The MonsterVerse continues. Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures have released the official teaser for the fifth installment in the series, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. Set to feature the iconic Titans once again, the teaser hints at an impending threat that may lead to a team-up where they stand against existential threat on Earth.
After introducing Godzilla and then Kong (in the prequel Kong: Skull Island), the series led to an all-out war between the Titans in King of the Monsters that saw Godzilla rise the ranks and take ultimate control over the Titans, thus, establishing a peaceful co-existence of his kind with the humans. Eventually, after settling the optimistic conscience of the ancient beings, they were pitted against each other in Godzilla vs. Kong. Now, it’s time for them to stand together and face off a common enemy.
With the two teaming up and a third of their kind challenging them for a chaotic battle, the fifth MonsterVerse movie is bound to be epic mayhem. Will this alliance, which barely hangs by a thread, be enough to take on the new danger lurking over our world and the Titans?
When does Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire release?
With the teaser, Legendary Pictures confirmed that Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire will release almost a year from now, on March 15, 2024. The film will return the franchise to theaters after Godzilla vs. Kong‘s day-and-date simultaneous streaming release in 2021.
Despite a lukewarm response in the beginning, and the risks of the pandemic, the previous film did a hefty business of $470 million worldwide. With an exclusive theatrical release for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, the numbers could go way up for the franchise.
What is the plot for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire?
The official synopsis of the movie, as released by Legendary and Warner Bros., reads:
“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.”
Per the synopsis, the new film will mark the two near-invincible Gods forming an unlikely alliance once again after they settled for a long-standing truce at the end of the previous film. Their challenge will be a threat that emerges from the hideouts of our world, just like Godzilla, who also was undiscovered until 2014.
The film may further explore more excavations that would uncover the Titans’ history. There were talks of a long battle in which the former Titans fought against each other for the ultimate throne. The ancient rivalry forced Godzilla and Kong to fight and continue to determine the one true King of the Monsters, as there can never be two rulers.
In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, new remnants of that battle (or maybe of another one) will emerge. This new foe may be a survivor of the mythical war and consider himself worthy of the throne. However, he might not share the friendliness with humans as his fellow Titans.
Notably, the title has changed the conjunction from ‘vs.’ to ‘x.’ The ‘x’ here could mean that the two are no longer adversaries but allies in the new movie.
Who stars in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire?
The the fifth MonsterVerse installment will mark the return of a few familiar faces. Rebecca Hall will reprise her role as Dr. Ilene Andrews alongside Kaylee Hottle as Jia, Illene’s adoptive daughter from Godzilla vs. Kong. Also reprising his role from the same is now Oscar-nominee Brian Tyree Henry as a conspiracy theorist and podcaster Bernie Hayes. There’s no word if Millie Bobby Brown or Kyle Chandler will return in their respective roles, but we might see a couple more familiar faces.
Dan Stevens is taking over the lead in the new film in an unrevealed role. Stevens is famous for his roles in Downton Abbey, Beauty and the Beast, and Legion, with Fala Chen (Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings), Rachel House (Moana, Soul), and Alex Ferns (The Batman, Chernobyl) also on board.
Who is directing Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire?
After helming the previous film, Adam Wingard returns to direct. Wingard is known for his work on The Guest, Blair Witch, and Death Note prior to his arrival in the MonsterVerse.
Wingard’s long-term collaborator Simon Barret has co-written the story and screenplay with Terry Rossio (both returning from the previous movie). Also joining the writers is Jeremy Slater, who is best known for penning The Umbrella Academy, Moon Knight, and for his work on the upcoming Mortal Kombat sequel.
Cinematographer Ben Seresin (World War Z), editor Josh Schaeffer (Pacific Rim: Uprising), and composer Tom Holkenborg (Zack Snyder’s Justice League) round up the rest of the creative team behind Godzilla x Kong.
Teaser trailer for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
The early announcement teaser doesn’t have much to reveal about the movie; however, it drops some serious hints about the next MonsterVerse segment.
In the teaser, a silhouette figure of a Titan sits on the throne. Beneath him are tonnes of skulls and decomposed corpses of other Titans, including skulls of a Godzilla and a Kong. Taking from the official synopsis, this silhouette could be of a fierce and brutal warrior of the Titan war, who may have laid down several of his enemies back then. The skulls of the titular Titans are a reference to the intensity of a deadly and lethal force they are about to encounter, or they could be the skulls of their ancestors.
In a surprising twist at the end of the teaser, we glimpse the new Titan’s eyes, which resemble a member of Kong’s species. We know that it was Kong’s ancestors who ruled Hollow Earth. He also had a family who was all killed, making him the last surviving member of his kind. We don’t know how the new Titan survived all these years; however, he probably shares a history with Kong.
There are a lot of theories to formulate and many creative areas that may explore the potential plot points of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. Earlier, the threat of Mechagodzilla or King Gidorah came from the obnoxious ambitions of humans; this time, it’s possible that our kind may again play a direct or inadvertent role in releasing this new monster. A full trailer will give a further glimpse into it.
Until then, you can catch the previous four installments of Monsterverse on streaming.