Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is a 2024 American monster film directed and co-written by Adam Wingard. Produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is the sequel to Godzilla vs. Kong (2021), the fifth Godzilla film to be completely produced by a Hollywood studio, and the fifth film in the Monsterverse franchise, also serving as the 38th film of the Godzilla franchise and 13th in the King Kong franchise. The film stars Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylee Hottle, Alex Ferns, and Fala Chen. Hall, Henry, and Hottle reprise their roles from the previous film. In the film, Kong encounters more of his species in the Hollow Earth and must unite again with Godzilla to stop the tyrannical Skar King and the powerful, frost-breathing Shimo from invading the Earth's surface.

Following the box office and streaming success of Godzilla vs. Kong during the COVID-19 pandemic, Legendary announced a sequel in March 2022 and that filming would commence later that year. In May 2022, it was announced that Wingard would return to direct and Stevens had been cast as a lead. Filming began in July 2022 in Gold Coast, Australia, and finished in November 2022.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire premiered at Grauman's Chinese Theatre on March 25, 2024, and was released in the United States on March 29. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with many comparing it unfavorably to Godzilla Minus One, which had been released four months prior. It grossed $572.5 million worldwide against a production budget of $135–150 million, becoming the eighth-highest-grossing film of 2024 and the highest-grossing film of the Monsterverse, as well as in the Godzilla and King Kong franchises.

A sequel, Godzilla x Kong: Supernova, is planned for March 26, 2027.

Plot

Three years after defeating Mechagodzilla, Kong has established his new territory in Hollow Earth and searches for more of his kind. On the Earth's surface, Godzilla continues to maintain order between humanity and giant monsters, known as "Titans"; killing Titanus Scylla for attacking Rome, Italy, and resting in the Colosseum.

A Monarch observation outpost stationed in Hollow Earth picks up an unidentified signal. On the surface, the signal causes Jia, the last known survivor of the Iwi tribe from Skull Island, to experience hallucinations and visions in school, causing her adoptive mother, Kong expert Dr. Ilene Andrews, to worry. Also sensing the signal, Godzilla leaves Rome and attacks a nuclear plant in France to absorb radiation. He then heads to the lair of the Titan Tiamat in the Arctic. Monarch believes Godzilla is strengthening himself for an oncoming threat.

When a sinkhole opens near his home, Kong discovers an uncharted realm where a tribe of his species has survived, including a juvenile ape named Suko. After a brief initial confrontation, Kong convinces Suko to lead him to the tribe's lair and the two slowly bond on their journey. Andrews, Jia, Titan veterinarian Trapper, and conspiracy podcaster Bernie Hayes travel to Hollow Earth to locate the source of the signal and find the Monarch outpost destroyed. As they follow the signal, they discover a temple that leads them to a subterranean section, housing a surviving Iwi tribe, who communicate telepathically with each other and live beneath portals to the surface. Inspecting the temple, they realize that the signal was a telepathic distress call sent by the Iwi. While observing Jia socializing with the Iwi, Andrews voices her fears to Trapper that Jia may choose to stay with her people and that Andrews would have to accept it.

Inside a temple, Andrews uncovers hieroglyphics displaying the past and future: a tyrannical ape titan known as the Skar King once attempted to conquer the surface world and waged war against Godzilla's species, triggering an ice age, but Godzilla defeated him by trapping the Skar King and his tribe deep within Hollow Earth. The prophecy also indicates that Jia is the key to reawakening Mothra. Kong encounters the tribe and confronts the Skar King. After a brief battle, Skar King resorts to summoning his enslaved ice-breathing Titan Shimo, using a crystal that causes her pain and forces her to attack Kong. Shimo's ice breath injures Kong's right arm, causing frostbite. With Suko's help, Kong manages to escape, though he loses his axe in the process. Sensing Jia, Kong locates the temple and is fitted by Trapper with a prototype exoskeletal glove to strengthen and heal his frostbitten arm. Unknown to them, an ape follows them and informs the Skar King that the protective barrier leading to the surface portals has been opened. Jia successfully awakens the reborn Mothra.

Meanwhile, Godzilla kills Tiamat and absorbs cosmic radiation from her lair, which turns his dorsal plates magenta. Hoping to lure Godzilla to Hollow Earth to assist him, Kong surfaces in Cairo and calls out to him. Despite Kong's attempts to communicate, an enraged Godzilla attacks him, and a brief fight ensues until Mothra intervenes and soothes Godzilla. The three Titans return to the Hollow Earth and engage the Skar King's forces in battle. The Skar King and Shimo manage to use one of the portals to escape to the surface, forcing Godzilla and Kong to chase them to Rio de Janeiro, where Shimo induces a second ice age at the Skar King's command. The factions are evenly matched until Suko arrives with Kong's axe and destroys the control crystal. Now free, Shimo turns on the Skar King and freezes him solid, allowing Kong to shatter him to pieces.

After undoing Shimo's ice age with his atomic breath, Godzilla returns to rest in the Colosseum. Jia alleviates Andrews' concerns by choosing to stay with her. Mothra restores the protective barrier of the Iwi's home and the portals. Kong returns with Shimo and Suko to Hollow Earth where he reunites with his tribe and becomes their new leader.

Cast

Production

Development

In March 2019, producer Alex Garcia stated that Legendary Pictures hoped to produce more Monsterverse films if they became successful, stating, "It's one brick at a time, each piece has to be as good as it can be, so right now it's all focused on this [Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Godzilla vs. Kong]. But could there be? Yeah, that's the hope if the movies turn out really well." In February 2021, Wingard commented on the future of the Monsterverse, "I know where we could go potentially with future films." However, he noted that the Monsterverse was created "to a certain degree" to lead towards Godzilla vs. Kong. He added that the Monsterverse is at a "crossroads", stating, "It's really at the point where audiences have to kind of step forward and vote for more of these things. If this movie is a success obviously they will continue forward."

Godzilla vs. Kong was released on March 24, 2021, in theaters and HBO Max simultaneously and was a success on both platforms, despite theater shutdowns from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic at the time. The film grossed $470 million worldwide against a break-even point of $330 million, became the most successful launch title in HBO Max's history until it was overtaken by Mortal Kombat, and became the most pirated film of 2021.

On April 4, 2021, Legendary's CEO Josh Grode commented on potential sequels, "we have a number of ideas for more movies." That same day, the hashtag #ContinueTheMonsterverse began trending on Twitter, which was acknowledged by Legendary and garnered support from Jordan Vogt-Roberts, director of Kong: Skull Island (2017). On April 27, 2021, The Hollywood Reporter stated that Legendary was "quietly taking steps to stretch the series into one or more installments" while negotiating with Wingard to potentially return to direct. Various ideas were considered, with Son of Kong being one potential title. In August 2021, Monsterverse writer Max Borenstein stated that "there will be some new, interesting installments coming" due to the success of Godzilla vs. Kong.

On March 20, 2022, it was announced that a sequel to Godzilla vs. Kong was scheduled to commence filming later in the year in the Gold Coast, Queensland, and other locations in South East Queensland. In May 2022, it was announced that Wingard would return to direct and that Dan Stevens had been cast as a lead. Wingard and Stevens had previously worked together on The Guest (2014). In May 2022, Production Weekly reported that the film's working title was Origins. On June 30, 2022, it was revealed that Mary Parent, Alex Garcia, Eric McLeod, Brian Rogers, Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni would return to produce. On July 1, 2022, Toho confirmed that the film would feature Godzilla.