What is the best order to watch the King Kong / Godzilla MonsterVerse?

If you are looking for epic monster movies featuring horror icons, then look no further than the Godzilla and King Kong series. These titanic terrors of cinema have a huge portfolio of pictures that offer thrills, spills and lots and lots of destruction.

And if you like both Godzilla and King Kong then you can work your way through a series that unites the pair – Legendary Pictures’ MonsterVerse. This collection of films places the two characters in the same series for a run of movies that offer huge battles and lots of action.

But what is the best order to watch the MonsterVerse? For all the building-smashing details and more, keep reading.

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The ‘Godzilla’ and ‘Kong’ MonsterVerse movies

Godzilla (2014)

In 2014, Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures released Godzilla. This standalone tale introduced Gojira for a new generation, as he did battle with a collection of monsters.

Set fifteen years after a nuclear meltdown in Japan, which in turn leads to the creation of giant parasitic creatures known as MUTOs (Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism), Godzilla focuses on the arrival of Big G. In the film, Godzilla then battles the MUTOs, all under the watchful eye of shadowy government organisation, Monarch – an agency which monitors monsters.

Kong: Skull Island (2017)

With Godzilla proving to be a huge success at the box-office in 2014, plans were put in place to expand the series. But rather than just go directly to a Godzilla sequel, Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. wanted to establish a cinematic universe instead.

This cinematic universe – known as the MonsterVerse – would not only include Godzilla, but also King Kong. The plan was to introduce Kong in the second film, Kong Skull: Island, before moving back to Godzilla in future instalments.

Set in 1973, decades before the events of Godzilla, Kong: Skull Island saw a team of scientists and Vietnam soldiers travel to an uncharted island in the Pacific. It is here they encounter a giant ape known as Kong, as well as a series of other monstrous creatures.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)

With Kong: Skull Island being another big hit, and establishing King Kong in the MonsterVerse, work was now firmly underway to unite the two monsters. However, before that could happen, Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. had plans for another Godzilla movie.

Released in 2019, Godzilla: King of the Monsters was positioned as a direct sequel to 2014’s Godzilla. In this film, eco-terrorists release the three-headed monster, King Ghidorah, leading to a huge monster battle between Ghidorah, Godzilla, and fellow creatures, Mothra and Rodan.

Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

After three solo movies, it was finally time for Godzilla and Kong to unite. The movie would be the appropriately titled Godzilla vs. Kong, which saw Big G and King Kong come face-to-face in an epic showdown, which also involved a battle with Mechagodzilla.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which shut cinemas worldwide in 2020, the release of Godzilla vs. Kong was not the big event that was initially planned. After being delayed from its theatrical release, Godzilla vs. Kong opened in select theatres in 2021, alongside a simultaneous release on HBO Max in the US, and video-on-demand platforms everywhere else.

The result of this mixed release saw Godzilla vs. Kong take less money at the box-office than hoped. However, on the flipside, the film was a huge hit on streaming and this convinced Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. to push ahead with another instalment.

This fifth entry in the MonsterVerse was titled Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. In this film, Godzilla and Kong reunite against a new threat which is hidden deep within the Earth.

The MonsterVerse movies in production order

To date, there are five movies in the MonsterVerse. If you wish to watch the MonsterVerse movies in production order, then follow this list:

• Godzilla (2014)
• Kong: Skull Island (2017)
• Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
• Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)
• Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)

The MonsterVerse in timeline order

While production order is one way to watch the MonsterVerse films, it is not the only way. Kong: Skull Island was the second movie to be released, but chronologically it is the first entry in the timeline.

If you wish to watch the Kong / Godzilla MonsterVerse movies in timeline order, then use this list:

• Kong: Skull Island (2017)
• Godzilla (2014)
• Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
• Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)
• Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)

It is entirely up to you what order you watch the movies in, either production or timeline order, but arguably timeline order works best. This way you can start you journey in the 1970s before moving through to modern day.

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Who are the cast of the MonsterVerse movies and are the films the work of the same director?

Notable cast members in the MonsterVerse movie series include Elizabeth Olsen, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Juliette Binoche, Sally Hawkins, Bryan Cranston, David Strathairn, Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman, Brie Larson, Toby Kebbell, John Ortiz, John C. Reilly, Thomas Middleditch, Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown, Charles Dance, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Anthony Ramos, Alexander Skarsgård, Brian Tyree Henry, Eiza González, Lance Reddick, Rebecca Hall, and Dan Stevens.

In terms of directors, the MonsterVerse movies are the work of the following:

• Gareth Edwards directed Godzilla
• Jordan Vogt-Roberts directed Kong: Skull Island
• Michael Dougherty directed Godzilla: King of the Monsters
• Adam Wingard directed Godzilla vs. Kong and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

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Which is the best MonsterVerse movie?

According to IMDb, the MonsterVerse movies are rated as follows:

• Godzilla (2014) – 6.4/10
• Kong: Skull Island (2017) – 6.7/10
• Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) – 6.0/10
• Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) – 6.3/10
• Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024) – Not yet rated

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If you’re a fan of Godzilla or King Kong (and who isn’t?), then you may wish to know that four movies in the MonsterVerse are currently available to buy on Blu-ray.

The Godzilla & Kong 4-Film Collection includes Godzilla, Kong: Skull Island, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and Godzilla vs. Kong in one handy box set.  

The Godzilla & Kong 4-Film Collection on Blu-ray is available from all good entertainment stockists, including Amazon US and Amazon UK.

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Disclaimer: I earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article.

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Editor/writer/monster masher

Alex Wiggan

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Thank you for taking the time to read this post about the MonsterVerse on It’s A Stampede! For more monster-related posts, please check out the recommended reads below.