Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire Smashes Into Theaters In 2024 – Here's What We Know
The Monsterverse is here to stay. Long live the Monsterverse.
Today brings us the news that the latest film in Warner Bros.' and Legendary Pictures' rock-'em, sock-'em franchise has officially been given a new title, synopsis, and announcement video. Fans can now get ready for the arrival of "Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire," the next crossover between the classic Titans in another sort of East meets West extravaganza. While the last film in this franchise pitted King Kong and Godzilla against each other in an epic — and, if you ask me, mind-numbingly dull — fight to the (near) death, this one seems to be offering a whole new trajectory, as implied by that little title change involving an "x" that I honestly have no idea how to pronounce. "Godzilla by Kong," "Godzilla times Kong," and "Godzilla ex Kong" don't really seem to have a great ring to them, but what do I know!
In any case, the studios have announced that the two kaiju will be joining forces to combat what's amusingly described as "a world-ending threat so terrifying that neither could survive alone." Consider this the Kaiju-Avengers, folks. The sequel to "Godzilla vs Kong" will once again be directed by Adam Wingard, written by Simon Barrett, and stars a returning cast that includes the likes of Rebecca Hall (who apparently plays a character named Dr. Ilene Andrews, of which I have zero memory of), Brian Tyree Henry as Bernie Hayes, and Kaylee Hottle as young Kong-whisperer Jia. This time around, they'll be joined by Wingard regular Dan Stevens, Fala Chen, and the always-hilarious Rachel House.
Check out the fun announcement video for "Godzilla x Kong" below!
Godzilla x Kong stomps into a theater near you
Efforts to build out a shared universe of kaiju have been in the works since 2014's underrated "Godzilla," which brought back the biggest and baddest radioactive reptile of them all (admittedly, I'm not sure how many other contenders there are for that very specific crown, but still) and kicked off a franchise that has since included Jordan Vogt-Roberts' "Kong: Skull Island" in 2017 and the (also underrated) "Godzilla" sequel "King of the Monsters" in 2019. As much as the pandemic tried to complicate the release of "Godzilla vs Kong," the 2021 blockbuster still secured a simultaneous theatrical and streaming release that viewers practically ate up.
It was only a matter of time before the sequel became a reality, unofficially dubbed "Godzilla vs Kong 2," and now it has. Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures also released a brand-new synopsis for the new movie (you know, just in case the awfully generic subtitle of "The New Empire" didn't really give fans much to work with):
This latest entry in the Monsterverse franchise 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.
Sounds like a lot! Fans can expect this sequel to hit the big screen (not streaming!) on March 29, 2024.