It’s somewhat of a fool’s errand to say this, but… is Godzilla having an even bigger comeback than when the big guy got his second shot at Hollywood stardom in 2014? The reason why we think this is kind of a dumb suggestion is that Godzilla never really left, but hey, it’s been a big year for the atomic monster from the depths: Godzilla Minus One, Toho’s new homegrown installment of the franchise, debuted on screens this weekend on these shores, and raked in the dough (for a movie with subtitles, little-to-no-advertising, and no Western stars in the cast), coming in third at the domestic box office, and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, Legendary’s “Monsterverse” show on Apple TV+, continues to do well on that platform.
Now Kong, not so much: He had a really, really shitty video game come out this year, and that’s about all there is. But Adam Wingard’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire looks like it’ll put the King of the Mammals back up on the same pedestal as the King of the Monsters, at least according to this trailer, which WB dropped on Sunday. Spoiler alert: It looks dope as fuck.
Peep it:
Here’s a synopsis, even though it’s pretty much exactly what you’d expect it to be from a Western Godzilla movie:
“The epic battle continues! 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.”
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire hits theaters on April 12. And yeah, go ahead and splurge on those IMAX tickets or — even better — the 4D experience that some theaters offer now. If there’s one movie that’s totally right for the shaking-and-quaking, it’s gotta be this one, right?