Monsterverse

Did You Know?

• Legendary's Godzilla was featured as a playable character in Bandai Namco's 2014 video game Godzilla as 'Hollywood Godzilla'.
• In 2017, a short virtual reality experience titled Kong VR: Destination Skull Island was made available at Samsung retail demo locations, AMC theater locations, and Samsung VR stores.
• Godzilla and Kong were featured in cross-over events for PUBG Mobile, World of Warships, Godzilla: Battle Line, Call of Duty: Warzone, and Fortnite.

Development

The Monsterverse was never originally intended to be a franchise. According to writer Max Borenstein, it started as an American reboot of Godzilla. He credits Legendary Entertainment’s founder and then-CEO Thomas Tull with creating the Monsterverse. Tull secured the rights to Godzilla and worked out the complex rights to King Kong.

He then asked Borenstein to write the first draft of Kong: Skull Island, aiming to place Kong in the same universe as Legendary’s Godzilla movie. Tull’s long-term plan was for these films to eventually lead to a showdown between Godzilla and Kong. At the 2014 San Diego Comic-Con, Legendary confirmed it had obtained the licensing rights to Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah from Toho Co., Ltd. and showed concept footage that ended with the title cards “Conflict: inevitable. Let them fight.”

In September 2015, Legendary announced that Kong: Skull Island would be made with Warner Bros. instead of Universal Pictures, which led to media speculation that Godzilla and Kong would appear together in a film. The following month, Legendary revealed plans for a movie called Godzilla vs. Kong, set for a 2020 release. The company wanted to build a shared cinematic franchise centered on Monarch, the secret government agency introduced in the 2014 Godzilla film, and to bring together Godzilla and King Kong with other giant super-species, both classic and new.

Later that same month, it was announced that Kong: Skull Island would include references to Monarch. In May 2016, Warner Bros. set Godzilla vs. Kong for May 29, 2020, later moving it to May 21, 2021, and pushed Godzilla: King of the Monsters from June 8, 2018, first to March 22, 2019, then to May 31, 2019. In October 2016, Legendary said that Godzilla: King of the Monsters would be filmed at Wanda’s Oriental Movie Metropolis in Qingdao, China, alongside Pacific Rim: Uprising.

That same month, it was revealed that Legendary was planning a writers room to develop the Godzilla–Kong cinematic universe, with Alex Garcia overseeing the project. In January 2017, Thomas Tull left Legendary but stayed on as a producer for the Godzilla–Kong series, which was then named the “Monsterverse.” In March 2017, Legendary put together a writers room led by Terry Rossio to craft the story for Godzilla vs. Kong.

Films

The Monsterverse began with a 2014 film that gave Godzilla a new backstory. The plot takes place 15 years after a nuclear meltdown in Japan, which was actually caused by giant parasitic creatures called MUTOs, an acronym for Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism. When two MUTOs start tearing through the countryside to mate, they wake up an even bigger ancient alpha predator named Godzilla, whose existence the U.S. government had kept hidden since 1954. This movie introduced Godzilla, the MUTOs, and the Monarch organization to the Monsterverse. Legendary Pictures secured the rights to make a new Godzilla feature film in March 2010, and Gareth Edwards was named director in January 2011. Released on May 16, 2014, the film earned 529 million dollars worldwide on a 160 million dollar budget.

The next Monsterverse entry, set in 1973, follows scientists and Vietnam War soldiers who travel to an uncharted Pacific island. There they meet Kong and other creatures including the Mother Longlegs, Sker Buffalo, Mire Squid, Leafwing, Psychovulture, Spore Mantis, Skull Devil, and Skullcrawlers. A post-credits scene teases Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah. The Skull Devil was originally trademarked as "Ramarak the Skullcrawler" before that name was dropped in September 2017.

Legendary announced this King Kong origin story at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2014, initially calling it Skull Island with a November 4, 2016 release date and Universal Pictures distributing. Jordan Vogt-Roberts was announced as director in September 2014. The project moved from Universal to Warner Bros. in September 2015 to build a shared cinematic universe. Filming started on October 19, 2015, in Hawaii and Vietnam.

Kong: Skull Island came out on March 10, 2017, grossing 566 million dollars worldwide against a 185 million dollar budget, and earned a nomination for Best Visual Effects at the 90th Academy Awards.

Television

In early 2021, Legendary Television and Netflix teamed up for an animated show called Skull Island. Brian Duffield wrote and developed it, also serving as co-executive producer alongside Jacob Robinson. Powerhouse Animation, JP, and Legendary Television produced it, and it hit Netflix globally on June 22, 2023. This series brought Annie's Dog and the Kraken into the Monsterverse, plus other unnamed creatures. By October 2023, Duffield confirmed the second season's script was finished, but the team was still waiting for Netflix to officially greenlight it.

A year later, in January 2022, Legendary revealed that Apple TV had ordered a live-action series starring Godzilla and other Titans. Chris Black took the showrunner role, co-creating and executive producing with Matt Fraction. Safehouse Pictures, Toho Co., Ltd., Mikfred Criminal Masterminds, Chris Black Broadcasting System, and Legendary Television produced it. The ten-episode season premiered on Apple TV on November 17, 2023. In April 2024, the show got a second season renewal, with principal photography starting in July 2024. By November 2025, Legendary and Apple TV announced Kurt Russell would return for season two, along with a teaser showing Kong's involvement and a February 2026 release date. The first season introduced the Ion Dragon and Frost Vark, while the second season will debut Titan X.

Music

For Godzilla (2014), Alexandre Desplat was announced as composer in August 2013. Director Gareth Edwards chose Desplat after creating a music playlist, stating that Desplat scored highest. Desplat accepted the job because he was impressed with Edwards' directorial debut Monsters (2010) and had never composed a monster film. He organized a large orchestra described as 'stupidly big, as big as Godzilla' to avoid filling gaps with electronics, and described his score as 'non-stop fortissimo, with lots of brass, Japanese drums, and electric violin'.

He applied a shakuhachi bamboo flute and taiko drums throughout the score, and while Akira Ifukube's themes were not used, Edwards likened Desplat's score as 'very much in the same tone of Akira'. Desplat paid homage to Ifukube during the track 'Godzilla!' by flaring the brass to reflect sounds similar to Ifukube's themes. For Kong: Skull Island (2017), Henry Jackman blended 1970s psychedelic guitars into the score, mixing electronic sounds with symphony orchestra.

Jackman stated that a monster movie opens the door to use the symphony orchestra in its most sumptuous way, and director Jordan Vogt-Roberts was happy to celebrate the gravity and history of a full orchestra while exploring less traditional elements. Vogt-Roberts also used rock music from the Vietnam era and hits from the 70s. For Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), Bear McCreary was announced during Comic-Con 2018 as composer, utilizing Ifukube's themes and Yūji Koseki's Mothra theme to form a connection between Ifukube's style and modern blockbusters.

McCreary produced a cover of Blue Öyster Cult's 'Godzilla' featuring Serj Tankian on vocals, as well as Brendon Small, Gene Hoglan, and other members of Dethklok, describing it as 'the most audacious piece of music' he had produced.