Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire Teaser Promises Monster Action

Movies

The Hope and Crosby of the Monsterverse are back! Legendary has released a teaser, which they call a “title reveal,” for the Godzilla vs. Kong sequel, which is officially called Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. The synopsis Legendary has given is pretty vague, but it has Godzilla and King Kong teaming up to fight “a colossal undiscovered threat hidden within our world” and promises to reveal “their origins and the mysteries of Skull Island and beyond.” Adam Wingard returns to direct Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, with Rebecca Hall and Brian Tyree Henry also back from the previous film; they’re joined by Dan Stevens, Fala Chen, Alex Ferns, and Rachel House. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is scheduled to hit theaters (including IMAX) on March 15, 2024, and you can see the teaser below:

It ain’t much, but it’s all we need. I’m not sure how to vocalize the “x” in the title yet. Is it “Godzilla ex Kong”? “Godzilla and Kong”? “Godzilla times Kong”? Where’s Don LaFontaine when you need him? Regardless, all the Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire teaser does is introduce us to the new villain, and only visually. I don’t know if that’s a character in either monster’s mythos or an original creation; I think it’s the latter, and it looks like some sort of mishmash between the two. It’s clearly a Kong-like ape, but the ice-blue eyes are Godzilla’s, especially when he’s getting his nuclear breath ready. If the movie is going into the origins of the monsters, maybe they both descended from this guy, who’s been reawakened by whatever societal ill the film wants to argue against. Or perhaps he’s the new evolution, the superior being who wants to kill and replaces his forbears. Those two skulls at the end of the boneyard that make up his throne room make a great image; this bad hombre’s gunning for our heroes. I also find it somewhat heartening that the teaser is focused solely on the monsters; the biggest problem with these Legendary Godzilla and King Kong films is that they lose sight of why we go to these movies, with endless sequences of the humans being less than interesting. I’m sure this one will have that too, and Dan Stevens and Rebecca Hall are good actors, but wouldn’t it be great if they kept their dull drama to a minimum so we could watch giant monsters beat the crap out of each other?