“What I find interesting is that we never really figured out the pronouns of Godzilla in this one. Like we know that King Kong is like the king, but we don't ever really know what Godzilla is.”
So says Brian Tyree Henry, one of the stars of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. Indeed, the question of which cinematic titan is king – or queen – of them all has been one that viewers and studios have been asking even before the 1962 release of King Kong vs. Godzilla. That primal battle between lizard and monkey draws something out in each of us, including the cast of the latest film in Legendary’s MonsterVerse.
Directed by Adam Wingard, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is the epic sequel to 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong, and it doubles down on the sci-fi action as the film sends our heroes back into the Hollow Earth so that they can help Kong and figure out why Godzilla is headed towards his new home.
When we chatted with the director and the cast of the new film recently, the ultimate question of course came up: Who is the true King of the Monsters? Not surprisingly, they had some very strong opinions.
Who Is the King of the Monsters?
For director Adam Wingard, the answer is a simple one: “Godzilla is the King of the Monsters!”
But that shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who's been watching his entries in the Legendary MonsterVerse.
“I've done two movies now with Godzilla and Kong. And, you know, I think it's pretty clear where I stand in terms of who's the top dog,” he says of what has been a lifelong stance for the filmmaker. “This all stems from an enthusiastic passion I had on the schoolyard as a kid. I remember there was one of my best friends in like second grade or something. I think King Kong vs. Godzilla was on TV the night before and he was talking about … how he thought that King Kong, you know, could definitely beat Godzilla in a fight. And I was like … I'm a big Kong guy, but I was a little offended by that. I mean at the end of the day, Kong is a big ape. It's like Godzilla… he's a God.”
Some of the cast of Godzilla x Kong take a different approach though. To them, the new title means that the big boys have actually moved past their former beef.
“That's why there's an x in between,” says Brian Tyree Henry. “Because it's like, hold on, like, actually…”
“It's a collab,” chimes in Dan Stevens.
“It is a collab!” laughs Henry. “Oh my God. So I think that at this point, those titles mean nothing. Yeah, I think that … they both realize, like, look, we have destroyed just as much of the same shit as everyone else.”
“Let's just make sneakers,” adds Stevens.
Of course, Kong does have one true believer in Kaylee Hottle, who plays Jia in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. And what else would you expect from the talented young actress? After all, she’s been responsible for playing Kong's companion and communicator in the blockbuster movie franchise, and returns in an even more key role in the new film.
“I think that King Kong is the King of the Monsters!” Hottle says. “He wants it. He wants to be on top. He's got a great heart and he acts like a king. He's King Kong!”
The new film sees Kong find other giant apes like him, which to Hottle only cements his place at the top of the pile.
“He has his people; he is king,” says the young actress. “He's the people's king. He wants to be on top. He has to defeat these foes to prove who he is. And to prove that he is king!”
The Godzilla and Kong Canon
It's not all about weighing up who'd win in a fight though, as there's also the matter of whose cinematic catalog holds up better. Godzilla unquestionably outnumbers the big monkey with 38 films to Kong's 14, and the Japanese titan is also arguably the bigger pop-culture icon. But saying that, Kong does hold a special place in Hollywood history thanks to his legendary 1933 flick. When it comes to weighing up whose catalog is stronger, Wingard unsurprisingly has a lot of thoughts.
“I think Godzilla has more good movies,” says the director. “He obviously has a gazillion more movies. But Kong does have good ones. I actually think that the '76 Kong is underrated. I really liked King Kong Escapes as well; that's the unsung Kong movie of the Showa era. Pretty much all the Kong movies other than the Linda Hamilton one are pretty good.”
For Wingard, the reason that Godzilla ultimately wins the cinematic battle over Kong though is all about the experimental style and scope of the Toho monster movies.
“I don't think any of the Kong films get to the heights of things like Godzilla vs. Hedorah,” he continues. “To me, it's kind of hard to beat just how crazy that film is and just truly weird it is. That's just such a great film.”
If you haven't seen that classic monster movie, it follows the titular amorphous alien Hedorah who is transported to Earth via a cosmic comet. Once Hedorah makes it to our planet, he grows to an immense size thanks to the massive amounts of pollution and smog that humans have created. Of course, that ultimately leads to Godzilla appearing and trying to stop Hedorah in some of the best and strangest fights in the Toho movie canon.
While Wingard is pretty decisive that Godzilla is the cinematic king, his cast had to chop it up a little more to really come to a conclusion.
“Kong movies tend to have a bit more of a sense of adventure and kind of like going into the unknown, whereas Godzilla is more about sort of cityscapes being destroyed,” Stevens says.
Henry points out that he alway “felt like Kong was more exploitive, right? It was about people going to him and bothering him and wanting to capitalize off of him.”
Rebecca Hall calls it “a bit of a colonizer narrative,” and Henry adds, “Whereas Godzilla was like, ‘Y’all on my planet!’ Which is why I think it's great that they team up, like we've both been exploited, so let's get everybody!”
This year marks the 70th anniversary of Godzilla, and there are more fantastic entries in his canon than ever. With the Oscar-winning Godzilla Minus One, the critically acclaimed Legendary TV series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, and of course now Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, the question must be raised: Why are we all still talking about the Godzilla all these decades later?
“I think Godzilla has been so popular over the years because you can have Godzilla Minus One and my film, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire,” Wingard said recently in a chat for IMAX, “[and they] couldn't be more tonally different from each other. Which I think what is so cool about Godzilla is that metaphorically, tonally, he's very versatile in terms of what he can mean and represent in the movies.”
So what do you think? Who is the real King of the Monsters? Let’s discuss in the comments!
