The Big Picture

  • The MonsterVerse franchise is expanding with TV shows and a new big-screen sequel, offering different ways to watch the series.
  • Watching the MonsterVerse movies in chronological order provides a better understanding of the story and leads off with the highly regarded film, Kong: Skull Island.
  • The upcoming film, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, will delve into the histories of the Titans and their connection to humankind.

When Godzilla and King squared off in 2021 in the aptly titled Godzilla vs. Kong, there was some speculation that the film would serve as the grand finale to Warner Bros. and Legendary Picture's MonsterVerse. Little did we know that the monstrous shared universe was just getting started. This year, the franchise shifted to TV with an animated series, Skull Island, dropping earlier this summer and the MonsterVerse's first live-action series, Monarch: Legacy of the Monsters, getting streamed into homes starting in November. Next year, a brand new big-screen sequel, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, will put these two classic cinema titans (who first battled in Toho’s 1962 Japanese film, King Kong vs. Godzilla) on screen together once more. As the MonsterVerse expands, it's starting to jump around in time more and more often, offering up two different ways to watch the series. And with Kong and Godzilla soon to barrel their way into theaters once again, what better time to get caught up with the MonsterVerse?

MonsterVerse Movies and Shows in Chronological Order

Godzill and Kong fighting in a still from Godzilla vs Kong
Image via Warner Bros

The advantage of watching the MonsterVerse movies in chronological order is that it doesn't have too many installments under its belt just yet, so you don't have too many different timelines and plot threads crisscrossing and doubling back on each other. Also, beginning your watch-through with Kong: Skull Island, even though it's the second film in the series in terms of release date, gives you a better understanding of whom the monster-hunting government organization Monarch is and what they’re up to right off the bat. You’d also be leading off with what many consider to be the best film in the series thus far, which definitely doesn’t hurt.

Kong: Skull Island (2017)

Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts

kong skull island john c reilly image
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

Set 41 years before the events of Godzilla (2014), Kong: Skull Island follows the 1970s version of Monarch — a secret government organization that tracks giant monsters — as expedition leader Bill Randa (John Goodman) leads a field team to a remote island he suspects might be home to a “Titan,” which is what kaiju are called in the MonsterVerse. Turns out, Monarch was onto something, as the island ends up being the home of the giant ape Kong. Kong’s not too happy about the invaders, which includes a bunch of Marvel stars like Samuel L. Jackson as an obsessed Army colonel, Brie Larson as a war photographer, and Tom Hiddleston as an ex-British special forces agent. Eventually, the humans and Kong sort of team up to square off against the island’s other monstrous threats.

Kong Skull Island
Kong: Skull Island
PG-13

After the Vietnam war, a team of scientists explores an uncharted island in the Pacific, venturing into the domain of the mighty Kong and must fight to escape a primal Eden.

Release Date
March 10, 2017
Runtime
118 minutes

You can currently rent Kong: Skull Island via Amazon Prime Video in the U.S.

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Skull Island (2023)

Developed by Brian Duffield

The characters of Skull Island
Image via Netflix

An animated spin-off to Kong: Skull Island, this Netflix animated series follows a completely new set of characters who find themselves washed up on Kong's island home in the 1990s. It's largely a stand-alone installment that fills in a bit more detail about Kong's activity before he leaves the island to square off against the mighty Godzilla.

Skull Island Netflix Poster
Skull Island
TV-14

A group of shipwrecked characters attempt to escape from an island inhabited by horrifying monsters, including the giant primate who rules the island: Kong.

Release Date
June 22, 2023
Cast
Mae Whitman , Nicolas Cantu , Darren Barnet , Benjamin Bratt
Seasons
1

You can currently stream Skull Island via Netflix in the U.S.

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Godzilla (2014)

Directed by Gareth Edwards

Godzilla coming out of the water in 2014's Godzilla.
Image via Warner Bros.

An American reboot of the long-running Japanese kaiju series, Godzilla starts out as a mystery as a nuclear engineer named Joe Brody (Bryan Cranston) tries to figure out what caused a reactor meltdown that killed his wife 15 years prior. Before long, the culprits are revealed to be giant monsters who have been hibernating deep underground for centuries. Joe’s son Ford (Aaron Taylor-Johnson), a Naval officer, eventually ends up on the front lines as he attempts to save himself and his family from two giant bug-like MUTOs (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms) who are on a collision course with a newly awoken Godzilla.

This film’s biggest contribution to the MonsterVerse is the full introduction of Project Monarch, which has been watching the monsters since the events of Skull Island. Two of Monarch’s top scientists, Dr. Ishirō Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) and Dr. Vivienne Graham (Sally Hawkins), will appear again later in the series, as will David Strathairn’s Admiral William Stenz, the Naval officer in charge of hunting the monsters for the military.

Godzilla (2014) poster
Godzilla (2014)
PG-13

The world is beset by the appearance of monstrous creatures, but one of them may be the only one who can save humanity.

Release Date
May 16, 2014
Director
Gareth Edwards
Runtime
123 minutes

You can currently stream Godzilla via Max in the U.S.

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Monarch: Legacy of the Monsters (2023-24)

Developed by Chris Black & Matt Fraction

A young Lee Shaw (Wyatt Russell) is tasked with guiding a young scientist on a perilous expedition.
Image via Apple TV+

Debuting this past November, Monarch is a live-action Apple TV series that takes place in two separate timelines — one that occurs directly after the events of 2014's Godzilla and another that occurs in the 1950s, prior to Kong: Skull Island. (It's best to use the more modern timeline as your guide and fit this one in after Godzilla.) The series features Kurt and Wyatt Russell player older and younger version of the same character, a U.S. Army colonel who gets involved with Monarch early on in their existence. John Goodman briefly reprises his role as Bill Randa, a senior Monarch official who appears in Kong: Skull Island.

Monarch Legacy of Monsters TV Show Poster
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters

Set after the battle between Godzilla and the Titans, revealing that monsters are real, follows one family's journey to uncover its buried secrets and a legacy linking them to Monarch.

Release Date
November 17, 2023
Cast
Christopher Heyerdahl , Mari Yamamoto , Kurt Russell , Qyoko Kudo
Seasons
1

You can currently stream Monarch: Legacy of the Monsters via Apple TV in the U.S.

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Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)

Directed by Michael Dougherty

Godzilla in Godzilla the King of Monsters
Image via Legendary

Flash forward five years later as more and more Titans — some good, some bad — are waking up to wreak havoc across the planet. A lot of the classic Toho monsters arrive on the scene in this one, including the gigantic insect Mothra, the fiery pterodactyl/bird/bat creature Rodan, and the fierce three-headed space dragon King Ghidorah. On the human side, Project Monarch again plays a central role in the narrative, with Drs. Serizawa and Graham returning from Godzilla along with Admiral Stenz. We also meet Dr. Mark Russell (Kyle Chandler), an ex-Monarch scientist whose family was torn apart during the Godzilla vs. the MUTOs rampage five years prior, and his daughter Madison (Millie Bobby Brown). Additionally, Joe Morton plays an older version of the character Corey Hawkins played in Kong: Skull Island, giving this film a more direct connection to the prequel. As usual, the monsters are awesome, while the human characters are … a little less so. And though the film points to a future in which Titans and humans can co-exist, it also teases that things might not be quite settled just yet. After all, there are plenty of more sequels to be made!

Godzilla King of the Monsters Poster
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
PG-13

The crypto-zoological agency Monarch faces off against a battery of god-sized monsters, including the mighty Godzilla, who collides with Mothra, Rodan, and his ultimate nemesis, the three-headed King Ghidorah.

Release Date
May 29, 2019
Director
Michael Dougherty
Runtime
132

You can currently stream Godzilla: King of the Monsters via Netflix in the U.S.

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Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

Directed by Adam Wingard

Godzilla vs. Kong
Image via Warner Bros.

Finally, the fight we'd been waiting for. Godzilla vs. Kong brings the MonsterVerse’s two biggest names together for one epic throw-down that takes place five years after Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Chandler and Brown both return, joining MonsterVerse newbies Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, and Alexander Skarsgård. The latter plays a scientist tasked with studying Hollow Earth, the mysterious Titan homeworld. Who cares about the humans though? As the title promises, Godzilla and Kong do go at each other several times, including in one epic middle-of-the-ocean fracas, but it's the surprise third monster, Mechagodzilla, who proves to be the movie's true antagonist.

Godzilla vs. Kong Film Poster
Godzilla vs. Kong
PG-13

The epic next chapter in the cinematic Monsterverse pits two of the greatest icons in motion picture history against each other--the fearsome Godzilla and the mighty Kong--with humanity caught in the balance.

Release Date
March 31, 2021
Director
Adam Wingard
Runtime
113 minutes

You can currently stream Godzilla vs. Kong via Netflix in the U.S.

Watch It Now

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)

Directed by Adam Wingard

After dabbling in small-screen entertainment, the MonsterVerse comes roaring back into theaters next year with Godzilla x Kong. According to the official synopsis, it seems as if Kong and Godzilla's newfound friendship will continue to grow as they take on a brand-new enemy: “This latest entry 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.”

Godzilla X Kong The New Empire New Film Poster
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

Kong and the fearsome Godzilla face off against a colossal undiscovered threat hidden within our world, challenging their very existence – and our own.

Release Date
March 29, 2024
Director
Adam Wingard

Tickets will soon be on sale at Fandango in the U.S.

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Related
Every Movie in the MonsterVerse, Ranked by Silliness
Let them fight - the movies, that is.

MonsterVerse Movies and Shows in Order of Release

Of course, you can always pop on the series in order of release date. This allows you to watch all of the films in order before diving into the TV series in preparation for the new movie coming next year.

  • Godzilla - May 16, 2014
  • Kong: Skull Island - March 10, 2017
  • Godzilla: King of the Monsters - May 31, 2019
  • Godzilla vs. Kong - March 31, 2021
  • Skull Island - June 22, 2023
  • Monarch: Legacy of the Monsters - Nov. 17, 2023 - Jan. 12, 2024
  • Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire - April 12, 2024