Monsterverse

• 1. Introduction

  ›

  The Monsterverse is an American film and television franchise that puts Godzilla and King Kong in one shared world. At the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con, Legendary showed concept footage that closed on title cards reading "Conflict: inevitable. Let them fight". The title cards promised a showdown between the two monsters. Legendary produces the franchise, Warner Bros. Pictures distributes the films, and the television series stream on Netflix and Apple TV+. So far there are five films and two series. Together the films have grossed $2.527 billion worldwide. Yet the writer Max Borenstein says this universe never started as a franchise at all. It began as one American reboot of Godzilla. How does a single reboot grow into a universe? Who really owns these monsters, and what happens when a contract or a lawsuit gets in the way? And why did one film set records during a pandemic while another disappointed at the box office?

  67102

• 2. Accidental Origins

  ›

  Max Borenstein, who wrote the 2014 Godzilla, has said that no one set out to build a franchise. The original assignment was a single American reboot of Godzilla. He credits Thomas Tull, the founder and then chief executive of Legendary Entertainment, with the idea of something bigger. Tull had acquired the rights to Godzilla. He then negotiated the complicated rights to King Kong. Tull offered Borenstein the chance to write a first draft of Kong: Skull Island, aiming to place Kong in the same universe as Legendary's Godzilla. His vision was that the films would one day lead to Godzilla vs. Kong.

  The same 2014 convention carried a licensing announcement. Legendary confirmed that it had acquired the rights to Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah from Toho Co., Ltd. That put three classic monsters within reach of the planned universe.

  In September 2015, Legendary said Kong: Skull Island would not be developed with Universal Pictures after all. Warner Bros. would take it on instead, which prompted speculation that Godzilla and Kong would share a film. The speculation was confirmed in October 2015. Legendary announced Godzilla vs. Kong with a 2020 release date and described a shared franchise "centered around Monarch". Monarch is the secret government agency that debuted in the 2014 Godzilla. Later that month, Legendary said Kong: Skull Island would carry references to Monarch.

  In May 2016, Warner Bros. set Godzilla vs. Kong for the 29th of May 2020. It would later slip to the 21st of May 2021. Godzilla: King of the Monsters moved as well, from the 8th of June 2018 to the 22nd of March 2019, and then to the 31st of May 2019. In October 2016, Legendary revealed that it was planning a writers room for its Godzilla and Kong universe, with Alex Garcia overseeing the project.

  In January 2017, Tull resigned from Legendary but stayed on as a producer. The series was revealed that month under the name Monsterverse. In March 2017, Legendary assembled a writers room led by Terry Rossio to develop the story for Godzilla vs. Kong.

  6891012

• 3. Borrowed Monsters

  ›

  Legendary's license to Godzilla expired in 2020, and the story could have ended there. Instead the license was renewed. In July 2022, Toho announced that Godzilla would appear in a sequel to Godzilla vs. Kong.

  A clause in the contract shapes the release calendar. Toho is prohibited from releasing its own Godzilla films in any year when Legendary releases one. The clause does not extend to television. In 2021, Toho released the anime series Godzilla Singular Point a few weeks after Godzilla vs. Kong reached audiences. In 2023, Toho released the film Godzilla Minus One in the same month that Monarch: Legacy of Monsters premiered.

  On the 17th of December 2021, Summit Kaiju International filed a lawsuit against Legendary for copyright infringement. Summit alleged that Legendary's character Methuselah had been copied from its mascot Batholith and given a new name. A judge denied Legendary's motion to dismiss, ruling that Summit had offered enough evidence of similarities between the two characters. In December 2022 the case was settled, with Summit filing a "Notice of Voluntary Dismissal."

  Jeremy Allen Soles founded Summit Kaiju International and owns X-Plus North America. He received an acknowledgment in the end credits of the 2024 film Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.

  1819212022

• 4. Five Films, Five Results

  ›

  In 2004, the director Yoshimitsu Banno won permission from Toho to make a short IMAX Godzilla film. That project developed for several years before it was handed to Legendary Pictures. In March 2010, Legendary announced that it had acquired the rights for a feature reboot, and in January 2011 Gareth Edwards was named director. Godzilla opened on the 16th of May 2014. It is set 15 years after a nuclear meltdown in Japan caused by giant parasitic creatures called MUTOs, short for Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism. Their rampage wakes a far larger ancient predator, whose existence the U.S. government has hidden since 1954. The film grossed $529 million worldwide against a $160 million budget.

  Principal photography for Kong: Skull Island began on the 19th of October 2015 in Hawaii and Vietnam. Jordan Vogt-Roberts had been announced as director in September 2014. The story is set in 1973, as scientists and Vietnam War soldiers travel to an uncharted island in the Pacific. The film opened on the 10th of March 2017. It grossed more than half a billion dollars against a $185 million budget and earned a nomination for Best Visual Effects at the 90th Academy Awards. A post-credits scene introduced Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah. One creature, the Skull Devil, was originally trademarked as "Ramarak the Skullcrawler" before that trademark was abandoned in September 2017.

  Gareth Edwards was once attached to direct a whole Godzilla trilogy. He left the sequel in May 2016 to work on smaller scale projects. Michael Dougherty was announced as director and co-writer in January 2017, and photography ran from June to September 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. Godzilla: King of the Monsters reached theaters on the 31st of May 2019. In it, eco-terrorists release King Ghidorah, who awakens other creatures now called Titans around the world. The film drew mixed reviews and a disappointing box office, grossing $387 million against a budget of $170-200 million.

  Adam Wingard was named director of Godzilla vs. Kong in May 2017, and filming ran from November 2018 to April 2019 in Hawaii and Australia. The COVID-19 pandemic delayed the film from a November 2020 date. It opened internationally on the 24th of March 2021. In the United States it arrived on the 31st of March 2021, in theaters and on HBO Max at the same time. Its plot sends humans to lure Kong into the Hollow Earth to retrieve a power source for a weapon against Godzilla. The film grossed $470 million and broke pandemic records. It also became the most successful launch in HBO Max history, until Mortal Kombat overtook it.

  In March 2022, following that success, Legendary announced a sequel, with filming planned for the Gold Coast in Queensland. In May 2022, Wingard was confirmed to return and Dan Stevens was cast as the lead. The two had previously worked together on The Guest. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire opened internationally on the 27th of March 2024 and in the United States two days later. It grossed $572 million against a budget of $135-150 million, the largest gross of the five films. The film introduced the Skar King, Suko, and Shimo.

  2526304066

• 5. Critics and Crowds

  ›

  Godzilla: King of the Monsters holds a 42% score on Rotten Tomatoes from 353 reviews. That is the lowest critical rating of the five films. Its Metacritic score is 48 from 46 reviews. Audiences were kinder, giving it a CinemaScore of B+ and an 85% on PostTrak.

  Three films sit at 75% or 76% with critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Godzilla has 76% from 330 reviews, a Metacritic score of 62, and a B+ CinemaScore. Kong: Skull Island has 75% from 395 reviews, a Metacritic score of 62, a B+, and an 80% on PostTrak. Godzilla vs. Kong has 75% from 392 reviews, a Metacritic score of 59, an A from CinemaScore, and 86% on PostTrak.

  Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire reverses the usual pattern. Critics gave it 54% from 237 reviews and a Metacritic score of 47 from 51 reviews. Yet it earned an A- from CinemaScore and 96% on PostTrak, the highest audience number of any film in the series.

  The television series rate higher with critics. Skull Island has 82% on Rotten Tomatoes from 17 reviews and a Metacritic score of 51 from four. Monarch: Legacy of Monsters has 86% from 86 reviews and a Metacritic score of 68 from 26. That 86% is the highest Rotten Tomatoes score anywhere in the franchise.

  4950545758

• 6. Scoring the Titans

  ›

  Gareth Edwards chose the composer for his 2014 Godzilla by building a playlist. He has said, "I dragged and dropped all my favorite soundtracks, and the person who got high score was Alexandre Desplat." Desplat was announced in August 2013. He accepted because Edwards' directorial debut Monsters (2010) had impressed him, and because he had never scored a monster film. He assembled an orchestra he called "stupidly big, as big as Godzilla", large enough that the score needed no electronics to fill gaps. He described the result as "non-stop fortissimo, with lots of brass, Japanese drums, and electric violin". A shakuhachi bamboo flute and taiko drums echoed the film's Japanese roots. The themes of Akira Ifukube, who composed for many Godzilla films, went unused. Even so, Desplat flared the brass in the track "Godzilla!" as a nod to Ifukube.

  Henry Jackman scored Kong: Skull Island in 2017 by blending 1970s psychedelic guitars with a symphony orchestra and electronic sounds. He said a monster movie lets a composer use the orchestra "in its most sumptuous way". Director Jordan Vogt-Roberts also filled the film with rock from the Vietnam era and hits from the 70s. He said this "provides a striking dichotomy, sets the tone and gives us great moments of fun".

  At Comic-Con 2018, it was announced that Bear McCreary would score Godzilla: King of the Monsters. He brought back Ifukube's themes and Yūji Koseki's Mothra theme, adapting both so that old and new styles would meet in a modern blockbuster. For the soundtrack he produced a cover of Blue Öyster Cult's "Godzilla", with Serj Tankian on vocals. Brendon Small, Gene Hoglan, and other members of Dethklok also contributed. McCreary called it "the most audacious piece of music" he had produced in his career.

  Tom Holkenborg was announced as the composer of Godzilla vs. Kong in June 2020. At a 2018 meeting he told Wingard that he was a Godzilla fan who had written a Godzilla theme for fun. Wingard chose not to reuse Ifukube's themes, which he called "insincere" because he tied them to Toho's Godzilla. Holkenborg asked for a bass drum roughly ten feet across, but the builder could only manage eight feet. He wanted a slow, sluggish Godzilla theme that "lived and breathed" the history of monster themes, with lower brass and big tympanis underscoring the monster's power. For Kong he took an "organic approach", weaving in electronic and sound design elements.

  Holkenborg returned for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, as announced in August 2022. In December 2023, Antonio Di Iorio was named as co-composer. A single titled "Main Title Theme" came out on the 13th of March 2024. The full album followed on the 22nd of March 2024.

  4950545758

• 7. Beyond the Cinema Screen

  ›

  On the 22nd of June 2023, Netflix released the animated series Skull Island worldwide. Legendary Television and Netflix had announced it in January 2021. Brian Duffield developed and wrote the series and is co-executive producer alongside Jacob Robinson. Powerhouse Animation, JP and Legendary Television produced it. The show introduced Annie's Dog and the Kraken, along with other unnamed monsters. In October 2023, Duffield said the script for a second season was finished. The creators were still waiting for Netflix to approve a renewal.

  In January 2022, Legendary announced that Apple TV, then called Apple TV+, had ordered a live-action series featuring Godzilla and other Titans. Chris Black is showrunner, and he and Matt Fraction are co-creators and executive producers. Safehouse Pictures, Toho Co., Ltd., Mikfred Criminal Masterminds, Chris Black Broadcasting System and Legendary Television produced Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. It premiered on the 17th of November 2023 and has 10 episodes. The first season introduced the Ion Dragon and the Frost Vark.

  In April 2024, the series was renewed for a second season. Photos on social media verified that principal photography began in July 2024. In November 2025, Legendary and Apple TV announced that Kurt Russell would return. They also released a teaser revealing Kong's involvement and gave a February 2026 airdate. The second season brings in a new monster called Titan X.

  96989910090

• 8. Expanding the Universe

  ›

  In October 2023, DC Comics' Justice League met the Monsterverse in Justice League vs. Godzilla vs. Kong, a crossover written by Brian Buccellato. The series ran seven issues and was collected in a 2024 hardcover with a cover by Dan Mora. A sequel series and a new comic called Return to Skull Island both launched in 2025. Return to Skull Island came out of a March 2025 partnership between Legendary Comics and Titan Comics.

  Earlier tie-ins filled in backstory. Godzilla: Awakening, a 2014 prequel graphic novel, was written by Max Borenstein and Greg Borenstein. Skull Island: The Birth of Kong ran four issues in 2017 under the writer Arvid Nelson. A hardcover called Legends of the Monsterverse, which first appeared through Kickstarter in 2023, gathered five graphic novels and added a new story, "Godzilla: Fight or Flight". Prose followed too, with a novelization of each film and picture books such as Kong and Me, a prequel to Godzilla vs. Kong.

  In 2014, Legendary's Godzilla appeared as a playable character called "Hollywood Godzilla" in Bandai Namco's video game Godzilla. In 2017, a short virtual reality experience, Kong VR: Destination Skull Island, was offered at 1500 Samsung retail demo locations, 15 AMC theater locations, and Samsung VR stores. Godzilla and Kong also turned up in crossover events for PUBG Mobile, World of Warships, Godzilla: Battle Line, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Fortnite, where Mechagodzilla appeared as well. For The New Empire, Legendary and Warner Bros. teamed with Roblox on an interactive trailer built around an obby.

  In February 2021, Adam Wingard called the Monsterverse a franchise at a "crossroads". He said "audiences have to kind of step forward and vote for more of these things." By March 2024, before The New Empire opened, he said a third film "just depends on how Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire does and how things kind of shape out." In April 2024, producer Mary Parent said of the opening, "We are in a good position to continue the journey, but let's see how Godzilla x Kong unfolds."

  On the 10th of May 2024, Legendary announced that a follow-up was in development, written by David Callaham, who wrote early drafts of the 2014 Godzilla. Wingard could not return because of scheduling conflicts. In June 2024, Grant Sputore, director of I Am Mother, was named director. The film, Godzilla x Kong: Supernova, is set for release on the 26th of March 2027. Pre-production began in January 2025. The cast includes Kaitlyn Dever, Jack O'Connell, Delroy Lindo, Matthew Modine, Alycia Debnam-Carey, and Sam Neill, along with Dan Stevens, who reprises his role.

  In April 2024, a new contract with Apple TV committed Legendary to a second season of Monarch and to multiple spin-off series. In December 2025, Legendary and Apple TV announced a spin-off about a young Lee Shaw, with Wyatt Russell reprising the role. Set in 1984, it follows Shaw as he tries to stop the Soviet Union from unleashing a new Titan on the U.S. Joby Harold, who oversees the Monsterverse for Apple TV, is showrunner. Godzilla will appear, with Hiro Matsuoka and Takemasa Arita serving as executive producers for Toho.

  Crossovers with other franchises have been floated but not promised. In October 2017, Steven S. DeKnight, director of Pacific Rim Uprising, said a Pacific Rim crossover had been discussed, though only as a hypothetical. In November 2025, feature writing credits published by the Writers Guild of America revealed that SpaceGodzilla would be featured in Supernova.

  9192939486