Godzilla X Kong: Everything We Know About the Next MonsterVerse Movie

Witness the rise of a new empire in the MonsterVerse. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire reigned over CCXP on Sunday, revealing the first-look trailer for the sequel to 2021's Godzilla vs. Kong. After that epic battle of the Titans, the titular kaijus unite against a colossal undiscovered threat lurking deep within Hollow Earth: the Skar King. "For most of human civilization, we believed that life could only exist on the surface of our planet," says Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall) in the new footage. "What else were we wrong about?" 

The trailer for the monster movie raises new questions: Who is "mini-Kong?" What's with King Kong's metal arm gauntlet? And why is Gojira glowing with hot-pink atomic energy? Those answers might have to wait until 2024. Here's everything we know so far about GxK, including its plot, cast, release date, and its place in the MonsterVerse.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire Release Date

The Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire trailer states that the new movie is "only in theaters 2024," but the current release date is April 12, 2024.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire Cast

Rebecca Hall and Brian Tyree Henry reprise their respective roles from Godzilla vs. Kong as Dr. Illene Andrews, a Monarch anthropological linguist, and Bernie Hayes, an ex-Apex Cybernetics technician turned Titans truther and podcaster Bernie Hayes. Kaylee Hottle returns as Jia, the orphaned Skull Island native who formed a kinship with Kong. The cast includes Dan Stevens (Beauty and the Beast) as Trapper and Fala Chen (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), Alex Ferns (The Batman), and Rachel House (Hunt for the Wilderpeople) in undisclosed roles.

What Is Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire About?

The fifth film in the rebooted MonsterVerse, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire follows up the explosive showdown of Godzilla vs. Kong and "pits the almighty Kong and the fearsome Godzilla against a colossal undiscovered threat hidden within our world, challenging their very existence – and our own," the official synopsis states. "The epic new film 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."

Who Is the Villain in Godzilla x Kong?

The red ape king of the Titanus Kong species is an Orangutan-like ancient ape known as the Skar King.

"We wanted to come up with an antagonist that would both be a match for Kong and Godzilla, and that's really hard to do," director Adam Wingard told IGN. "There's a lot more to this character and how he's a threat, and that's going to be something that's going to be fun to kind of dole out."

Who Wrote and Directed Godzilla x Kong?

Adam Wingard (Godzilla vs. Kong, You're Next, Death Note) returned to direct the sequel written by Terry Rossio (Godzilla vs. Kong, the Pirates of the Caribbean series) and Simon Barrett (You're Next) and Jeremy Slater (Moon Knight), from a story by Rossio & Wingard & Barrett, based on the character Godzilla owned and created by TOHO Co., Ltd. 

Is Godzilla x Kong in the MonsterVerse?

The MonsterVerse canon includes:

• Godzilla (2014)
• Skull Island: The Birth of Kong (2017) prequel comic
  
• Kong: Skull Island (2017)
• Godzilla: Aftershock (2019) comic book
  
• Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
• Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)
• Godzilla: Dominion (2021) prequel comic
  
• Kingdom Kong (2021) prequel comic
  
• Skull Island (2023) animated series
• Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (2023) television series
• Godzilla x Kong: The Hunted (2024) graphic novel prequel
  
• Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)

Godzilla x Kong: Son of Kong

Yes, the Titanus Kong infant that Hayes calls "mini-Kong" appears to be the MonsterVerse version of Little Kong, the son of King Kong, an albino gorilla discovered on Skull Island in 1933's Son of Kong.

In 2021, it was reported that Wingard is attached to direct a planned Godzilla x Kong sequel for Legendary with the working title Son of Kong.

Why Is Godzilla Pink in Godzilla x Kong?

Is Godzilla getting an upgrade? Fans theories suspect that Godzilla emerges from frozen hibernation after "recharging" his bio-nuclear abilities in the pink, glowing energy lurking beneath the frozen tundra. 

In the Godzilla vs. Kong novelization, it's stated that Godzilla draws his neon-blue atomic breath from an energy source in Hollow Earth in the planet's core. If the Titan has spent years hibernating and absorbing geothermal radiation, it could explain Godzilla's pink hue.

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