Monsterverse
The Monsterverse is an American multimedia franchise and shared universe featuring Godzilla and King Kong; other characters owned and created by Toho Co., Ltd also appear throughout the series. The franchise consists of five films and two television series that have been produced by Legendary Pictures, with Warner Bros. Pictures co-financing and distributing the films and the TV series being released for streaming on Netflix and Apple TV+.
The franchise has received a generally positive critical reception and has grossed $2.525 billion worldwide at the box office.
Development
Writer Max Borenstein stated that the Monsterverse did not begin as a franchise but as an American reboot of Godzilla. Borenstein credits Legendary Entertainment's founder and then CEO Thomas Tull as the one responsible for the Monsterverse, having acquired the rights to Godzilla and negotiated the complicated rights to King Kong. Tull had offered Borenstein the opportunity to write the first draft for Kong: Skull Island, with the goal to establish Kong in the same universe as Legendary's Godzilla film. Tull's vision was for the films to one day lead to Godzilla vs. Kong.Legendary confirmed at the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con that it had acquired the licensing rights to Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah from Toho Co., Ltd. and revealed concept footage with the closing title cards reading "Conflict: inevitable. Let them fight". In September 2015, Legendary announced that the film Kong: Skull Island would not be developed with Universal Pictures. Instead, it would be developed with Warner Bros., which sparked media speculation that Godzilla and Kong would appear in a film together.
In October 2015, Legendary announced plans to unite Godzilla and Kong in a film titled Godzilla vs. Kong, set for a 2020 release date. Legendary planned to create a shared cinematic franchise "centered around Monarch" and that "brings together Godzilla and Legendary’s King Kong in an ecosystem of other giant super-species, both classic and new". Later in October, it was announced that Kong: Skull Island would have references to Monarch.
In May 2016, Warner Bros. announced that Godzilla vs. Kong would be released on May 29, 2020, later pushed back to May 21, 2021, and that Godzilla: King of the Monsters would be pushed back from its original June 8, 2018 release date to March 22, 2019, however the film was later pushed back again to May 31, 2019. In October 2016, Legendary announced that Godzilla: King of the Monsters would be filmed at its parent company Wanda's Oriental Movie Metropolis facility in Qingdao, China, along with Pacific Rim: Uprising. That same month, it was revealed that Legendary was planning a writers room to create their Godzilla–Kong cinematic universe, with Alex Garcia overseeing the project for Legendary.
In January 2017, Thomas Tull, founder of Legendary, resigned from the company but would remain as producer for the Godzilla–Kong series, which was revealed as the "Monsterverse". In March 2017, Legendary assembled a writers room led by Terry Rossio to develop the story for Godzilla vs. Kong.
Legendary's license to Godzilla expired in 2020, however it has since been renewed, as Toho announced in July 2022 that Godzilla would be featured in a sequel to Godzilla vs. Kong. In January 2022, Legendary announced plans for a live-action TV series centered on Godzilla and other Titans.
Per the contract between Toho and Legendary, the former is contractually prohibited from releasing Toho-produced Godzilla films in the same year that Legendary would release their own Godzilla films. The contract, however, does not extend to television; in 2021, Toho released the anime TV series Godzilla Singular Point a few weeks after Legendary released Godzilla vs. Kong, and in 2023, Toho released the film Godzilla Minus One in the same month that Legendary's Monarch: Legacy of Monsters was released.
On December 17, 2021, Summit Kaiju International filed a lawsuit against Legendary for copyright infringement, alleging that Legendary's character Methuselah was copied and renamed from their mascot Batholith. A judge denied Legendary's motion to dismiss the case, stating that Summit had provided enough evidence for similarities between both characters. In December 2022, the case was settled with Summit filing a "Notice of Voluntary Dismissal." Jeremy Allen Soles, the founder of Summit Kaiju International and the owner of X-Plus North America, was given an acknowledgment in the end credits of the 2024 film Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.
Films
| Film | U.S. release date | Director | Screenwriter | Story by | Producers |
| Godzilla | Gareth Edwards | Max Borenstein | David Callaham | Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni, Mary Parent & Brian Rogers | |
| Kong: Skull Island | Jordan Vogt-Roberts | Dan Gilroy, Max Borenstein & Derek Connolly | John Gatins | Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni, Mary Parent & Alex Garcia | |
| Godzilla: King of the Monsters | Michael Dougherty | Michael Dougherty & Zach Shields | Max Borenstein, Michael Dougherty & Zach Shields | Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni, Mary Parent, Alex Garcia & Brian Rogers | |
| Godzilla vs. Kong | Adam Wingard | Eric Pearson & Max Borenstein | Terry Rossio, Michael Dougherty & Zach Shields | Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni, Brian Rogers, Mary Parent, Alex Garcia & Eric McLeod | |
| Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire | Adam Wingard | Terry Rossio, Simon Barrett & Jeremy Slater | Terry Rossio, Adam Wingard & Simon Barrett | Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni, Brian Rogers, Mary Parent, Alex Garcia & Eric McLeod | |
| Godzilla x Kong: Supernova | Grant Sputore | David Callaham & Michael Lloyd Green | David Callaham | Mary Parent & Thomas Tull |
''Godzilla'' (2014)
The film reimagines Godzilla's origins and is set 15 years after a nuclear meltdown in Japan which was caused by giant parasitic creatures, known as "MUTOs". As two MUTOs ravage the countryside in order to reproduce, they awaken an even 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. In March 2010, Legendary announced to have acquired the rights to Godzilla for a feature film reboot. In January 2011, Gareth Edwards was announced as the director for the film. The film was co-produced with Warner Bros. Pictures with filming completed in 2013 in Canada and the United States for release in 2014. Godzilla was released on May 16, 2014, to positive reviews, and was a box office success, grossing $529 million worldwide against a budget of $160 million.
''Kong: Skull Island'' (2017)
Set in 1973, the film follows a team of scientists and Vietnam War soldiers traveling to an uncharted island in the Pacific where they encounter terrifying creatures and the mighty Kong. The film introduces Kong, the Mother Longlegs, the Sker Buffalo, the Mire Squid, the Leafwing, the Psychovulture, the Spore Mantis, the Skull Devil, and the Skullcrawlers to the Monsterverse and a post-credits scene introduces Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah to the Monsterverse. The Skull Devil was originally trademarked as "Ramarak the Skullcrawler" until it was abandoned in September 2017.In July 2014 at 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. In September 2014, Jordan Vogt-Roberts was announced as the film's director. In September 2015, Legendary moved development of the film from Universal Pictures to Warner Bros. to create an expanded cinematic universe. Principal photography began on October 19, 2015, in Hawaii and Vietnam. Kong: Skull Island was released on March 10, 2017, to positive reviews, and was a box office success, grossing $566 million worldwide against a budget of $185 million. The film received a nomination for Best Visual Effects at the 90th Academy Awards.
''Godzilla: King of the Monsters'' (2019)
In the film, eco-terrorists release King Ghidorah, who awakens other monsters known as "Titans" across the world, forcing Godzilla and Mothra to surface and engage Ghidorah and Rodan in a decisive battle. The film changes the monsters' designation from "MUTOs" to "Titans". The film introduces Scylla, Methuselah, Behemoth, and the Queen MUTO to the Monsterverse. Off-screen, the film introduces Baphomet, Typhon, Mokele-Mbembe, Tiamat, Abaddon, Leviathan, and Bunyip to the Monsterverse.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. However, Edwards left the sequel in May 2016 to work on smaller scale projects. In January 2017, Michael Dougherty was announced as the director and co-writer for the film. Principal photography began in June 2017, in Atlanta, Georgia and wrapped in September 2017. The film was released on May 31, 2019, to mixed reviews, and was a box office disappointment, grossing $387 million worldwide against a budget between $170–200 million.
''Godzilla vs. Kong'' (2021)
In the film, Kong clashes with Godzilla as humans lure the ape into the Hollow Earth to retrieve a power source for a weapon to stop Godzilla's mysterious rampages. The film introduces Mechagodzilla, the Warbat, the Hellhawk, and Titanus Doug to the Monsterverse.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 was theatrically released internationally on March 24, 2021, and was released in the United States on March 31, 2021, where it was released simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max. The film received generally positive reviews and was a box office success, breaking pandemic records and grossing $470 million. It was also a streaming hit, becoming the most successful launch item in HBO Max's history until it was overtaken by Mortal Kombat.