MonsterVerse

The film reimagines Godzilla's origins in contemporary times and is set 15 years after a nuclear meltdown in Japan which subsequently awakens two giant parasitic creatures, known as "MUTOs". As the MUTOs ravage the countryside in order to reproduce, they awaken a larger ancient alpha predator, known as "Godzilla", whose existence has been kept secret by the U.S. government since 1954. The film introduces Godzilla, the MUTOs, and the Monarch organization to the MonsterVerse.

In 2004, director Yoshimitsu Banno acquired permission from Toho to produce a short IMAX Godzilla film which was in development for several years until the project was eventually turned over to Legendary Pictures.[2][14] In March 2010, Legendary announced to have acquired the rights to Godzilla for a feature film reboot.[15] In January 2011, Gareth Edwards was announced as the director for the film.[16] The film was co-produced with Warner Bros. Pictures with filming completed in 2013 in Canada and the United States for release in 2014.[17] Godzilla was released on May 16, 2014 to positive reviews,[18][19] and was a box office success, grossing $529 million worldwide against a budget of $160 million.[20]

In the film, set in 1973, a team of scientists and Vietnam War soldiers travel to an uncharted island in the Pacific and encounter terrifying creatures and the mighty Kong. The film introduces Kong, Mother Longlegs,[21] Sker Buffalo,[21] Mire Squid,[21] Leafwing,[21] Psychovulture,[21] Spore Mantis,[21] Skull Devil,[22] and the Skullcrawlers to the MonsterVerse and a post-credits scene introduces Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah to the MonsterVerse.[23] Skull Devil was originally trademarked as "Ramarak the Skullcrawler" until it was abandoned in September 2017.[24]

In July 2014 at the San Diego Comic-Con, Legendary announced a King Kong origin story, initially titled Skull Island, with a release date of November 4, 2016, and Universal Pictures distributing.[25] In September 2014, Jordan Vogt-Roberts was announced as the film's director.[26] In September 2015, Legendary moved development of the film from Universal Pictures to Warner Bros. to create an expanded cinematic universe.[27] Principal photography began on October 19, 2015, in Hawaii and Vietnam. Kong: Skull Island was released on March 10, 2017 to positive reviews,[28][29] and was a box office success, grossing $566 million worldwide against a budget of $185 million.[30] The film received a nomination for Best Visual Effects at the 90th Academy Awards.[31]

In the film, humanity must rely on Godzilla and Mothra to defeat King Ghidorah and Rodan, the former which has awakened other Titans to destroy the world. The film changes the monsters' designation from "MUTOs" to "Titans".[32] The film introduces Scylla, Methuselah, Behemoth, and the Queen MUTO to the MonsterVerse.[33] Off-screen, the film introduces Baphomet, Typhon, Mokele-Mbembe, Sargon, Tiamat, Abaddon, Leviathan, and Bunyip to the MonsterVerse.[33][34]

Prior to announcing a shared cinematic universe between Godzilla and Kong, Legendary originally intended to produce a Godzilla trilogy, with Gareth Edwards attached to direct all films.[35] However, Edwards left the sequel in May 2016 to work on smaller scale projects.[36] In January 2017, Michael Dougherty was announced as the director and co-writer for the film.[37] Principal photography began in June 2017, in Atlanta, Georgia and wrapped in September 2017.[38] The film was released on May 31, 2019. It received negative to mixed reviews,[39][40] and was a box office disappointment,[41][42][43] grossing $386 million worldwide against a budget between $170–200 million.[44][45]

In an age when monsters reclaim the planet, humanity's fight for survival triggers the inevitable battle between Godzilla and Kong, while Monarch unravels the origins of the Titans and a human conspiracy that threatens to destroy all of the monsters.[46] The film introduces Warbat,[47] and Hell Hawk to the MonsterVerse.[48]

The project was announced in October 2015 when Legendary announced plans for a shared cinematic universe between Godzilla and King Kong. The film's writers room was assembled in March 2017 and Adam Wingard was announced as the director in May 2017. Principal photography began in November 2018 in Hawaii and Australia and concluded in April 2019. After being delayed from a November 2020 release date due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the film is scheduled to be theatrically released internationally on March 26, 2021 and in the United States on March 31, 2021, where it will be released simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max.[49]

In January 2021, an anime-styled animated series set within the MonsterVerse titled Skull Island was announced to be in development. The series will center around the adventures of shipwrecked characters, trying to escape from the titular island which is home to various prehistoric monsters. The project will be written by Brian Duffield, who will also serve as co-executive producer with Jacob Robinson. The series will be a joint-venture production between Legendary Television, Tractor Pants Productions, Powerhouse Animation Studios, and Netflix Animation. The show will be released as a streaming exclusive on Netflix.[50]

A 2014 app titled Godzilla Encounter would help you detect traces of Godzilla. Legendary's Godzilla was featured as a playable character in Bandai Namco's 2014 video game Godzilla as "Hollywood Godzilla".[62][63] In 2017, a short virtual reality experience titled Kong VR: Destination Skull Island was made available at 1500 Samsung retail demo locations, in 15 AMC theater locations, and Samsung VR stores.[64]

• Bernstein, Abbie (2019). The Art of Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Titan Books. ISBN 1789090687.
• Mirjahangir, Chris (2019). Interview with Alex Garcia and Zach Shield (Audio). Toho Kingdom.