Godzilla vs Kong is the newest monster release in theaters, and if you’re someone who is feeling a bit lost about the monster universe, here’s all you need to read before watching the film. The film sees two massive monster throwing punches in one of the most ridiculous and epic crossovers in Hollywood in the recent times. For the uninitiated and someone not keeping up with the MonsterVerse, the reboots and the sequels may be a little confusing and hard to keep up. If you too have had a hard time with it and think that the Godzilla from the 2021 film is the same as the one that appeared in the 1998 film, this crash course is for you.
Origins of King Kong and Godzilla
King Kong
The large apex predator with a heart of gold came to the big screen back in 1933 in the movie called King Kong. Much akin to the 2005 remake by LOTR director Peter Jackson, in the 1933 film a filmmaking crew finds itself at Skull Island, home of the King Kong and other monsters. He’s taken to the USA to be exhibited. There Kong falls in love with a woman and in a chain of events, finds itself climbing on top of the Empire State Building with the love of its life and then gets shot down eventually.
But as the legends have it, Kong couldn’t be kept down. It was featured in several sequels and reboots and remakes over the year. Kong’s first tussle with Godzilla came in the form of 1962 Japanese film King Kong vs. Godzilla. In the film, Godzilla is woken up from his slumber due to an American submarine and King Kong finds itself fighting Godzilla who’s at humanity’s side.
Godzilla
Part of the same universe as King Kong, the giant lizard came on the giant screen in the 1954 movie Godzilla. The 1954 film has a clear origin story of Godzilla woken up from his sleep after a nuclear test gone wrong. The Godzilla is no ordinary creature as it comes with atomic breath, radiation immunity and superhero like reflex and strength. Although the lizard was seen wreaking havoc in the 1998 film, the original mythos states clearly that it fights against Kong for humanity.
The MonsterVerse films and its connection to Godzilla VS Kong
Godzilla (2014)
The 2014 Godzilla is the 30th film of the Godzilla universe and a reboot to the original one. The film goes back to 1950 when nuclear tests were carried out to destroy Godzilla. A great popcorn flick more than anything, the film also introduces MUTOs (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms) that are threat to the humanity. The 2014 film also laid down the foundation of Monarch, a government funded organization (like Hydra) whose purpose is to carry out study about MUTOs and then hunt them down. In the film, two MUTOs wreaked havoc on humanity and it was eventually Godzilla that fought for humans and brought down the MUTOs.
Kong: Skull Island
The second film in the larger MonsterVerse, the film introduced the giant apex predator Kong. In the film, a group of specialized soldiers, Monarch investigators and researchers leave for a remote island where they believe Kong resides. What could go wrong, right? As it turns out, everything! The humans make the mistake of angering Kong by hunting it down using bombs. Kong in his larger-than-life way, kills some of these men. But later as the story progresses, viewers get to know that a few ‘skull-crawlers’ have killed Kong’s family. In a popcorn-crunch worthy turn of events, humans come together with Kong and avenge its family by hunting down skull-crawlers.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters
The next and the most recent film in the MonsterVerse was Godzilla: King of the Monsters. In the film, Godzilla was put against King Ghidorah (a three-headed monster that came from space). Godzilla was also joined by several other monsters like Rodan and Mothra. There were a few human characters as well, but who watches a monster film for the humans! Although the film’s actions scenes were lauded, its screenplay and plot were panned universally.
