It’s no secret that Kong: Skull Island is attempting to bring the King Kong mythos together with the rebooted Godzilla movie universe, in anticipation of the two giant movie monsters facing-off in a the 2020 event film.

We’ve already had the Godzilla reboot to show how the giant lizard protects earth from MUTO threats; and now Kong: Skull Island has demonstrated how the big ape similarly guards us from the threat of the Skull Crawler lizards. Now the path will open wider as even more iconic Kaiju monsters show up in

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On the next page we’ll run down the meaning and implications of Skull Island’s post-credit scene, so needless to say, if you haven’t seen the film, do NOT read on! Spoilers Follow!

Monarch

The first connective throughline between Skull Island and Godzilla is the organization known as Monarch. In the time of Skull Island, Monarch is a small (failing) government division that sits on the shoulders of Bill Randa (John Goodman) and the unpopular theories of Houston Brooks (Corey Hawkins).

Even though Randa dies on Skull Island, Brooks and another scientist, San (Tian Jing) make it back to civilization with enough proof of MUTO existence that Monarch’s place in the government was secured for years thereafter.

After encountering Godzilla in the 1950s and Kong in the ’70s, “Project Monarch” finally come back on the scene in the 2000s, after Godzilla and the two MUTOs he was chasing ran amok all over the pacific region of the US. In modern times, Monarch is a much bigger organization with much better tech and resources for fighting the MUTO threat.

How Monarch figures into Godzilla: King of Monsters and King Kong vs. Godzilla remains to be seen, but it seems they understand the difference between our MUTO protectors, and the more insidious threats lurking in the bowels of the Earth.

MUTOS

MUTOs (or “Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms”) was a term introduced in the Godzilla reboot, when two massive creatures attacked the Pacific Northwest region – only to be killed by Godzilla.

In Skull Island, the concept of MUTOs was rapidly expanded, revealing an entire legion of them spread throughout the world.

The lineup of confirmed MUTOS now includes Kong, the Skull Crawlers, the nuclear beasts from Godzilla, Godzilla himself, and some iconic Kaiju monsters that we have yet to see onscreen.

Hollow Earth Theory

Monarch researcher Houston Brooks’ (Corey Hawkins) great theory is that the Earth has hollow pockets deep under its surface where entire ecosystems have sprung up – foreign worlds where MUTOs like Kong, Godzilla and the Skull Crawlers are the dominant species.

Brooks’ time on Skull Island confirms his theory, as he discovers that Skull Island is but one of several passageways between the surface world and the hollow earth realm of the MUTOs.

This geographical revelation helps to explain why Godzilla and the other MUTOs have been able to exist undetected for decades (or longer).

Monster Island

Houston Brooks’ Hollow Earth theory also leads us to another possible big revelation:that MUTOs like Godzilla haven’t just avoided detection for decades – they’ve had a place to hide out, and call home.

The Kong: Skull Island after-credits scene suggests that the Godzilla sequel, King of the Monsters could potentially take us inside hollow earth, to a frightening new world of monsters. And even if it’s not named as such in this rebooted mythos, longtime fans of Godzilla movies will recognize that proposed location as none other than Monster Island.

Depending on how the hollow Earth environments work, Monster Island may not be an Island, but we expect we’ll get to visit the nightmarish place where a creature like Godzilla is needed to keep things in check.

More Godzilla/Kong

Check out Any of the movie pages below for more info – and be sure to rate Kong: Skull Island for yourself in our user rankings!

The year is 1973. Somewhere in our world, it is said that there exists a wondrous island unspoiled by man – a land shrouded in mystery, where myth runs wild. Uncharted and undiscovered. When the secretive organization known as Monarch identify this destination as the origin point for mysterious new superspecies, they mount an expedition to discover its secrets. What they find on Skull Island is an adventure beyond any human experience. An exotic paradise of wonders and terrors, where flora and fauna have fused together into an Eden of otherworldly jungle creatures.

As one group fights to escape and the other declares war on Kong, we discover that the mighty primate is at the center of a battle for dominion over the island, locked into a ‘survival of the fittest’ face-off with the terrifying apex predators responsible for wiping out his kin. Driven by vengeance, Kong will become nature’s fury, and fight to take his rightful place upon the throne of most powerful beast on the island, revealing the story of how Kong became King.

Kong: Skull Island stars Tom Hiddleston (Thor: Ragnarok), Samuel L. Jackson (The Avengers), Oscar-winner Brie Larson (Room), John Goodman (10 Cloverfield Lane) and John C. Reilly (Guardians of the Galaxy). The international ensemble cast also includes Tian Jing, Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, John Ortiz, Thomas Mann, Shea Whigham, Toby Kebbell and Eugene Cordero.

Jordan Vogt-Roberts (The Kings of Summer) directs the film from a screenplay by Max Borenstein, John Gatins, Dan Gilroy and Derek Connolly. The film is produced by Legendary’s Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni with Mary Parent. The executive producers are Eric McLeod and Alex Garcia.

It’s been released worldwide in 2D, 3D in select cinemas, and IMAX.