Ever since Legendary's MonsterVerse launched in 2014 with Godzilla, the entire franchise has been building to one film: Godzilla vs. Kong. That culmination of the MonsterVerse has been long-delayed. However, when it arrives the two title Titans will finally get a chance to face each other in combat.
Here's everything we know right now about the upcoming film.
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THE STORY SO FAR
A follow-up to last year's King of the Monsters, Godzilla vs. Kong is also a sequel to 2014's Godzilla and 2017's Kong: Skull Island. All three prior movies have, in some way or another, centered around Monarch, a cryptic government organization founded to study and manipulate the Earth’s ancient Titans in order to protect mankind.
After leveling yet another city in King of the Monsters, Godzilla has crowned himself the Titan's alpha, instituting peace on Earth. The environment is healing after centuries of human endangerment, with Titans returning to the planet’s surface to protect the natural world between their biomes. Despite Earth’s tranquil state, newspaper headlines during King of the Monsters’ credits sequence indicate that Monarch is busier than ever. The organization is exploring the hollows of the Earth in search of more Titans, and an increase in seismic activity and security around Skull Island suggests Monarch is up to something fishy on Kong’s home. Kong, meanwhile, has presumably stayed dormant on his island since the '70s, though it appears he's now substantially larger in size. Kong has been theorized to have been in his infancy or youth during the film, explaining this dramatic growth spurt.
As of right now, no trailer for the film has released. However, the film's official synopsis reads:
Legends collide as Godzilla and Kong, the two most powerful forces of nature, clash on the big screen in a spectacular battle for the ages. As Monarch embarks on a perilous mission into fantastic uncharted terrain, unearthing clues to the Titans’ very origins, a human conspiracy threatens to wipe the creatures, both good and bad, from the face of the earth forever.
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RELEASE DATE
After being pushed back from May to November 2020, Godzilla vs. Kong has been further delayed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. It is now slated for a release on March 26, 2021, a full year from its initial window, in theaters and for a limited time on HBO Max.
CAST AND CREW
You’re Next and Blair Witch director Adam Wingard will helm the film, with a screenplay from Pirates of the Caribbean and Shrek scribe Terry Rossio.
Alexander Skarsgård (The Legend of Tarzan), Brian Tyree Henry (Atlanta), Eiza González (Baby Driver), Rebecca Hall (Iron Man 3) and Jessica Henwick (Iron Fist) have all been cast. However, details about the movie's characters are sparse, though Skarsgård’s character, likely the film’s human lead, has been described as a geologist with a special connection to Kong.
Kyle Chandler and Millie Bobby Brown will reprise their roles as father and daughter scientists Mark and Madison Russell from King of the Monsters. Zhang Ziyi will also return as Dr. Ilene Chen, a third generation Titan mythologist and a spiritual successor to Toho’s classic Shobijin characters from the Mothra series.
No returning members from Skull Island have been announced. However, James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston), Mason Weaver (Brie Larson) and Hank Marlow (John C. Reilly) seemingly joined Monarch at the film's close, so it's possible they could appear in some capacity. Similarly, Ford Brody (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Elle Brody (Elizabeth Olsen) survived 2014's Godzilla, making it possible they could play some sort of role.
RUMORED MONSTERS
Alongside Godzilla and Kong, the credits sequence of King of the Monsters sets up returns for other monsters down the road. Notable newspaper headlines in the credits included "Monarch finds massive egg," "Rodan nesting in volcano north of Fiji" and "Monarch confirms Ancient Greek origin of squid-like Titan known as 'Scylla.'"
The egg mentioned foreshadows another Mothra spawning after its parent's sacrifice helping Godzilla defeat King Ghidorah in King of the Monsters. Rodan and the new, Legendary-created Scylla, amongst other kaiju, may also return from King of the Monsters to protect their reptilian ruler in his battle with Kong.
One big headline in the credits also mentions Monarch is creating a “mechanized giant on Skull Island” after several disastrous attempt to “create organic Titans in the past.” All hints seem to indicate the arrival of Mechagodzilla on the horizon, which a recent toy leak seems to indicate may indeed be the case. However, toys are not always indicative of what appears in the final product.
Additionally, the film's post-credits scene shows the villainous Alan Jonah and his eco-terrorist group buying one of King Ghidorah's severed heads, suggesting this isn't the last we've seen of the three-headed dragon.
Directed by Adam Wingard, Godzilla vs. Kong stars Alexander Skarsgard, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall and Brian Tyree Henry. The film arrives in theaters May 21, 2021.