What were the ancient aliens in "The Fifth Element" called?
Last updated: January 22, 2025
In Luc Besson's wild 1997 sci-fi spectacle "The Fifth Element," humanity's future hangs on ancient alien tech. These mysterious beings left behind temples, weapons, and a warning about evil returning every 5,000 years. What were these golden-armored space visitors called?
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The answer is: Mondoshawan
The Mondoshawan are those chunky, golden-armored aliens who lumber into Earth's business at the start of "The Fifth Element" to grab the stones and protect Leeloo. In the divine language of the film's universe, their name translates to guardian. Although, considering how easily they were defeated by the Mangalores, they might want to leave guarding the galaxy to Star-lord and Rocket Racoon.
Their unique design blends ancient and futuristic elements, looking like something that could have stepped out of both an Egyptian tomb and a distant galaxy. For such a super cool suit, they were unfortunately extremely hot. For the handful of guys cast, they could only film for 15 minutes at a time before needing a breather. The massive suit weighed over 100 pounds and had absolutely zero ventilation. Imagine wearing a solid gold sauna in the middle of summer.
Besson kept the Mondoshawan pretty mysterious throughout the film, giving us just enough to make them interesting but not enough to ruin their otherworldly vibe. The production team went all out building this amazing full-size animatronic Mondoshawan that probably cost a fortune... and then it shows up for maybe three seconds when they meet the priest in Egypt. Classic Hollywood.