Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire didn’t just become the biggest movie in the MonsterVerse, but it also became one of the biggest films in 2024. Netting hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office, the kaiju crossover sequel only had so many minutes to explore the Hollow Earth. Luckily for kaiju fans, the novelization broke open the MonsterVerse and revealed some major secrets about Legendary’s popular universe.
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To start, The New Empire novel revealed some juicy new tidbits about Shimo, the albino lizard that was controlled by the Skar King. The printed story explains that Shimo is close to three million years old, was responsible for freezing King Ghidorah, and that its frozen breath is a result of Shimo having the ability to “slow down atoms” with its breath. The novel also explains that Godzilla and Shimo are not related, putting that kaiju theory to bed.
The New Empire’s Secrets Revealed
While Shimo might have had more details revealed, it wasn’t the only kaiju that had aspects of it laid to bare. Kong’s new mechanical fist, Project Powerhouse, was actually built by Monarch using pieces from Mechagodzilla, the technological doppelganger that appeared in the MonsterVerse’s Godzilla Vs. Kong. The film’s timeline is also in the near future to our own, as The New Empire takes place in 2027.
Here’s how Amazon describes the novelization of the latest MonsterVerse chapter, “A follow-up to the explosive showdown of Godzilla vs. Kong. This time the almighty Kong and the fearsome Godzilla face a colossal undiscovered threat hidden within our world, challenging their very existence – and our own. The latest epic will delve further into the histories of these Titans, their origins and the mysteries of Skull Island and beyond, while uncovering the mythic battle that helped forge these extraordinary beings and tied them to humankind forever.”
The description continues, “Writer Greg Keyes returns to the Monsterverse to transport readers ever deeper into the world of Monsters. This book explores the events of the film while adding to the history and lore of the Titans, portraying existing scenes from a fresh perspective and expanding upon the film. A must-read for any Godzilla and Kong fan.”
While the MonsterVerse’s future on the big screen remains a mystery, Apple TV+ has confirmed that a second season of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is in the works. On top of season two, the streaming service also confirmed that spin-offs will help to populate the kaiju-packed universe.
