Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire Release Date, Cast, Plot, Trailer And More Details

When it comes to monster movies, audiences know the likes of 1954's "Godzilla" and 1933's "King Kong" constitute the gold standard for the kaiju genre. But the MonsterVerse has already delivered its own stunning versions of the classic beasts, introducing them with 2014's "Godzilla" and 2017's "Kong: Skull Island." The shared universe approach is held together by a shadowy watchdog organization called Monarch — think Marvel's S.H.I.E.L.D., but with massive monsters — as they keep an eye on the various creatures across the world, as well as trying to stop them from decimating the planet.

But as with any good cinematic universe, the two behemoths were destined for a crossover of epic proportions, and "Godzilla vs. Kong" eventually made its way to some theaters, as well as the Max streaming service, back in March 2021. It provided a much-needed dose of blockbuster escapism in the middle of the pandemic, and it made an impressive $468 million. Director Adam Wingard clearly managed to win MonsterVerse fans over too since the film currently has a 91% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes. All this was enough to persuade Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. to give the green light for another installment in the series, "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire," and here's everything we know about the next installment in the MonsterVerse franchise.

The makers of "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire," as well as its distributors at Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros, have yet to divulge too many details about the plot of the highly anticipated sequel. However, in April 2023 — nearly a year before the film's scheduled release — the studios did publish a super short synopsis teasing the former monstrous foes will team up to wage war against a force bigger than the both of them put together, "a world-ending threat so terrifying that neither could survive alone." 

This new enemy goes by the name of the Skar King — an evil orangutan-like kaiju who plans on wiping out as many humans and as many monsters as possible. Speaking with Total Film (via GamesRadar), director Adam Wingard explained that the Skar King "represents an upscaled version of the worst parts of humanity, just as Kong represents some of the best parts of humanity." There are also rumors the Skar King will be accompanied by a four-legged reptile named Shimu, who will make life pretty complicated for our buddies Godzilla and King Kong. In addition to the upcoming showdown, the official press release for the film tells us that the sequel will explore the backstories of both titular Titans and answer some outstanding questions about their origins, motivations, and the mysterious Skull Island.

Horror director Adam Wingard — previously best known for works like the "V/H/S" films, the 2016 "Blair Witch" reboot," and "You're Next" — was given the biggest budget of his career and placed in charge of 2021's "Godzilla vs. Kong," the fourth entry in Legendary Pictures' growing MonsterVerse franchise. The film was incredibly successful, earning nearly half a billion dollars at the box office and impressing critics. 

In fact, it was so successful that executives hired Wingard to execute the next entry in the saga, "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire." As pandemic-era restrictions limited the first film's reach, the sequel — made with Wingard's uninterrupted vision — could very well outperform its predecessor. Wingard will direct from a script composed by quite the impressive team. The director's frequent collaborator Simon Barrett will participate, as will Jeremy Slater (of the Disney+ series "Moon Knight") and Terry Rossio (who's worked on the "Pirates of the Caribbean" blockbuster series).