After a 30-year absence, Anguirus made a return in the 2004 film, "" as a controlled monster of the Xiliens. He appears in Shanghai, and tramples everything in his path, then engaged the flying UN battleship, "Karyu". The Xiliens appeared suddenly and teleported Anguirus and the other monsters away. They told the humans that they eliminated the monsters to save Earth, but this was soon discovered to be a ruse; the Xiliens were controlling the monsters. In Shanghai, the Xiliens use their fighter ships to attack the "Karyu". While the "Karyu" was distracted, Anguirus jumped and curled himself into a ball, crashing into the ship at its midpoint. "Karyu" went spinning in the air before colliding into the Oriental Pearl Tower.