Godzilla is back in the Godzilla: King of the Monsters trailer, which premiered during Warner Bros.' Hall H panel at the ongoing San Diego Comic-Con 2018. The studio has been hinting at the trailer's arrival over the past week, starting with the release of a King of the Monsters teaser featuring costar Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things). King of the Monsters' viral marketing campaign also got properly underway, showcasing the god-like abilities of Godzilla's three monstrous opponents in the movie: Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah.

Cowritten and directed by Michael Dougherty (Trick 'r Treat, Krampus), King of the Monsters in the third installment in the MonsterVerse shared universe that began with Gareth Edwards' modern-day Godzilla reboot in 2014 and continued to expand with Jordan Vogt-Roberts' 1970s-set Kong: Skull Island last year. The film also serves as the final piece in the puzzle leading up to 2020's big crossover release, Godzilla vs. Kong. However, before Gojira does battle with the mighty ape, he will have to take on said trio of scrappy god-like creatures, as indicated by the trailer.

Costarring in King of the Monsters with Brown are Vera Farmiga (The Conjuring) and Kyle Chandler (Bloodline), as well as Bradley Whitford (Get Out), Charles Dance (Game of Thrones), Ziyi Zhang (The Cloverfield Paradox), and O'Shea Jackson (Straight Outta Compton). Meanwhile, Ken Watanabe and Sally Hawkins' reprise their Godzilla (2014) roles here as two members of Monarch, the still-sorta-secret organization tasked with keeping tabs on the giant monsters or MUTOs of the world. For a sneak peek of what awaits these characters, watch the King of the Monsters trailer in the space above.


As one might expect, the first trailer for King of the Monsters highlights the threat that Godzilla's "friends" pose to the world and humankind's efforts to counter it, however they can. As far as the human story in the sequel goes, the plot follows Monarch scientist Dr. Emma Russell (Farmiga) as she and her daughter Madison (Brown) are kidnapped by a mysterious monster-hunting organization. The reason? Dr. Russell has learned how to communicate and maybe even control the monsters, making her an extremely value asset to some potentially shady people.

Another key aspect of the plot that King of the Monster's trailer alludes to is how the world at large has been warped by paranoia and fear of more monsters showing up, after what happened in Edwards' Godzilla reboot. That element alone should make for some good world-building in the context of the larger MonsterVerse franchise. Similarly, it's looking as though the Russells' storyline will be central to the monster vs. monster spectacle in the movie and, thus, shouldn't come off as being an extraneous aspect of the film next to the impending throw-down between Godzilla and his monstrous buddies.

KEY RELEASE DATES

  • Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019) release date: Mar 22, 2019
  • Godzilla vs. Kong (2020) release date: May 22, 2020