A couple months ago, SciFied reported that the name of the Legendary Pictures/Warner Bros. Pictures/Universal Pictures shared cinematic universe would be the “MonsterVerse.” This name was discovered on the back of new Kong: Skull Island toy packaging, which includes three “Battle for Survival” sets, two “Storm Strike Monarch Expedition Team” sets and the Kong 18-inch “Mega-Figure” (with soldier).
While the MonsterVerse obviously includes Kong and Godzilla (leading up to 2020’s Godzilla vs. Kong), we can also assume that original creations such as the MUTOs from Godzilla (2014) and the “skull crawlers” from Kong: Skull Island also belong. SPOILER ALERT! The post-credits scene in Kong: Skull Island also indicates that Toho favorites Mothra, Rodan and Ghidorah are along for the ride. This will likely be confirmed in 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
The thread tying it all together appears to be Monarch, the secret organization we learned more about in Kong: Skull Island. In the movie, Bill Randa (John Goodman) states, “This planet doesn’t belong to us. Ancient species owned this earth long before mankind. I spent 30 years trying to prove the truth: monsters exist.” Monarch was originally seen in Godzilla when it quarantined one of the MUTOs (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms).
What remains to be seen is how the components are tied together across the years. Godzilla takes place in modern day, while Kong: Skull Island takes place near the end of the Viet Nam War. Perhaps Godzilla: King of the Monsters will be a reboot of sorts, featuring a new Godzilla in an earlier era. Or, perhaps Kong lives for a very long time and survives 40 years later to battle Godzilla in the present.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters will be released on March 22, 2019. We’ve recently learned that Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga and Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things) have been cast. An unconfirmed rumor says that Ken Watanabe will reprise the role of Dr. Ishiro Serizawa from Godzilla), which may indicate the second theory in the preceding paragraph. Godzilla vs. Kong will be released on May 29, 2020.
Thanks to Cinema Blend for additional details.
