotic Ghidorah seen in 1991’s “Godzilla vs King Ghidorah.”

“That’s the fun of Godzilla movies,” said Dougherty. “While they have one foot [closer to] our existing world in sort of a grounded science fiction reality, they aren’t afraid to just go for it, get weird, and embrace this bizarre science fantasy logic. Let’s have a mechanical Godzilla. Let’s give Ghidorah a mechanical robot head. Why not?”

Dougherty, of course, did not guarantee that any of these theories are actual plans for the future.

“I’m not saying that any of these things are definite set-ups. But you don’t have to think about it very much for very long to sort of dream up a long list of possible ways to go with severed head of a space dragon,” said Dougherty.

tracy.brown@latimes.com

Twitter: @tracycbrown