After 3 years, the long awaited new entry in Legendary Pictures’ Monsterverse, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, has finally been released. This titanic new adventure sees Godzilla and Kong teaming up once again in order to defeat a common enemy, but one of the biggest surprises in this film was the appearance of many other memorable kaiju aside from the titular duo.

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Naturally, Godzilla and Kong fight against the big antagonist of this story: The Skar King. But many other giant monsters were featured throughout the movie, including the reappearance of titans that were previously established in this universe. This is the surprisingly long list of every kaiju that appears in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.

8 King Kong

The Eighth Wonder Of The World Is A Great Protagonist

The very first kaiju that appears in the movie is Kong himself. Following the events of Godzilla vs. Kong, this simian titan is now living in Hollow Earth, and he’s looking for other creatures like him because he feels lonely. But when he finds more apes, Kong realizes that they’re under the tyrannical rule of Skar King, so he has to ask Godzilla for help in order to defeat this evil ruler.

Kong is pretty much the main character of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, and he’s featured in several scenes with no dialogue that rely on his impressive special effects, and his detailed expressions make him a really likable protagonist. This time around, Kong looks more experienced and is consistently strong throughout the film, especially after he gets his brand-new weapon: The yellow B.E.A.S.T Glove he uses to fight the other monsters.

7 Godzilla

The King Of The Monsters Is Powering Up For The Final Fight

In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, Godzilla still acts like a force of nature who is in charge of dealing with any rogue titans on Earth. Since he can sense that something odd is going on down in Hollow Earth, his main role throughout the film is to consume energy in order to become more powerful. Every living being that gets in his way, from humans to other titans, gets completely annihilated.

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Despite his role as a secondary character, Godzilla is one of the most thrilling elements in the movie. Seeing him destroy human-made structures and swiftly defeat other titans is a lot of fun. He arguably becomes the most powerful kaiju in the entire film once he reaches his amazing evolved form. This movie and this entire cinematic universe would be nothing without the mighty King of the Monsters.

6 Scylla

Finds Out What Happens When Titans Go Rogue

Scylla is a Monsterverse original titan that was introduced in Godzilla: King of the Monsters. She appears in one of the earlier scenes of this movie, where she can be seen destroying the city of Rome. It doesn’t take long for Godzilla to appear, and both monsters engage in a violent battle.

Despite her impressive size, Scylla was no match for the King of the Monsters, who ultimately makes her explode with a devastating blast of his atomic breath. It was a memorable appearance and a perfect example of how the rules in this world work: when a titan goes out of its territory and threatens humanity, it will have to face Godzilla's power.

5 Suko

Kong’s New Loyal Sidekick

One of the most intriguing aspects about Godzilla x Kong is the introduction of a small infant monster known as Suko (although he’s called Mini-Kong in the film). At first, he and Kong don’t get along; Kong uses his tiny body as a weapon to fight other giant apes, and Suko later tried to trick him so he would get attacked by a giant water snake. But the small ape warmed up to Kong, especially after he realized Kong was the only one who could defeat the evil Skar King.

Suko does count as a kaiju because, despite his obviously smaller size when compared to other titans, he is still over 140 feet tall, which is taller than Kong’s height in Kong: Skull Island. The relationship between Suko and Kong is truly endearing, and he proves to be an important player in the film’s climactic final battle, so most fans are now hoping that he'll appear in future installments as well.

4 Tiamat

A Victim Of Godzilla’s Rampage

When Godzilla was looking for more energy to absorb, he traveled to the Arctic Ocean and raided Tiamat’s lair, where the largest stockpile of solar energy in the world resides. The aquatic titan put up a solid fight, and used her long body in order to constrict Godzilla, but he quickly killed Tiamat with a blast of his atomic breath, cutting her into pieces in the process.

Tiamat’s inclusion was special for most Monsterverse fans, since she first appeared in the 2021 graphic novel, Godzilla Dominion. So seeing her on the big screen was great, and showed that these different properties are actually connected to each other. Despite her brief appearance, Tiamat deserves a lot of credit for being directly responsible for Godzilla’s epic new form.

3 Skar King

Kong’s Deadly New Rival Is The Big Bad Of The Movie

The most infamous new monster introduced in Godzilla x Kong is Skar King, the main antagonist of the movie. He had a huge impact on the lore of this universe even before this film, as it is established that he’s obsessed with conquering the surface, something that he tried to do thousands of years ago before he was stopped by Godzilla.

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Skar King is a different type of kaiju, which is greatly appreciated. He’s a tyrannical king who enslaved an entire tribe of giant apes and wants to conquer even more land. He may not be as physically strong as Kong, but he makes up for it with his agility and his deadly Whipslash. This villain becomes even more despicable after it’s revealed that he imprisoned another titan in order to use it as his most powerful weapon. Unlike Godzilla, Kong never had a rival quite like Skar King, so he was an extremely unique addition to this universe.

2 Shimo

A Tragic And Powerful Ice Kaiju

The monster that Skar King manipulates throughout the film is Shimo, a powerful titan that can not only shoot a freezing Frost Breath, but is so powerful that it's stated she was responsible for triggering the Ice Age. Nowadays, she is sadly reduced to being Skar King’s living weapon. Nevertheless, she immediately dominates the movie with her presence, especially after she freezes Kong’s hand.

Shimo is a truly special kaiju, both in terms of her backstory and her design, since she feels like a monster that could have appeared in any other Godzilla movie made by Toho. She feels unique because there haven't been many cryokinetic kaiju in this franchise. Without Shimo, Skar King would’ve never had a chance against Godzilla and Kong in the final battle, and the fact that she was spared in the end was truly relieving. She deserves better.

1 Mothra

The Queen Of The Monsters Is Back!

Mothra is undoubtedly one of the most iconic kaiju in the Godzilla franchise, and her original appearance in King of the Monsters was really memorable. After her tragic sacrifice, many fans were not expecting her to reappear anytime soon, so her sudden inclusion in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire was the biggest surprise of the entire movie, and a huge treat for the fans.

Mothra was re-contextualized as the guardian of the Iwi tribe, which was a clever idea that makes a lot of sense for this universe. It also gave Jia - one of the best human characters in the movie - something important to do. The Queen of the Monsters plays a key role in the movie when she convinces Godzilla to join forces with Kong, and she can later be seen assisting both of them during their battle against Skar King and Shimo inside Hollow Earth. Her involvement in the plot may have been brief, but getting to see three iconic kaiju like Godzilla, King Kong, and Mothra together in the same movie was a magical experience.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

Release Date

April 12, 2024

Director

Adam Wingard

Studio(s)

Legendary Pictures

Distributor(s)

Warner Bros.