The MonsterVerse is a term used to identify the Godzilla and King Kong crossover film series produced by Legendary Pictures that began in 2014
The MonsterVerse is a cinematic universe that aims to crossover iconic giant movie monsters like Godzilla, Mothra, and King Kong. The universe got its start with 2014's Godzilla, the first American film to feature the king of the monsters since the controversial 1998 Godzilla film. Godzilla was followed up by three films: Kong: Skull Island, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and the recently released Godzilla vs. Kong.
In preparation for the union you’ve been waiting for, here’s a primer on which films are part of the MonsterVerse and what to watch before you see Godzilla Vs. Kong.
Godzilla (2014)
While there have been nearly three dozen Godzilla movies made since 1954, the first Hollywood-made Godzilla came out in 2014, starring the Maximoff twins, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen as husband and wife Ford and Elle Brody. Ford’s father Joe (played by Bryan Cranston) has been living in Japan and, back in 1999, he was the supervisor at a nuclear plant where his wife was killed when the reactor melted down. Joe has been trying to find the cause of the meltdown for 15 years, and when he returns to the nuclear facility to investigate, the facility is destroyed and he is gravely injured by a mysterious winged creature.
Later, Ford meets Dr. Ishirō Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) and Dr. Vivienne Graham (Sally Hawkins) who work for Project Monarch, and they learn that a giant flying creature dubbed a MUTO (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism) which had been feeding off of the nuclear reactor for 15 years has disappeared. Ultimately, a battle — in the middle of San Francisco — between MUTOs and Godzilla ensues and, spoiler alert, Godzilla prevails.
Project Monarch has been a running theme throughout the MonsterVerse, starting with Godzilla, and will appear in each of the subsequent films, including Godzilla Vs. Kong.
Kong: Skull Island (2017)
Kong: Skull Island is a 2017 American monster film directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts. It is a reboot of the King Kong franchise and serves as the second film in Legendary's MonsterVerse, as well as the 11th film in the King Kong franchise. The film stars Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman, Brie Larson, Jing Tian, Toby Kebbell, John Ortiz, Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Shea Whigham, Thomas Mann, Terry Notary, and John C. Reilly. In the film, set in 1973, a team of scientists and Vietnam War soldiers travel to the uncharted Skull Island and meet Kong, a gigantic ape who is the last of his species, closely followed by other terrifying creatures.
Kong: Skull Island proves even further that either there are only a few actors in Hollywood, or that every actor ever has appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe because the main cast of Skull Island consists of Marvel faves Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, and John C. Reilly. Skull Island is set in 1973, as a team of scientists and soldiers led by Bill Randa (John Goodman), head to Skull Island with Lt. Col Preston Packard (Jackson), James Conrad (Hiddleston), and Mason Weaver (Brie Larson) to investigate the presence of primeval creatures.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a 2019 American monster film directed and co-written by Michael Dougherty. A sequel to Godzilla (2014), it is the 35th film in the Godzilla franchise, the third film in Legendary's MonsterVerse, and the third Godzilla film to be completely produced by a Hollywood studio. The film stars Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown, Bradley Whitford, Sally Hawkins, Charles Dance, Thomas Middleditch, Aisha Hinds, O'Shea Jackson Jr., David Strathairn, Ken Watanabe, and Zhang Ziyi. In the film, humans must rely on Godzilla and Mothra to defeat King Ghidorah, who has awakened Rodan and other Titans to destroy the world.
Do you need to watch Godzilla (2014), Kong: Skull Island, and Godzilla: King of the Monsters to understand this film? The answer is mostly no, but a little yes? Very slight spoilers to follow, but nothing movie-ruining, promise.
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