Warning: Minor spoilers follow for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.
The MonsterVerse is Legendary's shared universe which positions the secret government agency Monarch at the center of an eco-system of monsters, or "Titans" as they call them, both new and classic. The latest chapter in this saga, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, sees our favorite Titans working together to stop a new, terrifying threat from Hollow Earth.
Click through the slideshow, or read on, for all the monsters we know of so far in the MonsterVerse movies and TV shows, from Godzilla to Kong: Skull Island and Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and all the way through Godzilla vs. Kong, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Skull Island, and the trailers of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire!
And don't worry, we'll be updating this soon with the new monsters from the latest film now that it's out!
Godzilla
Rogue One's Gareth Edwards directed the somber and grim opening chapter to the MonsterVerse, 2014's Godzilla, which of course reintroduced the titular monster to the world. Starring Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Bryan Cranston, Godzilla features the titan emerging from a long slumber to stop two rampaging parasitic monsters from mating. In 2019's Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Godzilla battled a prehistoric alien Titan, "Monster Zero," known as King Ghidorah. In 2021, he fought against both Kong and Mechagodzilla, but only the two titular titans walked out victorious after they chose to work together in epic fashion. While Godzilla may have won the big battle between the two, the film ends with them respecting each other and leaving it at that.
Now a new empire rises from the Hollow Earth that threatens everything...
King Kong
Kong: Skull Island, from The Kings of Summer's Jordan Vogt-Roberts, features a more adventurous tone than Godzilla ground zero, and starred Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L Jackson, John Goodman, and Brie Larson as members of an expedition filled with soldiers and scientists who travel to a mysterious island in the Pacific... where they of course find King Kong himself. This stands as the MonsterVerse's Kong reboot/restart, 12 years after Peter Jackson remade King Kong (a film that also featured Skull Island). In 2021, Kong was being held captive by Monarch following the natural super-storm decimation of Skull Island and being forced to lead an expedition to Hollow Earth. In Godzilla vs. Kong, the pair initially fought each other but joined forces to take down Mechagodzilla with an atomic beathified Axe. While Kong may have lost the big battle against Godzilla, they ended the film with great respect for each other.
In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, these two titans must once again work together to stop a new threat that originates in the Hollow Earth...
M.U.T.O.s
Okay, so Godzilla's M.U.T.O.s (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms) probably won't marquee their own movie, but these prehistoric parasites wreak havoc on human civilization as they're drawn to man-made radiation. They seem to love trampling anyone and everything in their path. Two unnamed M.U.T.O.s (a male and a female pair) appear in 2014's Godzilla, while a second female debuted in the third film, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, heeding the clarion call of King Ghidorah. King of the Monsters also phased out the M.U.T.O. name, instead referring to any of the massive beasts in the MonsterVerse as Titans.
Skullcrawlers
Scavenging Skull Island are pesky pack-hunting predators called Skullcrawlers (a term coined by John C. Reilly's stranded islander Marlow) who generally make life miserable for both man and beast as an intelligent, burrowing, bullet-proof species of crawling carnivore lizard creatures. They come in both frightful airplane-size and also towering Alpha-size - like Skull Devil, who killed Kong's parents. These critters also play a role in Godzilla vs. Kong and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.
Mother Longlegs
One of the more memorable scenes from Kong: Skull Island involved the perpetually in-peril platoon getting skewered by the sinister stems of a mammoth Mother Longlegs - a gargantuan spider with lethal limbs that our heroes didn't know they'd walked under.
We catch a glimpse of the Mother Longlegs in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters chasing Bill Randa during the 1973 Monarch expedition to Skull Island. Sadly for that monster, that chase leads to a battle with the Mantleclaw and, although Mother Longlegs emerges victorious, it appears to be brought into the water to its death with it.
Leafwings
A flock of these bad boys, the Leafwings, could mean a world of hurt for any team of heroes. On Skull Island, they seemed harmless enough from far away. Close up, however, these heinous beasts attack in groups while also carrying off their prey. They're also seen briefly in Godzilla vs. Kong, down in Hollow Earth.
Mothra
First heralded by a fun Kong: Skull Island Easter egg, the iconic Mothra is a creature that dates back to 1961 when she starred in her own solo movie before becoming a recurring monster in the Godzilla films. A massive psychic Moth, who comes with her own tiny translating priestesses/fairies in the original films, Mothra is one of the most powerful beasts in the MonsterVerse. She plays a major role in King of the Monsters, helping Godzilla battle his rivals and ultimately sacrificing her life to give her partner the energy boost he needs.
This doesn't appear to be the end of Mothra's story, however, as Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire's second trailer teases her return.
King Ghidorah
Also seen in the Skull Island post-credit scene, and making a sinister showing in Godzilla: King of the Monsters, is King Ghidorah - the three-headed cinematic arch-nemesis of both Godzilla and Mothra who dates back to 1964. King Ghidorah is the main baddie of King of the Monsters, where he's revealed to be the main rival to Godzilla at the top of the monster food chain. Ghidorah is also capable of attracting other Titans and bending them to his will. Though Ghidorah is ultimately defeated by a charged-up Godzilla in King of the Monsters, a post-credits sequence shows Charles Dance's Col. Jonah purchasing one of the beast's severed heads for a nefarious purpose - one that eventually helps create Mechagodzilla!
Rodan
Dating back to 1956, and the third monster entering the fray in King of the Monsters, is Rodan - the famous flying Kaiju based on the prehistoric Pteranodon. Faster than supersonic jets and able to produce destructive winds and shockwaves with his wings, Rodan definitely has the air and speed advantage in Godzilla: King of the Monsters, though Mothra eventually gains the upper hand.
Other Titans
Godzilla: King of the Monsters introduces a number of minor new Titans, all of which are original creations rather than adaptations of existing Toho monsters. These new Titans include Scylla, the crab-like Titan who emerges from underneath a Texan oil field, Methuselah, a massive, armored creature, and Behemoth, a huge, mammalian Titan who's basically a combination of a woolly mammoth and a sloth.
Several other new Titans also have cameo appearances in King of the Monsters, where they appear on computer screens rising from their collective slumber to join King Ghidorah. These monsters include Abaddon, Baphomet, Bunyip, Leviathan, Mokele-Mbembe, Sargon, Tiamat and Typhoon. These Titans play a bigger role in the film's novelization.
Scylla
The crab-like Titan known as Scylla looks to play a somewhat bigger role in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire as it was revealed in the film's prequel comic Godzilla x Kong: The Hunted that the battle between Godzilla and Scylla in Rome, Italy, will be continued in the movie.
Warbats
Not long after Kong and the Apex expedition led by Dr. Lind discovered Hollow Earth in Godzilla vs. Kong, Kong was attacked by a duo of Warbats - ferocious flying serpents that, apparently, attack on sight.
Hellhawks
These nasty winged creatures hung out on the ceiling of the Kong throne room in Hollow Earth, and then went berserk and killed a bunch of fleeing folks when Godzilla blasted a hole through the Earth, and into the subterranean temple, with his atomic breath.
Hollow Earth Spiders and Lizard (Titanus Doug!)
We caught glimpses of a few species skittering around on the ground of Hollow Earth. A few crab-like arachnids burst up through the dirt and then a bus-size lizard gobbled one of them up. The lizard is now known as the fan-favorite Titanus Doug, and he'll be returning for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.
The film's director Adam Wingard spoke to us about Titanus Doug's return, saying, "It's a character I think people have ownership of just because they kind of made him viral in a MonsterVerse sort of way."
Mechagodzilla
The infamous robotic version of Godzilla known as Mechagodzilla is the true villain in Godzilla vs. Kong. Originally the creation of aliens, when it debuted in 1974's Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, the crazed colossal mech is brought about this time by Apex Industries' Walter Simmons, using the functioning neural pathways from Monster Zero's skull. Intended to be a mechanized monster with a human operator at the telepathic helm, Mechagodzilla becomes so powerful that it breaks free of the human pilot and goes on a self-aware rampage, attacking Hong Kong. It is defeated by the joint efforts of Kong and Godzilla.
Skar King
The Skar King is a simian Titan that appears to be the main villain of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. He utilizes a Whipslash, which just so happens to be a weapon made from the spine and mandible of other Titans. However, what makes him so powerful is the control he has over those he's enslaved of Kong's species and Shimo - who just may be the most powerful Titan the world has ever seen...
Shimo
Speaking of Shimo, we don't know much about this Titan besides the fact it may be more powerful than any other. It is a quadrupedal Titan and its name, when translated from Japanese to English, means frost, white, or cold. Shimo lives up to that name as she has a Frost Bite blast, a dangerous tail, and blue spikes that run down its back.
Suko
Suko might be an adorable Kong-like Titan child, but that doesn't mean they are any less powerful. Suko bears a resemblance to the Skar King, but looks to be aiding Godzilla and Kong in the battle to stop him and his new empire.
Mantleclaw
The Mantleclaw is a ferocious insectoid monster who appears in Godzilla vs. Kong and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. In the TV show, the Mantleclaw gets in a losing battle with a Mother Longlegs who was chasing Bill Randa.
Endopede
Endopedes and their larval form called Endoswarmers feature in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters. A nursery of these Endoswarmers was found in 1959 in a Kazakhstan power plant by Lee Shaw, William Randa, and Keiko Randa, but that discovery quickly leads to trouble. In 2015, an Endopede comes through a Hollow Earth portal at that power plant and attack Shaw's group as they are trying to close it.
Ion Dragon
The Ion Dragon is the final foe in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters' first season and its a formidable one. This dragon was recorded in history as far back to ancient times when local Filipino tribes told myths of a dragon that made a trail of fire in the sky as it flew by. As it turns out, that fire was radioactive ions that form an aurora-like pattern. Our crew runs into the Ion Dragon over the years, and it's always a harrowing encounter. However, the last battle against Godzilla may have been its toughest test yet.
Frost Vark
The Frost Vark somewhat resembles an aardvark and is a powerful monster with sharp armor to protect it and mole-like claws that help it dig and fight. It also has sensory tendrils around its snout that help it keep track of everything around it. It can also take in a ton of heat at once, which in turn drops the surrounding temperature to dangerous levels.
In Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Lee Shaw's crew encoutners a Frost Vark in 2015 in Alaska and causes a major headache for them.
Brambleboar
The aptly-named Brambleboar looks like a giant boar covered in plant-like growths and antlers that form a durable hide. In Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Cate Randa encounters a Brambleboard after she falls into a rift in Kazakhstan. Luckily, Keiko Randa scares it off with a well-placed arrow.
Dog
Dog is a massive canine kaiju that jumps on the scene during Netflix's Skull Island. Dog and Annie both lost their parents and bonded together after that and have helped each other survive ever since. Dog is very powerful, can climb, is very fast, and is just an all around good boy.
Kraken
The Kraken is an aquatic Titan that serves as the main antagonist of Netflix's Skull Island. It resembles a terrifying mix of many sea creatures with tentacles, tailfins, pincers, and much more. It boasts electric venom, enhanced senses, and great speed and power. The Kraken is the Titan responsible for shipwrecking our heroes, and any chance of escape is impossible while it still roams the waters.
Giant Dodo
Giant Dodos are very much like the extinct Dodo birds from our world, but they are just much bigger! One is seen in Netflix's Skull Island when it charges Mike and Charlie before being taken down by Dog and then eaten. Ouch.
Hawk
Hawk is a flying monster hawk that is an ally of Kong. It looks like a larger version of our hawks, and its ability to fly allows it to keep Kong informed and fed as it provides info from above and fresh food it hunts.
Killer Chameleon
Killer Chameleons are first seen in Netflix's Skull Island attacking Kong and the island girl after they interrupted their meal of a dead Sker Buffalo. While they put up a good fight, they are no match for Kong.
Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN and a member of the Television Critics Association (TCA). Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.
