How 'Godzilla 2' Will Set Up 'Godzilla vs. Kong'

After terrifying the world — and saving it — in the first Godzilla movie, the titular monster will return to take on some new challengers in Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

But while this will be yet another solo affair, a heavyweight showdown looms in the future when King Kong comes to town. Godzilla sequel director Michael Dougherty revealed the new film will do some minor setup for Godzilla vs. Kong.

"It's not like we're bending over backwards to introduce Kong, but there's definitely some bread crumbs," Dougherty told EW.

In addition to revealing the first look at the marquee monster in Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Dougherty also revealed more details about how the film will follow up from the first entry in the MonsterVerse.

According to the director, the new movie will pick up five years after the events of Godzilla, and people remain on edge in anticipation of the gargantuan enigma's return.

"The world is reacting to Godzilla in the same way we would react to any other terrifying incident, in that we are overreacting," Dougherty said.

Godzilla hasn't been seen in the five years since it last appeared, "but there's paranoia and endless speculation about whether he is the only one out there or whether we're threatened by others like his kind."

And there will be others. As Kong: Skull Island previously established, more gigantic monsters hide across the globe, but Godzilla: King of the Monsters will focus on two of the franchise's most popular foes: King Ghidorah, Mothra, and Rodan.

Of all the monsters, fans might be surprised to learn that Rodan is the one whom Dougherty has a soft spot for.

"Rodan's been kind of a sidekick character, but I've always had a soft spot for him," the director said. "In a lot of ways he's more powerful than Godzilla. He's like this winged A-bomb. I think we've done him justice."

But Godzilla will be more than formidable to take on all three, as the first-look photo revealed. In it, Godzilla will be making use of his "atomic breathe" ability, which was a staple of the older Japanese films.

Dougherty wouldn't reveal much about that particular scene, though he did elaborate that "it takes place at a very key moment and it's a sort of call to arms."

We'll learn more about Godzilla: King of the Monsters at San Diego Comic-Con next week. The movie is set to premiere in theaters on May 31, 2019.

Are you excited for the new monster movie? Be sure to let us know in the comments!