Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire[a] is a 2024 American monster film directed by Adam Wingard. Produced by Legendary Pictures, it is a sequel to Godzilla vs. Kong (2021), and the fifth film in the MonsterVerse franchise. It is also the 38th film of the Godzilla franchise and the 13th film in the King Kong franchise. The film stars Rebecca Hall
and Fala Chen. Hall, Henry, and Hottle reprise their roles from the previous film. In the film, Kong encounters more of his species in the Hollow Earth and must unite with Godzilla to stop their tyrannical leader and a powerful, climate-changing Titan from destroying the surface.
Because of the box office and streaming success of Godzilla vs. Kong during the COVID-19 pandemic, Legendary announced a sequel in March 2022 and that filming would commence later that year. In May 2022, it was announced that Wingard would return to direct and Stevens had been cast as a lead. Filming began in July 2022 in the Gold Coast, Australia, and finished in November 2022.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire premiered at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles on March 25, 2024, and was released in the United States on March 29. The film received mixed reviews from critics.
A few years after defeating Mechagodzilla,[b] Kong establishes his territory in the recently discovered Hollow Earth. While on Earth's surface, Godzilla continues to maintain order between humanity and giant monsters, known as "Titans" — defeating Scylla in Rome, Italy, and resting in the Colosseum afterwards.
A Monarch observation outpost stationed in the Hollow Earth picks up an unidentified signal. On the surface, the signal causes Jia, the last known survivor of the Iwi tribe from Skull Island, to experience hallucinations and flashbacks, causing her and adoptive mother, Dr. Ilene Andrews, to worry. Also sensing the signal, Godzilla leaves Italy, attacks a nuclear plant in France to absorb the radiation, and travels to the Arctic; Monarch believes Godzilla is strengthening himself for an oncoming threat.
When a sinkhole opens near his home, Kong discovers an uncharted region and a tribe of giant apes — including a juvenile Suko. After an initial confrontation, Kong forces Suko to lead him to the tribe's lair and the two slowly bond on their journey. The tribe's tyrannical leader, the Skar King, battles Kong with the aid of an ancient ice-powered Titan, Shimo, that Skar King controls with pain using a crystal. Although his right arm is badly frostbitten, Kong manages to escape with Suko's help.
Andrews and Jia, alongside Titan veterinarian Trapper and conspiracy podcaster Bernie Hayes, travel to the Hollow Earth to locate the source of the signal and find the Monarch outpost destroyed. As the group ventures forward, they discover a temple which leads them to an uncharted subterranean section that houses the remaining members of the Iwi tribe, a group of people who communicate telepathically among each other and from whom Jia is descended. Inspecting some ruins, they surmise that the signal was a telepathic distress call sent by the Iwi.
While observing Jia socializing with the Iwi, Andrews voices her fears to Trapper that Jia may choose to stay with her people and that Andrews would have to accept it. Inside a temple, Andrews uncovers a prophecy: the Skar King seeks to conquer the surface world, and waged war against Godzilla's species; however, Godzilla trapped him and his tribe deep within the Hollow Earth. The prophecy also states that Jia would be the key to reawakening Mothra. Kong, sensing Jia, locates the temple and is fitted by Trapper with a prototypical glove to treat his wounds.
Godzilla defeats Tiamat in the Arctic in order to absorb the radiation from its lair. Hoping to lure Godzilla to the Hollow Earth to assist him, Kong confronts him in Cairo. An empowered Godzilla gains the upper hand, but the reawakened Mothra intervenes to convince him to aid Kong. Godzilla, Kong, and Mothra battle the Skar King, his tribe, and Shimo in Hollow Earth after the pyramids collide creating Anti-Gravity effect before the gravity drag them to a portal. Their fight carries them into Rio de Janeiro,
where Shimo begins to induce a second Ice Age at the Skar King's command. The factions are evenly matched until Suko destroys the crystal used to control Shimo. Godzilla and Kong give Skar King a beating before he could harm Suko. Finally liberated, Shimo freezes the Skar King, allowing Kong to shatter his frozen body.
After undoing Shimo's ice age, Godzilla returns to rest in the Colosseum; Mothra restores the protective barrier of the Iwi’s home; Kong, together with Shimo and Suko, returns to the Hollow Earth where he becomes the tribe's new leader. Jia alleviates Andrews' fears by choosing to stay with her adopted mother.
In March 2019, producer Alex Garcia stated that Legendary Pictures hoped to produce more MonsterVerse films if they became successful, stating, "It's one brick at a time, each piece has to be as good as it can be, so right now it's all focused on this Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) and Godzilla vs. Kong (2021). But could there be? Yeah, that's the hope if the movies turn out really well."[8] In February 2021, Wingard commented on the future of the MonsterVerse,
"I know where we could go potentially with future films." However, he noted that the MonsterVerse was created "to a certain degree" to lead towards Godzilla vs. Kong.[9] He added that the MonsterVerse is at a "crossroads", stating, "It's really at the point where audiences have to kind of step forward and vote for more of these things. If this movie is a success obviously they will continue forward."[10]
Godzilla vs. Kong was released on March 24, 2021, and became a box office and streaming hit during the COVID-19 pandemic.[11] The film grossed $470 million worldwide against a break-even point of $330 million,[11][12] and became the most pirated film of 2021.[13] On April 4, 2021, Legendary's CEO Josh Grode commented on potential sequels, "we have a number of ideas for more movies."[14] That same day,
the hashtag #ContinueTheMonsterVerse began trending on Twitter, which was acknowledged by Legendary and garnered support from Jordan Vogt-Roberts, director of Kong: Skull Island (2017).[15][16] On April 27, 2021, The Hollywood Reporter stated that Legendary was "quietly taking steps to stretch the series into one or more installments" while negotiating with Wingard to potentially return to direct. Various ideas were considered, with Son of Kong being one potential title.[17] In August 2021, MonsterVerse writer Max Borenstein stated that "there will be some new, interesting installments coming" due to the success of Godzilla vs. Kong.[18]
On March 20, 2022, it was announced that a sequel to Godzilla vs. Kong was scheduled to commence filming later in the year in the Gold Coast, Queensland, and other locations in South East Queensland.[19] In May 2022, it was announced that Wingard would return to direct and that Dan Stevens had been cast as a lead. Wingard and Stevens had previously worked together on The Guest (2014).[20] In May
2022, Production Weekly reported that the film's working title was Origins.[21] On June 30, 2022, it was revealed that Mary Parent, Alex Garcia, Eric McLeod, Brian Rogers, Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni would return to produce.[22][23] On July 1, 2022, Toho confirmed that the film would feature Godzilla.[24]
