Godzilla and King Kong unite to fight the Skar King in the first trailer for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is Godzilla vs. Kong‘s sequel and the MonsterVerse’s fifth installment. The film follows the titular giant monsters as they encounter another giant ape named the Skar King, in the Hollow Earth, a world underneath ours where other giant monsters thrive. The MonsterVerse is a shared universe film franchise that began with 2014’s Godzilla, rebooting the latter and King Kong for a new generation. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire releases on April 12th, 2024 in theaters.
Godzilla and King Kong Fight Together Against The Skar King in Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire‘s First Trailer!
The trailer begins with shots of a seismometer, helicopters approaching what seems to be an island research base, and pyramids. Suddenly, Kong, wearing a mechanical gauntlet, bursts out of the sand beside the pyramids. The trailer then shifts to the Hollow Earth, depicting Kong exploring it alongside a futuristic hovercraft, encountering a young ape-like himself and his species’ skulls laid out in a cave. As Dr. Ilene Andrews, played by Rebecca Hall reprising her role from Godzilla vs. Kong, narrates the trailer’s first half. Her question, regarding what could’ve left those ape skulls, is immediately answered with a glimpse of the Skar King’s eyes and the community of similar apes he rules.
RELATED: ‘Monarch Legacy of Monsters’: An Incredible Reintroduction to The Monsterverse
The main cast discovers a mysterious ancient human society living in the Hollow Earth’s caves, potentially connected to the humans on Skull Island. Godzilla then rises out of the ice in the Arctic, sporting a new crystalline look and a pink atomic breath. Between more scenes of each of the three giant monsters roaring, the trailer climaxes with Godzilla and Kong running side-by-side in the Hollow Earth. One last joke about the young giant ape being a “mini-Kong” closes the trailer out.
Taking A Closer Look At Kong’s War With The Skar King and Godzilla’s New Transformation
The trailer makes Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire out to be a very Kong-centric installment. This is especially apparent with plot points such as Kong’s encounter with the younger ape. The Skar King’s antagonistic role hints at a conflict between him and Kong for the right to rule the Hollow Earth. This could escalate to the Skar King using his domain’s members to destroy humanity and take over the surface world. Based on the poster’s imagery, and what the trailer implies, the final battle may take place in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.
This escalation might be the moment Godzilla enters the story, determined to help Kong battle the Skar King and restore nature’s balance. Godzilla could be feeding off of the Hollow Earth’s radiation, transforming him in the process. Sporting different dorsal spines, Godzilla’s new form is an obvious homage to the king of the monsters’ design in Godzilla 2000. Godzilla’s pink atomic breath also calls back to its red Spiral Ray variant from the Heisei Era series.
RELATED: GODZILLA (1998) Digital Remaster Review
Ultimately, the trailer awesomely hypes up an insane installment in the MonsterVerse, but interestingly downplays the humans’ role in the story.
About Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
Release date: April 12, 2024, exclusively in theaters
Director:Â Adam Wingard
Cinematography:Â Ben Seresin
Production:Â Legendary Pictures
Distribution:Â Warner Bros. Pictures
Runtime: N/A
Cast: Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylee Hottle, Alex Ferns, and Fala Chen
Synopsis
The epic battle continues! Legendary Pictures’ cinematic Monsterverse follows up the explosive showdown of Godzilla vs. Kong with an all-new adventure that pits the almighty Kong and the fearsome Godzilla against a colossal undiscovered threat hidden within our world, challenging their very existence—and our own. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire delves further into the histories of these Titans and their origins, as well as the mysteries of Skull Island and beyond while uncovering the mythic battle that helped forge these extraordinary beings and tied them to humankind forever.
What are your thoughts on the first trailer for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire? What’s your favorite MonsterVerse installment? What’s your favorite kaiju? Let us know by giving The Illuminerdi a shout-out on our social media, we’re always watching.
KEEP READING: Godzilla Minus One Review – Even Minus One, The Legendary King of Monsters is Plus 10
