Undeterred by Universal's Dark Universe struggles, Warner Bros and Legendary Entertainment have been pushing forward with their MonsterVerse since 2014.
The first movie in the MonsterVerse was 2014's Godzilla reboot which proved such a hit on its opening weekend that a sequel was immediately greenlit. Shortly afterwards in 2015, Godzilla vs Kong was officially confirmed and we had a shared universe on our hands.
King Kong reboot Kong: Skull Island followed in 2017 and anticipation is now building for Godzilla: King of the Monsters. The latest trailer was a monster-filled spectacle, but who are all the monsters in the MonsterVerse?
Godzilla 2 monsters
Back at Comic-Con in 2014, Legendary's boss Thomas Tull thrilled fans by confirming that Mothra, Rodan and King Ghidorah would appear in the Godzilla sequel. The teaser ended with: "Conflict: Inevitable. Let them fight."
All three were teased in the post-credits scene for Kong: Skull Island as James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston) and Mason Weaver (Brie Larson) were introduced to Monarch (more on them in a bit).
Up to Kong: Skull Island, each of the monsters – including Godzilla – were named MUTOs (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms), but it seems that they're now called Titans, which is certainly catchier.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters marks the first time that Mothra, Rodan and King Ghidorah have appeared in a US-produced Godzilla movie, but what threat do they pose to Godzilla?
Director Michael Dougherty has described the movie's take on Rodan as a "winged A-bomb" and the monster has a wingspan big enough to "create a sonic thunderclap capable of levelling entire cities".
The flying kaiju's name comes from the prehistoric pteranodon and, intriguingly, Rodan hasn't always been a foe of Godzilla in the franchise, so maybe the sequel could see them team up.
Next up is Mothra, and if you're scared of moths, look away now. In case the name didn't give it away, Mothra is a giant moth and is second only to Godzilla in terms of on-screen appearances in the overall franchise.
In the MonsterVerse, Mothra is capable of delivering destructive and blinding 'god rays', but usually humans have nothing to fear. An early teaser stated that Mothra was discovered by Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga's Godzilla 2 character) and Mothra is considered "Queen of the Monsters".
It could well be that both Rodan and Mothra find themselves on Godzilla's side in the sequel, especially given the other monster in play.
Say hello to King Ghidorah, likely to be the biggest threat to Godzilla and, you know, humanity in the sequel.
The three-headed dragon-like beast (known just as Ghidorah in the movie) is described as Godzilla's "ultimate nemesis" in the official synopsis and it's easy to see why. Standing at 521 foot tall, King Ghidorah towers over the 355 foot tall Godzilla and can apparently tear open the stratosphere "if Monster Zero were to fly again".
Godzilla is going to need all the help he can get, so here's hoping he gets some.
MonsterVerse Monarch
Much like the MCU has SHIELD, the MonsterVerse has a company to link all of their movies in the form of Monarch. (They've got a website and everything.)
Until Godzilla, it seemed they operated in secret, but you can't exactly hide away a massive beast, let alone the four that roam the Earth in the sequel. According to the website, Monarch have invited everyone to "join us in our mission of Titan discovery and defence".
Godzilla: King of the Monsters brings back Ken Watanabe and Sally Hawkins as Monarch scientists Dr Ishiro Serizawa and Dr Vivienne Graham respectively. They're joined at Monarch by Vera Farmiga's paleobiologist Dr Emma Russell and Zhang Ziyi's scientist Dr Chen, while Bradley Whitford's Dr Stanton could also be a part of Monarch.
We also met some Monarch people in Kong: Skull Island and while some were killed on the island, seismologist Houston Brooks (Corey Hawkins) and biologist San Lin (Jing Tian) survived.
Given that movie was set in 1973 though, it's unlikely that either of them will reprise their roles in Godzilla: King of the Monsters as it's set more than four decades later. However, it has been teased that a Kong: Skull Island character will make an appearance in the sequel, so it could be one of those characters, only played by a different actor.
Godzilla vs Kong
Now we don't want to spoil Godzilla: King of the Monsters for you, but we're pretty sure Godzilla survives as he'll also show up in 2020's Godzilla vs Kong.
A sequel to both Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Kong: Skull Island, the movie will see the two iconic Titans on a "collision course", but perhaps the giants won't be the real villains of the movie.
"As Monarch embarks on a perilous mission into uncharted terrain and unearths clues to the Titans’ origins, a human conspiracy threatens to wipe the creatures, both good and bad, from the face of the earth forever," the official synopsis teased.
Godzilla vs Kong will bring back Godzilla: King of the Monsters stars Millie Bobby Brown as Madison Russell, Kyle Chandler as Madison's father Mark Russell and Zhang Ziyi as Monarch scientist Dr Chen.
Madison is said to have a connection to Mothra, so that could hint we'll see the giant moth again, but any other story hints for the sequel are being kept under wraps until Godzilla: King of the Monsters is released.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters is released in cinemas on May 31, 2019, with Godzilla vs Kong set for release on May 22, 2020.
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Movies Editor, Digital Spy Ian has more than 10 years of movies journalism experience as a writer and editor. Starting out as an intern at trade bible Screen International, he was promoted to report and analyse UK box-office results, as well as carving his own niche with horror movies, attending genre festivals around the world. After moving to Digital Spy, initially as a TV writer, he was nominated for New Digital Talent of the Year at the PPA Digital Awards. He became Movies Editor in 2019, in which role he has interviewed 100s of stars, including Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Keanu Reeves, Idris Elba and Olivia Colman, become a human encyclopedia for Marvel and appeared as an expert guest on BBC News and on-stage at MCM Comic-Con. Where he can, he continues to push his horror agenda – whether his editor likes it or not.
