Summary
- “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” will now arrive in theaters sooner than expected.
- The film will delve deeper into the histories of these iconic monsters and uncover the mysteries of Skull Island and beyond.
- Directed by Adam Wingard and led by Dan Stevens, the cast includes familiar faces from the MonsterVerse, with new characters and a colossal undiscovered threat.
The next chapter in the MonsterVerse, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, will stomp into theaters sooner than expected as Legendary and Warner Bros. Pictures shifts the release date from April 12 to March 29 (via THR). The change comes amid several release date changes, with Sony’s upcoming sequel, Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, also now due to land in theaters early.
The recent trailer for the next installment in the monster mash franchise teases Baby Kong, a new monstrous threat, and possibly the greatest dynamic duo team-up since Batman and Robin. Coming courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is the fifth outing in the MonsterVerse, and is all set to land in theaters in April next year. Check out the trailer for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire below:
You can also check out the official synopsis for the sequel below:
“This latest entry follows up the explosive showdown of Godzilla vs. Kong with an all-new cinematic adventure, pitting the almighty Kong and the fearsome Godzilla against a colossal undiscovered threat hidden within our world, challenging their very existence – and our own. 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.”
Once again directed by Godzilla vs. Kong’s Adam Wingard, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is all set to be led by Dan Stevens, with the MonsterVerse sequel reuniting the filmmaker and actor following their collaboration on the 2014 thriller The Guest.
The rest of the cast includes several familiar faces from the MonsterVerse, including Rebecca Hall as Dr. Ilene Andrews, Brian Tyree Henry as Bernie Hayes, Kaylee Hottle as Jia, with Fala Chen, Alex Ferns, and Rachel House due to join the fray.
The MonsterVerse Continues to Evolve & Expand
Beginning with 2014’s Godzilla from director Gareth Edwards, the MonsterVerse continued with Kong: Skull Island in 2017 before unleashing a parade of kaiju in Godzilla: King of the Monsters in 2019. Godzilla and Kong finally came face-to-face in 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong, which finds the two legends clashing after humans move the ape from Skull Island to the Hollow Earth, the home world of the monsters known as “Titans.”
The latest MonsterVerse installment was generally well-received by critics, who praised the city-destroying action sequences. The movie also did well financially (especially amid the circumstances at the time), earning $470 million worldwide and becoming the eighth highest-grossing movie of the year.
Director Adam Wingard recently teased a new threat in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. A threat that will bring a new narrative to the franchise.
“The Skar King almost represents an upscaled version of the worst parts of humanity, just as Kong represents some of the best parts of humanity.
What’s interesting about this new film is that we go in a direction that I don’t think this series has ever seen before, which is that the Skar King is, in a way, the closest that the human threat has ever been juxtaposed onto a titan itself.”
The franchise has also now taken over the small screen thanks to the Apple TV+ series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. Starring Kurt and Wyatt Russell alongside Anna Sawai, Kiersey Clemons, Ren Watabe, Mari Yamamoto, Anders Holm, Joe Tippett and Elisa Lasowski, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters picks up following the epic battle between Godzilla and the MUTOs that leveled San Francisco. The series has been hugely well-received by critics, and currently stands at 84% on the review aggregator site Rotten Tomatoes. The series is now available to stream on Apple TV+.
