As production continues on Godzilla x Kong: Supernova, a new key plot detail for the upcoming Monsterverse movie has finally been revealed, confirming the titular duo’s next formidable opponent. The next installment is scheduled to arrive in theaters on March 26, 2027, three years after The New Empire’s theatrical debut.
What villain has been added to Godzilla x Kong: Supernova?
In a new listing posted on the Writers Guild of America West page as part of writer David Callaham’s feature writing credits, it has been confirmed that SpaceGodzilla will be making its official Monsterverse debut in Godzilla x Kong: Supernova. The said kaiju is expected to serve as the new sequel’s main villain.
SpaceGodzilla was first introduced in Toho’s 1994 movie Godzilla vs. SpaceGodzilla. The character is described as a mutated clone of the king of the monsters. It was created by Kensho Yamashita and Hiroshi Kashiwabara. After its feature debut, the extraterrestrial monster was next seen on the TV show Godzilla Island in 1997. The upcoming Monsterverse sequel serves as SpaceGodzilla’s second major appearance in a movie.
Godzilla x Kong: Supernova is being directed by Grant Sputore (I Am Mother) from a screenplay written by Dave Callaham. The cast will include Golden Globe nominee Kaitlyn Dever (Booksmart), Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey, Legion), Jack O’Connell (SAS: Rogue Heroes), Delroy Lindo (Sinners), Matthew Modine (Stranger Things), Alycia Debnam-Carey (Fear the Walking Dead), and Sam Neill (Jurassic Park), with Stevens reprising his role as Trapper from 2024’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. The film is reportedly featuring “several new human characters alongside the beloved and iconic Titans Godzilla and Kong as they face off against a cataclysmic world-ending threat.”
Legendary’s MonsterVerse franchise began in 2014 with Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla, which starred Elizabeth Olsen and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Due to its success, it was followed by several sequels, including 2017’s Kong: Skull Island, 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Godzilla vs. Kong, and The New Empire. At the moment, Legendary is also producing a spin-off series with Apple TV, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, which is slated to return for a second season.
Turns out, we’ve got even more Godzilla to look forward to—in addition to the upcoming Minus Zeroand Godzilla x Kong: Supernova, there’s a new anime coming where the King of the Monsters’ is…a teenage boy?
That’s apparently the premise for the new series announced at Anime Festival Asia Singapore 2025. While light on details, concept art shows an unnamed kid looking very much like the iconic monster and using his breath attack, while Godzilla himself is in the background. The art gives off vibes of Kaiju No. 8, which is about a guy transforming into a monster, or even My Hero Academia, since the kid looks like Deku and that series is also about inheriting a mantle. Given Toho’s Chief Godzilla Officer Keiji Ota called the upcoming anime a chance to “more deeply portray both the fear and hope of the modern era,” these similarities are likely by design.
What we do know about the series right now is it’ll be handled by Orange (Trigun Stampede and Stargaze) and Igloo Studio (My Daemon). Orange also has Godzilla experience, having previously done the Singular Point anime back in 2021. We’ll have more on this new addition to the franchise as news develops.
This morning Apple TV dropped a new trailer to confirm that Monarch will return to the streamer early next year on February 27. Picking up where the first season left off, the show will continue to flash back and forth across the life of Lee Shaw (played as a young Army officer in the 1950s by Wyatt Russell and in the modern day by his father Kurt), as he helps two siblings discover their own family’s connection to the mysterious titular organization as it attempts to research and counter the rise of titanic threats.
Season one ended on a bit of a cliffhanger, with the elder Shaw’s fate in doubt, but Apple did confirm that Kurt Russell will be back for more in season two, alongside other returning stars Anna Sawai, Kiersey Clemons, Ren Watabe, Mari Yamamoto, Joe Tippett, and Anders Holm. But beyond familiar human faces, there’ll be familiar monsters too: as well as a cavalcade of freaky-looking new creatures, the new trailer also confirmed that season two will bring our heroes to Skull Island, the home of King Kong—and that, of course, Kong will be making the island’s new guests feel right at home in his own manner.
It’s no surprise that Monarch season two will incorporate Kong, just as Godzilla himself served as an overarching presence across season one. Kong has become more and more integral to the Monsterverse movies since Godzilla vs. Kong and The New Empire, and with Supernova on the way in 2027, it’s no surprise that we might start seeing the groundwork for that movie teased in Kong’s appearances here.
We’ll start seeing if Monarch season two can live up to the great promise of its predecessor when it premieres on Apple TV February 27, 2026, rolling out the remainder of the 10-episode season on a weekly basis after that.
Lego Ideas has been on a roll lately, both in terms of what it’s been actually releasing and what’s made it through the review process to go from a crowd-supported fan idea to an actual Lego set. But we’ve seen a lot of the latter lately, to the point there’s actually quite a sizeable list of what’s in the pipeline… meaning it might be a while before we see a good few of these sets. Here’s a rundown of every approved Ideas project that’s currently not yet made it to shelves quite yet.
N.B.: All the imagery below is of the original designs submitted by Lego Ideas users and not necessarily reflective of exactly how the final approved Lego set will eventually look.
The oldest approved set on the list, this design, by Ideas user Modular Maniac, won the “Build from the Heart” contest in February 2025 to create a Valentine’s-inspired set.
This adorable critter from Ideas user HisBrickMaterials was one of two sets to receive approval in March 2025 for the *Second* 2024 Review Stage, which shows you how long this process actually takes!
Ideas user Bossofdos64‘s set marks our first licensed crossover on the list of in-development sets, depicting the iconic dog and his bird pal Woodstock enjoying some campfire treats. This was the second set approved in the Second 2024 Review stage in March 2025.
HallowedBrick02’s Lego Castle-inspired boat is another competition winner, from May 2025’s “A Twist of Nostalgia,” which asked Ideas users to create a small-scale set inspired by iconic classic Lego themes.
Two more licensed sets joined the party in June 2025 from the Third 2024 Review Stage candidates. First up is Ideas user MattE720’s meaty Godzilla, complete with his own jet of heat ray energy to attach to his mouth.
Two winners, one large-scale and one smaller-scale, were confirmed in June 2025 for the “Build Your Nostalgia—90s Throwback!” competition. Unsurprisingly, two licensed sets hailing from the decade were picked, and in the large-scale category, Wetwired‘s replica of Mulder and Scully’s office and an iconic alien encounter scene was the winner.
The winner of the smaller-scale entries for the competition was Ideas user Pidelium’s thoroughly British entry, depicting Aardman’s beloved inventor and his canine pal on their motorbike as seen in the classic Wallace & Gromit short film, A Close Shave.
Although distinctly not a Warhammer collaboration, Ideas user Doomslizer’s entry for the “Build Your Favorite Hobby” contest in September 2025 certainly feels inspired, with this fun mini replica of building and painting a small tabletop miniature.
One of a whopping six sets approved from last week’s announcement for the First 2025 Review stage, and the first of four licensed approvals, this whopping Power Rangers Megazord build by TrumanBricks can even break down into the Mighty Morphin’ team’s individual zords.
Sometimes you just need a big bowl of something nice, nutritious, and comforting… except this one, by Ideas user Micdud, is very plastic and very inedible.
Another licensed set from October 2025’s First 2025 Review Stage, Ideas user lafabrick’s replica model of the iconic movie alien even comes with a flowerpot nestled in his arms.
The dramatically named Half Blood Baron developed this Smurfs-themed set, depicting various fungal houses from the diminutive blue creatures’ hometown.
The most thematically appropriately timed approval of the First 2025 Review Stage, Ideas user yop1172‘s Mexican Day of the Dead model is inspired by José Guadalupe Posada’s La Calavera Catrina, which has become a symbol of the holiday.
The final approved set from the First 2025 Review Stage, Ideas user BRO3 celebrates the beloved British drama series, featuring a whopping 15 minifigures representing Downton Abbey‘s vast ensemble cast, alongside a pretty detailed build of a manor facade.
When Lego likes a submission but still wants more time to consider it—which can happen for myriad reasons, such as trying to find more time to negotiate with a license holder, among others—it will occasionally punt making a decision just yet by moving a set to “The Parking Lot.” Being put in the lot doesn’t necessarily mean a set is guaranteed to be approved eventually, but it does mean that Lego is at least interested in pursuing the potential for the submission to enter development.
This set by Terauma was the first among the four sets currently in the Parking Lot. It was moved there in June 2025 and was initially part of the Third 2024 Review Stage.
The appropriately named Ideas user RobotRock developed this set, which was one of three sets moved to the Parking Lot as part of last week’s announcements for the First 2025 Review Stage.
This vignette featuring Blanche, Rose, Dorothy, and Sophia on the kitchen “set” from the classic sitcom by Ideas user Martin_Studio was also moved to the Parking Lot from the First 2025 Review Stage.
Iyan ha’s set inspired by the events of the 1952 Ernest Hemingway novella was the last of the three sets moved to the Parking Lot from the First 2025 Review Stage.
2023’s Godzilla Minus Onehit big with audiences, particularly in the west, where it won an Oscar for its visual effects. We already knew another film was on the way, and now we know what it’ll be called: Godzilla Minus Zero.
Toho revealed the title at Godzilla Fest in Tokyo with a one-minute video featuring a watery background. Recall that Minus One ended with Godzilla blowing his head off in the middle of the ocean, which began to remake itself as it sunk further and futher down. Takashi Yamazaki, who previously wrote and directed that film and handled its VFX, is back and reprising all three roles for the sequel, and drew its logo.
What does the “Minus Zero” mean? That’s currently a mystery; the press release says to “stay tuned for future updates.” At the moment, we don’t know if we’ll be checking back in with Kōichi and Noriko, the leads of Minus One, or spending time with a new cast of characters. But you can expect the film to jump further in the timeline.
We’ll have more on Godzilla Minus Zero as news comes out. Until then, might be a good time to watch Minus One again in its various formats and wherever it’s streaming.
The Haneda Airport in Japan is getting a kaiju-sized new feature in the form of a big-ass Godzilla installation. The King of the Monsters is packing his bags to move into position at Haneda Airport Terminal 3 as part of a partnership between Toho Co., Japan Airport Terminal Co., Ltd., and the Tokyo International Air Terminal Corporation.
In 2024, the legendary icon celebrated his 70th anniversary—and the festivities continue with the “Haneda Godzilla Global Project.” The installation will include a few different immersive elements, including artwork decorating the arrival lobby and a statue of Godzilla from the recent Oscar-winning film Godzilla Minus One, also in the arrivals area.
The chonky dino’s biggest impact, though, will be positioned for the benefit of departing travelers. It’s going to be colossal: the statue will measure approximately 131 feet wide and 20 feet high, according to a press release.
Currently, there are only renderings to tease the massive scale of this Godzilla, which will be on display from December 2025 through December 2026. We love a tourist attraction based on the sheer prominence of Godzilla’s glory. Like yes, Godzilla also has to deal with TSA and baggage claim.
We can’t wait to see it all in person before heading off to zipline into Godzilla’s mouth at the Nijigen no Mori Park on Awaji Island—or checking out the new attraction, Godzilla the Ride: Great Clash (directed by Minus One filmmaker Takashi Yamazaki), at Seibuen Amusement Park in Tokorozawa.
It’s news so exciting, the teaser image seemingly only dares to show the outline of what’s to come—but there’s no mistaking Godzilla’s giant spiky noggin. Alamo Drafthouse and Toho International are gearing up for another wave of themed merch to mark Godzilla Day—November 3, Godzilla’s 71st birthday!—and at the top of the list is the Big G’s very first popcorn bucket.
Now, obviously, Godzilla is timeless and need not follow trends to get the kids excited. But a popcorn bucket is a certain status symbol these days, and the King of All Kaiju’s snack-ready head would display quite nicely alongside the toothy Jaws bucket Alamo Drafthouse released this summer.
In a press release that describes the bucket as “a wildly anticipated first for Godzilla collectors,” the theater chain trumpets the character’s “very first popcorn bucket created in partnership with Toho International and based around the ‘Showa Era’ of Godzilla. Designed by Alamo Drafthouse’s Scott Sugiuchi, it’s the first of a line of popcorn buckets planned to continue into 2026 and beyond. Each Showa Godzilla Popcorn Bucket will be numbered in a limited run of 6,000 and will come in a custom collector’s box.”
The bucket—available for pre-order starting October 27 at Alamo Mart—is just one of several new items arriving to celebrate Godzilla’s birthday, including an exclusive t-shirt, hoodie, hat, and set of pins.
Our second pick after the popcorn bucket, however, is this nifty Mothra Winged Mug, also designed by Sugiuchi:
Imagine sipping your morning tea out of that gorgeous vessel! The mug, limited to just 5,000, is also available for pre-order starting October 27 at Alamo Mart.
And in case you were worried Godzilla Day was merely a merch blitz, on November 3 Alamo Drafthouse will also be hosting screenings of 1984’s The Return of Godzilla (released in re-edited form as Godzilla 1985 in the U.S.); more info here. If you live near the massive, Godzilla-bedecked Alamo Drafthouse at the Westfield Valley Fair in Santa Clara, CA, you can enjoy a “Mystery Marathon” of TBD kaiju classics (more details here).
During awards season, the hottest fashion statement came from Takashi Yamazaki and the Godzilla Minus One team, who took every opportunity they could, even during the Oscars’ red carpet, to show off amazing custom shoes with Godzilla-claw heels. Well good news: now you can emulate being a history-making Oscar winner in one very specific way, if you’re willing to part with $725.
Toho announced today that the ha | za | ma heeled dress shoes, designed by Ryosuke Matsui, will be available for the first time in the West through the official Godzilla store: both in the men’s design, modeled by Yamazaki himself, and in a women’s heel, inspired by the design worn by visual effects director Kiyoko Shibuya at the 2024 Oscars. The shoes aren’t exact matches of the ones worn by the Minus One team: they have gold detailing and claws, meant to reflect the film’s Oscars victory.
They are, however, still incredibly killer looking shoes, and as such they have a killer price tag: the men’s dress shoes will set you back $725, while the women’s pumps will cost $650. The price to pay for Oscar-worthy kaiju fashion!
Both of the shoes are up for pre-order now until August 29, ahead of an expected ship date in May 2025. Run, don’t walk: save the walking for when you’ve got fancy-heeled shoes to show off.
Fans of Godzilla Minus One, it took longer than usual but we have fantastic news. The Oscar-winning monster movie is finally available to pre-order as a region-free physical disc that includes English subtitles, a feature missing from an earlier version.
The disc is available on Godzilla.com and comes with a 4K, a Blu-ray, special features, and so much more. You can read the full description at the site but for now, let’s just marvel at a few of the images.
Godzilla Minus One 4K and Blu-ray – Toho
Godzilla Minus One 4K and Blu-ray – Toho
Godzilla Minus One 4K and Blu-ray – Toho
Godzilla Minus One 4K and Blu-ray – Toho
There’s no specific release date yet but it’s expected to ship in September. Basically, this is the exact same release that was available in Japan earlier this year, but now includes English subtitles and menus.
After Godzilla Minus One broke all sorts of box office records in the U.S., and won the Oscar for Best Visual Effects, a few months passed where it was impossible to see the film anywhere, legally. Eventually, Netflix fixed that and put it on its service but collectors out there have been clamoring for an edition to hold in their hands. Now they have it. Again, here’s the preorder link.
Here at io9, we love Godzilla Minus One. We also love very cool art. And we especially love very cool Godzilla Minus One art. So it’s a good job Toho is getting ready to release some of the film’s most glorious official posters for us to plaster our walls with—and we’ve got your first look.
io9 can exclusively reveal four new Godzilla Minus One posters coming this Thursday, June 20, to the U.S. Godzilla store—bringing familiar art with a new twist, and home access to some of the swankiest official posters dropped during the film’s titanic run at the box office.
The new drop includes four releases: the “Destruction” poster, depicting Godzilla looking over the ruins of Ginza, in a lenticular format created with the poster experts at Bottleneck Gallery; the U.S. and Japanese theatrical posters for the film’s black-and-white re-release as Minus One/Minus Color; and the “For Your Consideration” poster used as part of Minus One’s successful Oscar nomination campaign earlier this year.
All four posters will be available exclusively through the U.S. Godzilla store starting at 12 p.m. PT tomorrow, June 20—click through to take a look and get more details!
This review of Godzilla Minus One was originally posted in conjunction with the movie’s theatrical release. It has been updated and reposted now that the film is available on digital platforms.
Godzilla Minus One is the throwback movie that longtime Godzilla fans have been waiting for. This is an age of abundance for Godzilla media: Over the past seven years, as part of a partnership between Toho and Hollywood studios, the giant lizard received three animated films on Netflix, two U.S. movies, and an Apple TV series that premieres Nov. 17. Godzilla fans like me haven’t been left wanting. And yet something crucial has been missing from most of this media, something fundamental to the earliest films in the Godzilla franchise: terror.
We nearly had a decade of terrifying Godzilla. In 2016, Hideaki Anno and Shinji Higuchi releasedthe horrifying Shin Godzilla, widely regarded as one of the best entries in the franchise. It promised a return to the petrifying, humanity-destroying Godzilla of the past. But Shin Godzilla marked a lengthy hiatus in the production of Japanese live-action Godzilla films, and signaled the beginning of a colossally successful American era for the big lizard. The American Godzilla media of the past seven years, including Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Godzilla vs. Kong, and those Netflix anime movies, ranges from serviceable to pretty damn good, though its creators borrowed far more from the Marvel Cinematic Universe than from classic kaiju matinees.
Instead, Godzilla Minus One sticks to the original recipe. The movie that kicked it all off, 1954’s Godzilla, mixes horror, classic melodrama, and a feverish anti-war message to mine the anxieties of ’50s Japan. Minus One goes even further into the past, with a story set in the immediate aftermath of World War II. Writer-director Takashi Yamazaki (who took another beloved franchise back to basics with Lupin III: The First)imagines how a Japan with no military, no economy, and no international support would respond to Godzilla’s first attack.
So is this a reboot? A remake? A reimagining? A bit of all of the above.
Our reluctant hero is Koichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki), a kamikaze pilot who, in the waning hours of the war, faked a plane malfunction to escape death. In a Godzilla film, the giant monsters typically carry the central political metaphor, but in Minus One, Koichi shoulders that burden on his tiny human frame. As a kamikaze pilot who survived the war, he returns to his neighborhood to find that little remains beyond rubble and a few surviving neighbors.
This is ground-level Godzilla storytelling: We see the events through the eyes of Koichi, his neighbors, and his co-workers, rather than through knowledgeable government leaders, superhuman soldiers, or Godzilla himself. As with any great kaiju film, we spend much of the film’s first half learning to care about these lovable folks just before their world gets obliterated by hundreds of tons of giant lizard.
Koichi is an unusually grim lead, even by the standards of the more somber early Godzilla films. He despises himself for his decision to bail on his kamikaze mission, and his neighbors, who’ve lost their homes and families, aren’t especially thrilled to see him either. Nonetheless, together they rebuild from bombed-out blocks to bivouacked shacks, and eventually to modest homes that cluster among the suburban Tokyo sprawl. Considering this a Godzilla movie, it’s like watching people rebuilding their lives with a giant box of dominoes.
Image: Toho
Minus One isn’t a period piece in aesthetic alone: The story itself feels like something preserved from the 1950s. Yamazaki steeps it in the melodrama of a classic historical epic. His characters are capital-R Romantic, constantly making bold proclamations and grand sacrifices, discussing heavy topics where modern characters would quip about shawarma.
Koichi and his companions debate the power of nonviolence, the value of self-preservation, and the unjust expectations governments put upon their populations in times of war. The latter point makes Godzilla Minus One a surprisingly potent pairing with Hayao Miyazaki’s animated semi-biopicThe Wind Rises, and a timely response to Japan’s current military buildup.
Of course, it’s precisely when Koichi and company begin to open their hearts and get their feet on the ground that Godzilla arrives. (Technically, he appears earlier in the film, but I’ll spare you the spoilers.) When Godzilla makes his first legitimate impression, he strikes like a 2023 version of the original Godzilla: the living manifestation of nuclear terror. His initial physical destruction is dwarfed by his heat ray, which, as shown in the trailer, leaves behind little more than a crater and a mushroom cloud.
Image: Toho
This is the moment in modern Godzilla movies where the heroes send in mechs, a rival kaiju, or some cutting-edge military aircraft. But Minus One, to its credit, sticks to the original formula, using historical reality to wave away any easy solutions. Most of Japan’s military has been decommissioned following its surrender to the U.S., its remaining warships sent away for disassembly. The U.S. government won’t help, either; its government is afraid to move weaponry into the region, which might provoke an anxious Soviet Union. So there’s only one group left to stop Godzilla: the civilian population. It’s a legitimately terrifying prospect — a group of average people versus a kaiju.
For those of us under the age of 70, conceptualizing Godzilla as a genuinely frightening horror monster can be a challenge. Hell, he appears in an upcoming children’s book that espouses the power of love. But in 1954, Godzilla terrified audiences across the globe, as a metaphor for nuclear weapons’ imprecise, passionless ability to level whole cities.
In its back half, Minus One recreates that style of terror with human stakes and an intensely political message. Yamazaki brings together the threads he carefully put in place: Koichi’s mental health, the barely rebuilt Japan, the absent government, the abandoned military, and, in true classic melodrama fashion, a love story. Then he pits them against an indifferent, catastrophic force.
Image: Toho
Is Godzilla the threat of nuclear weaponry? The temptation to respond to violence with greater violence? An indifferent American military in a period of national rebuild? The fact that Godzilla Minus One prompts these questions underscores what modern Godzilla media has been missing.
Don’t get me wrong; I’ve enjoyed the near-decade of Godzilla entertainment in America. But as someone who has Shin Godzilla at the top ofhis Godzilla tier list, who introduced his child to Mothra at far too young an age, and has a Hedorah anatomy poster sitting behind him at this very moment, this is the Godzilla I’ve been waiting for.
Godzilla films provide filmmakers a precious opportunity to tell political stories not just about individuals, but about communities, or even entire nations. And because Godzilla movies will always feature a kaiju destroying famous cities and landmarks like a toddler let loose in a Lego museum, people will show up. It’s a fantastic entertainment vessel for big ideas. For years now, Godzilla has been giving us plenty of sugar. But considering the state of the world, I’m glad he’s once again showing up with a bit of medicine, too.
Godzilla Minus One is streaming on Netflix, and is available for digital rental on Amazon, Vudu, and similar digital platforms.
When the Monsterverse versions of Godzilla and King Kong crossed over in 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong, it was inevitable that the two beasts would link up again. Surprisingly, that ended up being the immediate next movie in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire(which doesn’t sound how it’s titled), which sets the two up as allies instead of two dudes beating the crap out of each other. And how does it stack up as the fifth entry in the series?
Rebecca Hall on Filming Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
Like Godzilla: King of the Monsters before it, New Empire has a mixed reception in the critical circles. As with earlier movies, the human cast aren’t much to write home about, and so much of this is just a lot of setup for the monster fights. But as always, the two Titans are really impressive, both visually and in terms of the sheer spectacle of. It also helps that, as director Adam Wingard’s previously talked about, much of the movie focuses on Kong and Godzilla having wordless, human-free arcs of their own for several stretches of time.
Audiences seem to be more onboard with Empire than critics. At time of writing, it’s made $80 million in the US, significantly higher than its initial $45-55 million projections. With $194 million worldwide (at time of writing), it’s helped the franchise cross $2 billion at the box office and is said to be the fifth-biggest Easter opening ever. Folks have really taken a shine to this series, and it probably doesn’t hurt that Godzilla Minus One sparked some interest in the radioactive lizard from anyone previously uninterested.
For this weekend’s Open Channel, we want to know what you thought about New Empire. How’s it stack up to the earlier movies, and what do you want out of the MonsterVerse next? Let us know in the comments below.
Hosts: Charles Holmes, Van Lathan, Jomi Adeniran, and Steve Ahlman Senior Producer: Steve Ahlman Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopal Social: Jomi Adeniran
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is set to arrive in theaters on March 29, 2024. However, while awaiting the latest MonsterVerse movie, many viewers noticed that something was different with Godzilla’s coloring in the promotion materials: he’s pink.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is the fifth installment in Warner Bros. and Legendary’s MonsterVerse and a direct sequel to Godzilla vs. Kong. While the pair’s first crossover saw Kong and Godzilla as rivals, the new films will see them join forces to face a threat that is bigger than either of them. Based on the trailer, it is believed Skar King is the movie’s main antagonist. He is also an ape kaiju but appears to be even bigger and stronger than Kong. However, it is also believed a reptilian Titan called Shimo will make an appearance. While the MonsterVerse has brought back several existing kaiju, such as King Ghidorah and Mechagodzilla, Shimon, and King Skar are wholly original Titans.
Viewers are unsure what to expect from the movie’s lead villains, but the new kaiju could prove to be quite powerful and boast powers or a level of strength not previously seen in the MonsterVerse. Fortunately, it seems Godzilla and Kong upgraded a bit to deal with the threat. In the trailer, Kong appears to be wearing a mechanical arm. Meanwhile, one subtle color change may hint at a Godzilla upgrade, too.
Why is Godzilla pink?
In the first official trailer for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Godzilla appears around the 1:50 mark. The monster appears to be hibernating in a block of ice with a pink glow surrounding it. However, Godzilla soon awakens, freeing itself from the ice with a huge pink explosion. Upon looking closer, viewers will see that Godzilla’s scales, eyes, and back spines are all glowing hot pink.
In the second trailer, viewers once again see Godzilla with striking glowing pink eyes and spikes. However, around the 0:55 mark, viewers see the monster with its characteristic blue glow as it dives underwater while a voiceover explains that the kaiju sensed some sort of signal. Perhaps, in the scene where Godzilla has a blue glow, the monster is heading to its ice hibernation, from which it will awaken with the pink glow.
As mentioned above, Godzilla has been seen in Godzilla: King of Monsters and Godzilla vs Kong with a blue glow. The glow occurs when the monster is charging up its atomic breath, which emits a blast that also has a blueish/whitish hue. Blue is the traditional color of Kong’s atomic breath, which has been used since King Kong vs. Godzilla in 1963. However, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II introduced an advanced form of atomic breath, which took on a reddish/orange hue. Additionally, Shin Godzilla decided to make Godzilla’s atomic breath bright purple. So, Godzilla’s atomic breath has changed colors at times, but it has never been pink before.
The exact reason for Godzilla’s new look will likely not be revealed until Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire arrives on the big screen. The likeliest explanation is that the kaiju has evolved. Viewers will recall that Godzilla sustained some severe injuries in Godzilla vs. Kong. It makes sense if, between films, the monster retreated to a glacier to recover from the injuries and grow stronger in the process. Meanwhile, director Adam Wingard seemingly confirmed the evolution, but teased that there’s more to the color as well.
While at IGN Fan Fest 2024, Wingard stated, “I wanted it to be part of the major drive of the story, why Godzilla was getting this new look. And the pink colour itself, it’s not random. Within the movie there’s actually reasoning behind why he actually turns pink. It’s not just like, he evolves and for some reason the blue turns to pink.” So, it sounds like Godzilla’s pink hue does come from evolution, but the color is not random. However, it’s difficult to guess as to what the specific reason for the pink color is. The likeliest explanation is that it signifies some kind of special power, stage of evolution, or component of Godzilla’s identity, but viewers will have to wait for the movie to know for sure.
Rachel Ulatowski is an SEO writer for The Mary Sue, who frequently covers DC, Marvel, Star Wars, YA literature, celebrity news, and coming-of-age films. She has over two years of experience in the digital media and entertainment industry, and her works can also be found on Screen Rant and Tell-Tale TV. She enjoys running, reading, snarking on YouTube personalities, and working on her future novel when she’s not writing professionally. You can find more of her writing on Twitter at @RachelUlatowski.
Juju’s King Kong kaisen-don includes bluefin tuna, king salmon, uni, ikura, hamachi, kinmedai and Hokkaido scallop.
To celebrate a monster new movie, two Orlando restaurants will serve exclusive limited-time menu items themed after Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire.
Japanese izakaya restaurants Susuru and sister spot Juju will offer limited-edition versions of classic menu items, “Godzilla Ramen” and “King Kong Kaisen-don,” as well as Godzilla X Kong-themed cocktails and giveaways.
The promotion kicks off Wednesday, March 20 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. and will be available again on March 27 and April 3 at the same time.
Godzilla Jiro style ramen, exclusive to Susuru, features an A5 Wagyu slice, truffle, bean sprouts, bamboo, soy-marinated egg, scallion, egg noodles and tonkotsu broth.
King Kong kaisen-don, exclusive to Juju, includes bluefin tuna, king salmon, uni, ikura, hamachi, kinmedai and Hokkaido scallop.
The Godzilla and Kong cocktails are available at both restaurants. The Godzilla cocktail features creamy and sweet matcha gin, while the Kong cocktail is a sweet, light and crisp banana whiskey highball.
The collaboration between the Michelin Guide-recommended restaurant and Warner Bros. also marks the 10th anniversary of the Monsterverse. The multimedia franchise is home to monstrous kaiju like Godzilla, King Kong, Mothra, Rodan and Ghidorah.
Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire is the newest project in the Monsterverse that began with 2014’s Godzilla. The movie premieres March 29.
Two weeks ago, Dune: Part Twocame out in theaters, and became the first big hit of 2024. Even with Kung Fu Panda 4 releasing last weekend, that hasn’t really changed—if anything, it’s looking like Part Two is going to have some hefty legs throughout the rest of its theatrical run.
Denis Villeneuve on Ending Dune: Part Two That Way
Per Variety, the sci-fi film is more than likely going to make over $500 million by Monday. At time of writing, its global take is $494.7 million, putting it slightly over the $434.8 million of the original movie. While the 2021 film had a simultaneous HBO Max release to contend with , Part Two was touted as being exclusively in theaters, and has the word of mouth to keep it going. (If you have Twitter, you’ve probably heard of the guy who’s seen it nearly 20 times by this point.) Currently, i’s the highest-grossing movie in all of 2024 both domestically and worldwide. Going past $500M would make it one of the few movies to do so in our (not entirely) post-pandemic times, and analysts have speculated the movie will do around $600M when all is said and done.
Even with Dune’s new milestone, Kung Fu Panda 4 managed to secure the top spot in the domestic box office. Dreamworks’ animated sequel netted another $30 million in North America and $39.6 million internationally. At $176.5 million worldwide, it still has a ways to go before it touches the box office of the first three films, which each made $500-600M during their individual runs.
Next week, both movies will have some mighty competition in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, which has been getting heavy promo in recent weeks. (That, and folks love them some Ghostbusters.) On March 29, the kaiju will go to war in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, though that one may be hurt (or helped) by the recent success of Godzilla Minus One. Given how well it’s doing so far, WB might keep Dune around in theaters for longer than normal—but if not, there’s always streaming.
Spring break is on the horizon and with the upcoming releases of Deadpool and Wolverineas well as Godzilla x Kong,online fandom clothier RSVLTS has you covered. Its latestDeadpool andGodzilla-inspired collections have dropped online and are quickly selling out. With their signature short sleeve button-ups and polo gear, get ready for convention and movie seasons with this epic ‘fits.
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Amazingly though, Godzilla himself is probably the least impressive visual effect in the entire movie. A new video released by Toho pulls back the curtain on the film’s Oscar-nominated visual effects which, yes, includes Godzilla. But also shows the incredible ways the team achieved all the water sequences, recreated old cities, and more. Plus, the video breaks down how all of this was achieved by fewer people than a Marvel movie probably has preparing its food. Check it out.
The Visual Effects of Godzilla Minus One
So, again, while Godzilla certainly looks awesome in the movie thanks to the team’s VFX, I watched this and was fascinated to see how everything else was achieved. How all of the ships were created using just one small set. How the actors themselves had to sway back and forth to simulate the waves. Just how little was shot practically of the crowd scenes compared to what we see in the movie.
Plus, the brief scenes inside the offices of director Takashi Yamazaki scooting around while everyone worked are just plain delightful. Even if those were captured after the fact, which they almost certainly were, the way it conveys the size of the team and streamlining of the process is a nice little window into the filmmaking process.
Godzilla Minus One, io9’s choice for best genre film of 2023, is still playing in some theaters. Fingers crossed we can get our hands on a physical copy sooner rather than later.
From the early days of The Twilight Zone and Star Trek to contemporary hits like The X-Files, Battlestar Galactica, and Lost, television has long been home to compelling science fiction. But the quality of the genre’s offerings hasn’t always been matched with an uptick in quantity. It wasn’t until 1992 that the Sci-Fi Channel (since rebranded as Syfy) debuted, and its programming tends to skew more Sharknado than The Expanse. In fact, The Expanse was shaping up to be one of Syfy’s greatest original series before it was canceled after three seasons: a microcosm of how traditional cable rarely lends itself to big-budget space operas and other sci-fi projects of that scale.
Of course, Amazon’s Prime Video swooped in and revived The Expanse, allowing the show to end on its own terms after six seasons. (If you’re a sci-fi fanatic and still haven’t watched The Expanse, what are you waiting for?) In hindsight, Prime Video was the perfect home for a series like The Expanse: a streamer that has heavily invested in small-screen adaptations of The Wheel of Time, The Lord of the Rings, and The Peripheral. But Prime Video is hardly an outlier in the streaming landscape. As consumers continue to bypass cable, streamers aren’t just responsible for producing more scripted television than ever before: they’ve helped kick-start a science-fiction boom.
In the era of Peak TV, audiences have been treated to several sci-fi shows that managed to penetrate the zeitgeist. Westworld might’ve fallen on hard times, but it once had the most-watched first season of any HBO series; heading into its fifth and final season, Stranger Things remains the crown jewel of Netflix’s original programming. But for every hit like Stranger Things, there’s also been high-profile failures in the genre: Altered Carbon, which was once rumored to be Netflix’s most expensive series, was canceled after two seasons; Brave New World was one of the flagship shows of Peacock’s launch, and it lasted only one season. That sentiment extends to a galaxy far, far away: with the notable exception of Andor and the early seasons of The Mandalorian, Star Wars has delivered diminishing returns on the small screen. (The less said about The Book of Boba Fett, the better.)
All told, science fiction had yet to find the Goldilocks zone on television, striking the right balance between quality and quantity. But if 2023 marked the moment when Peak TV finally plateaued, it has also ushered in a new golden age of sci-fi. It’s not just that there’s more worthwhile sci-fi on television than ever before: the shows that have cut through the noise are doing it in different ways. The best sci-fi series this year covered all the bases: alt-history dramas, dystopian thrillers, AI-infused dramedies, galaxy-spanning space operas, time-traveling character studies. The wider world of television may be in a state of disarray since the streaming bubble burst, but sci-fi fans can keep riding the wave of the genre’s recent successes.
Leading the charge is Apple TV+, the streaming arm of the world’s first trillion-dollar company. Like Amazon, Apple has the resources to funnel considerable money into streaming without a pressing need for profitability because it doesn’t make up the bulk of its business. But where these companies differ is how their streaming ambitions have been embraced by audiences. By and large, Prime Video’s big swings have failed to match their hefty price tags; conversely, Apple TV+ has stealthily emerged as one of the most reliable destinations for prestige television outside of HBO. More importantly, Apple TV+ has firmly established itself as the go-to streamer for big-budget sci-fi.
In 2023, Apple TV+ released new seasons of For All Mankind, an alt-history drama in which the Soviet Union landed the first man on the moon, and Foundation, an ambitious adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s seminal book series. What unites these shows is how they’re driven by big-picture ideas: each season of For All Mankind jumps ahead a decade to show humanity’s progress in the Space Race; Foundation is intended to span a millennium. At the same time, For All Mankind and Foundation wouldn’t be nearly as gripping without individuals making profound personal sacrifices for the greater good, be it jumping forward centuries in a hibernation pod or leaving Earth behind to colonize Mars. That For All Mankind and Foundation manage to excel as feats of immersive world-building without coming at the expense of the interiority of its characters’ lives has become something of a calling card for Apple’s sci-fi projects.
Elsewhere, this year saw Apple TV+ debut Silo, a mystery-box thriller set in a dystopian future in which mankind lives underground, and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, a small-screen extension of the Godzilla-led MonsterVerse. Once again, the blockbuster scale of these shows is what draws you in, but it’s the emotional investment in the fates of the characters—something that’s been a persistent issue for the MonsterVerse on the big screen—that keeps viewers around for the long haul. If Syfy is a haven for sci-fi fans on basic cable, Apple TV+ has become more than a viable streaming alternative: the platform is buoyed by diverse projects within the genre that all share impressive production values. As a result, Apple hasn’t just found a niche in the Streaming Wars: the company has emphatically cornered the market on imaginative, thought-provoking sci-fi. (Look out for Constellation, a psychological thriller led by Noomi Rapace and Jonathan Banks, in February 2024.)
The current sci-fi boom might be most pronounced on Apple, but other streamers got in on the act this year. Among the best of the rest was the Max animated series Scavengers Reign, which followed the scattered survivors of a cargo ship marooned on the planet Vesta Minor. With an animation style best described as “Studio Ghibli by way of body horror,” Scavengers Reign was a refreshingly unique addition to the genre, which puts the series in stark contrast with the broader direction of Warner Bros. Discovery: a company so anti-art under CEO David Zaslav that it’s tried killing off well-received projects for a tax write-off. (When even Batman titles are being shipped offto competitors, you know things are dire.) It’s little wonder that Scavengers Reign may hold the title for the most underrated show of 2023: Max barely bothered to promote it, leaving its future in jeopardy. Hopefully, more Max users discover the transportive wonders of Scavengers Reign before, god forbid, the series goes the way of Westworld.
Other shows tapped into modern anxieties around the emergence of artificial intelligence with a touch of levity: Peacock’s wonderfully wacky limited series Mrs. Davis pitted an advanced algorithm with a profound influence on the world against a literal nun; the funniest episode of Black Mirror’s sixth season imagined a future in which Netflix turned our lives into content. (Mrs. Davis cocreator Damon Lindelof and Black Mirror creator Charlie Brooker also tinkered with real AI in relation to their shows; both were leftunimpressed.) Meanwhile, Disney continued rolling out new entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe and Star Wars, which remained a mixed bag. Loki’s second season wasn’t as sharp as its debut, but it’s still one of the rare success stories of the MCU post-Endgame; Ahsoka wasn’t the strongest endorsement for Dave Filoni’s new role as Lucasfilm’s chief creative officer. (At least we have another season of Andor on the way—at this rate, Tony Gilroy is the franchise’s only hope.)
I don’t mean to pile on Disney for delivering a comparatively underwhelming slate of sci-fi this year. For all its triumphs in the genre, Apple TV+ isn’t immune to duds like Hello Tomorrow! and Invasion. But on the whole, science fiction continues to head in a promising direction. The very best of these shows don’t just have the look and feel of a tentpole, but the level of emotional depth that only a serialized project can offer. When it comes to the sheer output of quality series, it feels like there’s never been a better time to be a sci-fi fan—and the best may be yet to come. In March 2024, Netflix is set to release 3 Body Problem, the highly anticipated adaptation of Liu Cixin’s acclaimed Three-Body trilogy, led by Game of Thrones showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss.
As the first series from Benioff and Weiss since Thrones, 3 Body Problem comes with plenty of fanfare—and, for anyone still reeling from Thrones’ lackluster ending, perhaps a bit of trepidation. In an earlier era of television, sci-fi obsessives would’ve had to pin all their hopes on a big swing like 3 Body Problem living up to the hype. But that’s what makes the current state of science fiction on television so thrilling: There are so many rich, immersive universes worth exploring.
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