WMG / Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

Prerelease theories

The Skar King sent the Skullcrawlers after Kong's parents and the other rebels on Skull Island.

• He would have punished them for having defied his authority and left Hollow Earth.

The new villain Titan is an original creation.

• Furthermore, this new Titan will be based on an orangutan and be very close to an adaptation of the gargantuan, but will likely be re-named and given a different powerset to be more unique.
  • Very possible. Many Youtubers are already speculating that the new creature is an Orangutan, and this troper has been considering the War of the Gargatuas as a source for where the design came from. But he or she could be entirely new. It'd be interesting to see if this creature is male or female, as the only major female Titan seen in the Monsterverse so far in any major role is Mothra.
    • There was the Female MUTO, and the Skull Devil (the "Big One" from Kong: Skull Island) is confirmed to have been female.
  • True, but neither of them were anything other than just a random opponent for Godzilla and Kong, respectively, while Mothra legitimately had a role outside of just being the Hand of the King to Godzilla.
  • The above WMG has been fully Confirmed, the villain is called the Skar King and is based on an orangutan with its longer arms and orange fur; in addition to being an original creation with no equivalent or basis in prior Godzilla or Kong installments.

The antagonist will be a Titan Australopithecus.

• The new Titan's appearance seems curiously evocative of Kong's, but more like some evolved offshoot of sorts. Not only does the lither build look closer to humans than Kong's, but the close-up glare of sharp malice at the end of the teaser can be a display of greater smarts and cunning. A foe with roughly equal physical abilities as Kong, but with the advantage of vastly higher intelligence, would pose a whole new threat for the lizard-ape duo.
  • Jossed. The Skar King has a build somewhere between an orangutan, chimpanzee, and a spider monkey.

Godzilla and/or Kong will die.

• With the subtitle being "A New Empire" and Son of Kong being one of the working titles for the film, it seems fair to assume there's a chance one or both Alpha Titans may die in this installment.
  • Jossed:Neither Kaiju dies, the only one who dies is the Skar King.

Kong will get his King title by beating the new Titan

• Based on how old those skeletons are, it's safe to say that this Titan is ancient, possibly being one of the original combatants of the Titanus Goji-Kong wars. This Titan might be a "King", at the very least of a small contingent of Titans. Kong beating him would allow him to earn the title.
  • Assuming Legendary is willing to pay Universal, anyway. They legally own the name "King Kong" which is why he's yet to be called that in these films.
    • Partially Jossed, Kong does become King of the Hollow Earth Kongs and Shimo after Skar King is killed, but will likely still be referred as Kong for marketing purposes, until they can secure the rights.

The new Titan villain can utilize/control, or is otherwise imbued with, Hollow Earth Energy.

• The most striking element of this new titan during the film's reveal was a pair of glowing white-blue eyes, shown during both shots where the titan is in view; the first shot displays the eyes as glowing-white pinpricks, while the second extreme close-up shot reveals them to be an unnaturally cloudy-blue colouration. This might be a hint that this Titan affords some degree of manipulation or control of Hollow Earth Energy, which could potentially serve to power up melee attacks or imbue weapons akin to Kong's axe with such energy, levelling the playing field in a potential fight against even Kong & Godzilla together.
  • This could serve as an allusion to King Kong vs. Godzilla, where King Kong could absorb electricity & employ it through its attacks.
  • Pretty much Jossed. Skar King, the main antagonist, has no powers, while the other titan, Shimo, has ice power that isn't explicitly tied to the Hollow Earth.

Following the above WMG, Kong will eventually absorb/be able to harness Hollow Earth Energy himself.

• Whether it's something he is taught or independently discovers on his own, Kong will imbue himself with and/or gain the ability to utilize Hollow Earth Energy similarly to the new Titan villain. This could potentially occur prior to/during the film's climax, giving him the upper hand that allows him to defeat the Titan villain (with or without Godzilla's assistance).
  • Something worth noting is the fact that, according to the novelization of Godzilla vs Kong, Godzilla is the only member of his species to have the ability to fire off the atomic breath, which was a result of absorbing some unique kind of energy from the Hollow Earth. Maybe this could ring the same for Kong, now that he lives in the Hollow Earth.
  • Furthermore, given Kong's "gold" motif opposing Godzilla's "blue" one, both relative to their color schemes and the glowing skulls in the teaser, Kong's utilization of Hollow Earth energy will take on a golden hue, rather than the blue lightning the new Titan will use. This will shout out that the new titan is Godzilla's enemy rather than Kong, as it uses the same lightning that originally defeated Godzilla, and give Kong golden energy ala Sun Wukong, an homage fitting for the Legendary incarnation of the character as a heroic character who generally kills anything that crosses him or his less-powerful traveling companions, and who is a match for gods.

The new Titan villain will wear a Cool Crown made of a skull of a Godzilla-like kaiju.

• Just putting it out there because it looks badass, it brings both leads together via the imagery, and would be a point if visual interest atop the new big guy’s head. Hey, gorilla wearing reptile skull certainly worked in Primal (2019).
  • Jossed, but he does wear a "bandolier" made of a Titanus Gojira spine, which he can unwind and use as a whip.

Alan Jonah will return.

• After being absent from the events of Godzilla vs. Kong, it's possible that Alan Jonah and his gang will finally return. Who knows if they'll even cross paths with the new Titan villain.
  • Possibly jossed. Given that he is nowhere to be seen in the first trailer. Unless he shows up as an Unexpected Character or appears in The Stinger…
  • If he does return, perhaps he will not be an antagonist but an ally and The Atoner, not necessarily guilty about the human casualties he caused but having had the Heel Realization that not all Titans, like Ghidorah, want what’s best for the earth, and he will seek to aid Godzilla and Kong who he sees as earth’s true rulers against the Skar King.
    • Fully Jossed: Alan Jonah is absent.

The Monster in the trailer isn't what it seems.

• It's actually the host of a parasite that can affect other kaiju. The "Empire" will be the host of titans it's taken control of. Thus forcing Godzilla and Kong to team up.
  • Completely Jossed. Skar King controls the monster, Shimo, by using a crystal that induces pain when he points it at her. The "Empire" is the Great Ape kingdom within the Hollow Earth, which Kong takes rulership of after killing the tyrant.

Some classic Toho monsters will either cameo in The New Empire or appear as new Titans.

• Anguirus:
  • After his blink-and-you'll-miss-it cameo as a skeleton in Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), this could be a chance for Legendary to acquire the rights for Anguirus so he can make a proper appearance as a Monsterverse Titan and ally to Godzilla.
• Megalon:
  • He was the god of subterranean people in his movie. It's an easy Callback.
• Minilla/Godzilla Junior:
  • Hey, we're getting a Baby Kong, so why not? Plus, with improved designs and effects, he won't be as goofy-looking as he was in the Showa movies.
• All Jossed. Mothra shows up instead.

Walter Simmons and Apex Cybernetics killed Alan Jonah and his gang.

• You have to admit that despite the events of Godzilla vs. Kong directly tying into Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), it's strange how Alan Jonah, despite being a major character, isn't seen nor mentioned even once. The novelization does mention him but not by name. Just saying that it is possible that sometime after Walter Simmons bought the Ghidorah skulls, Simmons might have anticipated that meeting Jonah and his gang would cause suspicion to the world and might have ordered his Apex guards to kill him and his crew and Unperson them whatever means necessary.

Bagan will be the Big Bad.

• He will be portrayed as Godzilla's counterpart to the Skull Devil and usurp the new Titan. Bagan won't be as strong as the game version due to not having Ghidorah's cells, but still strong enough to push Godzilla, Kong, and any other allies to the breaking point.
  • Jossed: Bagan does not appear in the film.

The new villain Titan is not an original creation.

• He's Chiros.
• He's a Gargantua.
• He's another Kong.
• He's Konga.
• He's Yetrigar.
• He's Lanky Kong
  • Jossed:New titan is an original creation called the Skar King.
    • That said, he does have some traits similar to the Gargantuas - Sanda's orange-brown fur and Gaira's homicidal mania.

The new villain Titan is Kong's long lost/estranged son.

• Afterall, the movie DID have the preliminary working title Son of Kong...
  • The trailer revealed a Baby Kong, so the working title might've referred to him instead.
  • Totally Jossed, as Kong was shown to be the last of his kind as an adolescent. The "Son of Kong" title refers to Suko, who Kong adopts, and isn't a villain. The villain is instead an impossibly old Great Ape called the Skar King.

The Skar King wiped out both Kong's and Godzilla's species or at least drove them out of the Hollow Earth

To establish his own species' superiority he killed any members of the rival Alpha Titan species and that led to younger, weaker survivors being driven out into the surface world where they got picked off until only Kong and Godzilla were left.

• Sort of confirmed, sort of Jossed. Godzilla's kind were at war with the Skar King in he distant past, before the Great Apes were sealed away deep in the Hollow Earth. Many of both species were lost in this war, though neither was completely wiped out. The apes of Skull Island were the last to remain on the surface after this war, before all but Kong were killed off by the Skullcrawlers.

The Hollow Earth human civilization is worshipping Mothra, who will be an 11th-Hour Ranger for the climax

• Not only do they share the same pink crystal energy as Godzilla and his new redesign, but one shot shows Jia looking up and holding up a hand near some glowing dust. Not only is Mothra well known for her powder abilities in Toho canon but she is famously bioluminescent in this continuity....
  • Confirmed, Mothra personally joins Godzilla and Kong on their quest to destroy the Skar King.

Alternatively, this civilization is the Monsterverse's version of Seatopia

All of them ARE underground. Perhaps there will be a throwaway reference to Skar King slaying their gods to reference Manda or Megalon.

• Mostly Jossed. They worship Mothra, but there are still some parallels with the Seatopians.

Godzilla's new color scheme is actually a ticking time bomb

Legendary is either going to tease or go through with killing Godzilla in this film via nuclear meltdown, a la Godzilla vs. Destoroyah

• Jossed - Godzilla does not die in this film.

Madison herself will become a villain.

Her childhood home is a smoldering radioactive crater, mostly everybody hates her guts because her mother unleashed King Ghidorah, she's got an EXTREME Trauma Conga Line on her back, and half her family is dead. It's inevitable. My guess is that she'll Jump Off the Slippery Slope towards the end of the film.

• Unlikely. She has overcome her trauma and she has reconnected with her father by the end of the previous movie, but we'll have to wait and see. Although she did help stop Mechagodzilla so her reputation could've improved but still.
  • She's also completely absent from the film.

Scar King tamed and taken control of another member of Godzilla's species.

He's farms this poor Godzillasaurus for it's dorsal fins, allowing him to arm his tribe with weapons like Godzilla's axe. This other member of his species will defeat Godzilla midway through the film, resulting in him being frozen and getting his pink power-boost. It will eventually turn on Scar King and either help the heroes, or take over as the main villain.

My evidence for this is non-existent. I just think it would be neat.

• Jossed on the part of farming a Titanus Gojira for dorsal plates, but the Titan under his control seems to be a relative of the Gojira genus, if only distantly.

Godzilla and Kong lead an army of Titans against the Skar King and his followers.

Among them will be:

• Mothra (heavily rumored and leaked)
• Rodan
• Behemoth
• Methuselah
• Gamera (This one is the least likely since Warner Bros. doesn't have the rights, yet.) or Kamoebas
• Queen MUTO
• A Zilla-expy
• Anguirus
• Manda
• Gorgo
• Rhedosaurus
• Gorosaurus
• Kong’s Hawk from Skull Island (2023) (or another specimen that's from the same species as Kong's hawk)
• Crustaceous Rex, Komodithrax and Rhinosaurus from Godzilla: The Series
• Nessie
• Titanosaurus
• Ebirah
• The Giant Behemoth
• Yongary

Other superspecies that could join them could be:

• Sker Buffaloes
• Leafwings
• Doug
• Mantleclaws
• Frost Vark
• Dog from Skull Island (2023) (or another specimen that's from the same species as Dog)
• Magma Turtles
• Godzooky
  • Jossed: Only Mothra joins up with the duo in this film as it would require expensive royalties to bring back the others, especially Rodan, Anguirus (who's actually dead as of King of the Monsters), Gorosaurus, Manda and especially Gamera (who's owned by Toho's hated rivals.

Mini-Kong is Skar King's child.

He's an abusive parent to the baby Kong and thus Kong himself adopts him as his own, being a far more nurturing foster parent.

• If Mini-Kong is Skar King’s child, it’s likely that the former is also a hybrid between a Kong and Skar King’s kind. Given that Mini-Kong looks like a Kong but also has Skar King’s color scheme as well.
  • Confirmed in the novel, only implied in the movie

The wolf-like creatures in the trailer are Death Jackals.

A pack of wolf-like creatures are chasing Kong in the trailer. It's possible they are the Death Jackals from the Kong: Skull Island prequel comics, grown far bigger in the Hollow Earth due to its myeterious energy boosting their development.

• Jossed. Leaked marketing actually states that they're Wart Dogs. Though it's possible that they may be a related species towards the Death Jackals.

Rodan will reappear as a cameo.

He won't take part in the final fight, as he's still recovering from Mothra's sting and being the fickle double agent he is doesn't find it worth it to take either side.

• Possible but unlikely, if Legendary/WB are going to pay Toho to use Rodan again they probably want to make use of him and get him in the action, especially since there is no sign of him in the marketing. Perhaps they reveal Mothra earlier into the film to convince Godzilla and Kong to work together and she will help in the final battle but then Rodan gets to swoop in and a have redemption arc and he, instead of Mothra, becomes the 11th-Hour Ranger instead.
  • Sadly Jossed, Mothra takes his place.

Gamera will show up for the climax as the 11th-Hour Ranger.

Alternatively, if he doesn't join the final battle he will be teased as cave art in The Stinger as a Sequel Hook with the screen going black and we hear the Monsterverse version of his Signature Roar.

• Jossed

Shimo the ice titan that was the one responsible for imprisoning Ghidorah in ice.

• Doesn't come up in the movie, but it's confirmed in the novelization.

Mini-Kong is not what he seems.

Trapper will be revealed to be secretly working for Alan Jonah and the ecoterrorists.

• Perhaps it will even be revealed that his second name is Jonah, being either Alan Jonah’s son or nephew, considering that besides Vivienne Graham in Godzilla (2014)/King of the Monsters and James Conrad in Kong: Skull Island, Alan Jonah is the only other major British character in the Monsterverse so far.
  • Trapper is Australian, not British, but it is still possible for a family connection to Jonah to exist, especially if Trapper was raised in Australia in order to keep him safe from Jonah's enemies. It would make sense for a familial connection to exist somewhere, given that the secondary theme of the MonsterVerse is family, especially broken ones, and GxK is the first film in the series without a familial connection to a previous one (No members of the families Randa, Russell, Serizawa, Brody, or Chen are slated to appear or be mentioned).
  • Or, instead of working with the ecoterrorists, he may be trying to atone for his father's sins by proving that true coexistence between humanity and the Titans is possible, and it's not one or the other.

Jossed Jonah is not working for Alan Jonah nor is there any sign or evidence that he is related to him.

Destoroyah will appear, or will at least be mentioned.

He doesn't have to appear anywhere else in the film, he just needs to appear in the Sequel Hook.

• Jossed. He's doesn't appear, isn't mentioned, and doesn't even get vaguely implied.

The military is going to use Apex’s discovery of hollow earth energy and the idea of a robotic titan and build a Pacific Rim Jaeger-inspired Jet Jaguar to fight alongside Godzilla and Kong.

"…suddenly you can fight the hurricane…"

• Jossed there was no Jet Jaguar in this movie.

Skar King’s army will not just consist of the Hollow Earth apes titans, but also other titans and other superspecies as well.

Among the army would be:

• Shimo
• Wart-Dogs
• Skullcrawlers
• Shimidahs
• Warbats
• Rock Critters
• Scylla
• Tiamat
• Ion Dragon
  • [[Spoiler: Confirmed for Shimo but Jossed for everyone else, Scylla and Tiamat do appear but they are both killed by Godzilla prior to the final battle.]]

Godzilla is going to be given the nickname “G Man” in-universe by either Bernie or Trapper like Randel did in Godzilla: The Series.

• Jossed, Godzilla is not given a nickname by anyone, he is still just referred to as Godzilla.

The opening prologue will be set in the prehistoric past (without humans) where we will see what caused the war between Godzilla and Kong’s species.

• Jossed, while we do get extended scenes, including the opening, which focuses on the Titan characters we don’t get a prologue that takes place in the prehistoric past.

Godzilla and Kong are going to battle an ice-breathing Titan in Egypt.

It's very much possible considering that Shimo's in the picture.

• Jossed, only Kong and Godzilla fight each other in Egypt.
• Shimo is fought in Rio de Janeiro instead, and she pulls a Heel–Face Turn.

Shimo is being Forced into Evil by the Skar King

Either the Skar King is holding something Shimo considers valuable (like an egg) or is forcing them to do his bidding by either intimidation or mind-control and they may have a Heel–Face Turn and bow to Godzilla, helping him and Kong defeat the Skar King and his allies.

• Confirmed, Shimo is also what ends Skar King's rein.

Shimo will be shown being equal in power if not outright stronger than Ghidorah in this movie

.Judging by how this kaiju is almost twice as big as Godzilla, and is described having ice world-ending powers, much like Ghidorah is often described as being an existential threat.

• JossedWhile very powerful, she lacks finesse outside out of her Ice Breath.
• Actually somewhat confirmed. She freezes the sky to start a new Ice Age after emerging from Hollow Earth, and several supplemental sources say she could just as easily wipe out all life on Earth if left unchecked. Fortunately, she gets freed from the Skar King's control and pulls a Heel–Face Turn, before Godzilla thaws out the frozen sky.

Mothra will be the one to convince Godzilla and Kong to team up

She is already a trusted ally of Godzilla and is also the only other benevolent alpha Titan aside from Kong so it would make sense that she would be the one to convince the pair to team up against a bigger threat much like the character did back in Ghidorah, the Three-Headed Monster.

She will also at some point perch on Kong’s arm like a falcon (as a reference to Kong’s Hawk companion in Skull Island (2023)).

• Confirmed for the former, Jossed for the latter.

Godzilla will do his iconic drop kick move with the help of the Hollow Earth's Gravity Screw

One shot from the trailers seems to show him flying though the air (presumably while fighting Shimo given he's breaking free of a sheath of ice), so it wouldn't be hard to imagine him doing the same move feet-first in that same scene.

• Maybe they’ll even combine it with flying Godzilla from Godzilla vs. Hedorah.
• Jossed, though he does jump feet-first onto Scylla, which is similar enough to a drop kick.
• Kong uses a similar drop kick on Skar King instead.

We are going to get a surprise return of one or more human characters from the previous Monsterverse installments

Potential candidates:

• Ford and/or Sandra Brody from Godzilla (2014)
• James Conrad and/or Mason Weaver from Kong: Skull Island
• Rick Stanton, Ilene Chen, Jackson Barnes, Sam Coleman or Alan Jonah from Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
• Charlie, Mike or Annie from Skull Island (2023)
• Cate Randa, Keiko or Lee Shaw from Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
  • Jossed, they're all absent.

Post-release theories

Shimo is related species-wise to Anguirus.

She shares a similar ankylosaurid profile to Anguirus with the icicle/crystal formations on her back and running along her tail reminiscent of Anguirus' shell and spikey tail.

Godzilla didn't defeat the Skar King and his army alone.

At some point in the backstory, Godzilla defeated and sealed the Skar King and his army within the Hollow Earth, Given this war probably included an already-enslaved Shimo, and Godzilla in the film has major trouble handling just Shimo by herself, even after he powered himself up and evolved into a new Super Mode, it does not seem likely he could have won by himself last time. He was aided by another Kaiju, perhaps Mothra or another member of the Godzilla species.

Godzilla wasn't just preparing for Shimo and Skar King

While his power-up allowed him to flatten Skar King and resist Shimo's frost-breath, he is actually preparing against an even greater threat than all who have come before them; be it Destoroyah, Spacegodzilla or even a new unseen kaiju.

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