Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is coming – here's what you need to watch first

A new chapter in the Legendary Pictures Monsterverse series will hit our screens next year, with Godzilla and Kong teaming up to take on a new, previously undiscovered threat.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire follows-on directly from 2021's Godzilla vs. Kong, although there are several other films you probably also need to watch beforehand if you haven't already.

In addition, Apple TV+ hosts the spin-off TV show, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, which is also essential viewing.

That's why we've put together this guide on the different Monsterverse films and series you need to keep on top of ahead of the release of Godzilla x Kong. Enjoy.

Godzilla (2014)

• Available to stream on: Apple TV (buy or rent)

Although there was a US Godzilla movie released in 1998, the Monsterverse only truly began with the release of Gareth Edwards' 2014 classic of the same name.

Starring Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad), it contains plenty of nods to the hugely successful Legendary Pictures' Japanese originals and some of the unique, beautifully crafted sequences seen in an action flick.

The skydiving sequence accompanied by a bombastic classical score is particularly memorable.

The movie also introduces the MUTO threat for the first time (in a US-made franchise film) and this is important to pretty much every film and show thereafter, so makes it a must-watch.

Kong: Skull Island (2017)

• Available to stream on: Apple TV (buy or rent)

With an all-star cast, including Tom Hiddleston and Samuel L Jackson, Kong: Skull Island is the first King Kong movie in the Monsterverse timeline.

It is set during (or soon after) the Vietnam war and also stars John Goodman as Bill Randa of the government agency Monarch. He also appears in the teaser trailer for the Apple TV+ show, Monarch, so is a great example of how the films and TV series intermingle.

The film was, until fairly recently, available to stream as part of an Amazon Prime Video subscription but has since been removed from that platform. You can, however, rent the 4K version reasonably cheaply from Apple TV or plenty of other digital streaming services.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)

• Available to stream on: Apple TV (buy or rent)

Sharing the name of a Japanese Legendary Pictures classic and originally planned to be a direct sequel to the 2014 Godzilla film, it was tweaked a bit after director Gareth Edwards left the project. It doesn't, therefore, quite hit the same highs but is still a blast nonetheless.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters also introduces Mothra to the US franchise for the first time, as well as threats Ghidorah and Rodan. It is also the first film to star Millie Bobby Brown of Stranger Things fame.

This film was another to have been available on Prime Video for a while but has since been removed. It can, however, be rented or purchased from a number of different streaming platforms, including Apple TV.

Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

• Available to stream on: Netflix

The final film in the series that's available to watch right now is Godzilla vs. Kong. It serves as a sequel to both King of the Monsters and Skull Island, but pits the two mammoth monsters against each other.

Millie Bobby Brown returns, as well as her on-screen father played by Kyle Chandler.

It's important to watch before the TV series as it features other new characters that you might see pop up in an episode or two.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters

• Available to stream on: Apple TV+

Apple TV+ has been nailing it with gripping, must-see TV shows of late (Slow Horses is a personal fave) and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is the current big name series to drop into water cooler chats.

Officially part of the Monsterverse, the show runs for 10 episodes and stars Kurt Russell and his real-life son, Wyatt, as the same character, Lee Shaw. It flits back and forth over time as it explains how the mysterious monster hunting Monarch organisation came to be.