There’s a new trailer for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, coming to theaters next month.
Warner Bros. has released a new trailer for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, directed by Adam Wingard. It’s the fifth feature film in the rebooted franchise, which also includes the animated series Skull Island and Apple TV+’s Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.
(Spoilers for Godzilla vs. Kong below.)
As previously reported, Godzilla x Kong picks up sometime after its 2021 predecessor. Godzilla vs. Kong showcased not only a major showdown between its titular titans—in which Godzilla emerged the victor—but also the two teaming up in the climactic finale to take out Mechagodzilla, a telepathically controlled creature with the severed head of Ghidorah. Ghidorah’s consciousness took over when Mechagodzilla was activated, and it took both Kong and Godzilla (plus some timely help from humans) to defeat him. (Kong got the final honors, although Godzilla charged the killing ax—made from one of his dorsal plates—with his atomic breath.)
Wingard has the distinction of being the only Monsterverse director to make two films in the franchise. “As soon as the [last] movie came out and the audiences started to see it, I was like, ‘You just can’t separate these two guys again,'” Wingard told IGN. ‘It’s too exciting having them in one movie.” So Godzilla x Kong develops the monsters’ relationship a bit further by having them team up again to take out a common foe. Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, and Kaylee Hottle reprise their 2021 roles as Dr. Ilene Andrews, Bernie Hayes, and Andrews’ adoptive daughter, Jia. Dan Stevens joins the cast as a new character named Trapper. The cast also includes Fala Chen, Alex Ferns, and Rachel House.
Per the official premise:
Legendary Pictures’ cinematic Monsterverse follows up the explosive showdown of “Godzilla vs. Kong” with an all-new adventure that pits the almighty Kong and the fearsome Godzilla against a colossal undiscovered threat hidden within our world, challenging their very existence—and our own. “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire” delves further into the histories of these Titans and their origins, as well as the mysteries of Skull Island and beyond, while uncovering the mythic battle that helped forge these extraordinary beings and tied them to humankind forever.
The first trailer was released in December during CCXP in Sao Paulo, Brazil. “For centuries, there was harmony,” a voiceover intones at the start of the new trailer. “The titans were the guardians of nature, and the Great Apes became the guardians of humanity.” A troubled Jia thinks there might be something wrong with her. But seismic data reveals a signal, and that’s what Jia is sensing. Kong and Godzilla can sense it, too. “Something is coming. Something even they’re afraid of.” This prompts a visit to Kong’s kingdom, where the humans discover the signal is actually a call for war. There’s another big red Great Ape in town, and he’s gunning for Kong.
Kong needs help, and his frenemy Godzilla is just the titan he needs. Sure, the last time they met, they had a huge fight and “it was almost the end of Kong.” But these are extenuating circumstances: “They don’t have to like each other. They just have to work together.” We get a closer look at Kong’s impressive new power glove (in addition to his trusty ax from the previous film), the result of some “minor augmentations” to level the playing field a bit. And, of course, there are lots of explosions and property damage, plus plenty of mighty roars—pretty much everything one expects from a Godzilla movie.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire hits theaters on March 29, 2024.
Listing image by YouTube/Warner Bros.
