How to watch the MonsterVerse movies in order (including Monarch: Legacy of Monsters)

Excuse the pun, but Legendary and Warner Bros.' MonsterVerse has been a Titan of Hollywood for over a decade now. The franchise has brought the two most legendary movie monsters back to the silver screen, taking them on solo adventures, making them face off against each other, and eventually teaming them up in what can only be described as larger-than-life showdowns. And, as audiences, we love to see Godzilla and King Kong embark on these adventures every single time.

The franchise has had some highs and lows along the way, with some of its earlier outings not getting the buzz they hoped and some of its more recent installments breaking franchise box office records. It's truly been a whirlwind watching these monsters rise up over the past decade, and with a new adventure on the way in 2027's Godzilla x Kong: Supernova, we can't wait to see where their story goes next.

With all of that in mind, now is the perfect time to dive into the MonsterVerse and explore its adventures on the big screen (as well as those on the small one).

Godzilla (2014)

Release date: May 16, 2014
Director: Gareth Edwards
Cast: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen, Juliette Binoche, Sally Hawkins, David Strathairn, Bryan Cranston

The King of the Monsters made his long-awaited return to Hollywood in 2014's Godzilla. The Gareth Edwards movie was the first time that a US production of the legendary movie monster had been made since Roland Emmerich's 1998 movie and it sought to try something a little more closely-related to the character's iconic origins.

From the moment that the very first trailer for this one was released, it was clear that fans were in for a vivid ride and the finished product lived up to that. It's much more serious and cinematic than future MonsterVerse installments would become but Edwards' eye for immersive monster movies is clear. Godzilla sees the legend battle two giant MUTOs as the world watches in horror at the modern day existence of the Titans. And just like that, monsters ruled the world.

Kong: Skull Island (2017)

Release date: March 10, 2017
Director: Jordan Vogt-Roberts
Cast: Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman, Brie Larson, Jing Tian, Toby Kebbell, John Ortiz, Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Shea Whigham, Thomas Mann, Terry Notary, John C. Reilly

The second installment in the franchise, Kong: Skull Island is actually a MonsterVerse prequel that takes us back to the 1970s. Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts, this action adventure is strikingly different to Godzilla, honing in on the dangers of Skull Island while also employing elements of '70s filmmaking and even anime to bring some of the sights to life.

The Eighth Wonder of the World has never looked larger than he has here, and his introduction to the MonsterVerse is every bit as larger-than-life as it should be thanks to this thrilling adventure. It's aura personified.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2018)

Release date: May 31, 2019
Director: Michael Dougherty
Cast: Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown, Bradley Whitford, Sally Hawkins, Charles Dance, Thomas Middleditch, Aisha Hinds, O'Shea Jackson Jr., David Strathairn, Ken Watanabe, Zhang Ziyi

The trailer for Godzilla: King of the Monsters is often regarded as one of the greatest modern day movie trailers to ever be released. It's magical, majestic, and all-around mystical in its ability to captivate. It's no surprise anticipation for the 2019 movie was extremely high as a result of that. Well, that, and you know, the fact that Godzilla would finally take on Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah in a Hollywood production.

Although the film is the only MonsterVerse movie to underperform (which wasn't helped by its mixed reviews), Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a spectacle for the ages that deserves to be seen on the biggest screen imaginable. This is where the MonsterVerse truly begins to feel like a shared universe of monsters, and the film is worth it alone for that gobsmacking final act. Long live the King, indeed!

Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)

Release date: March 31, 2021
Director: Adam Wingard
Cast: Alexander Skarsgård, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Shun Oguri, Eiza González, Julian Dennison, Lance Reddick, Kyle Chandler, Demián Bichir

The moment that Godzilla and Kong fans had been waiting to see since the beginning of the MonsterVerse franchise, Godzilla vs. Kong was a major turning point for the franchise. On one hand, it was the endgame that it had all been building towards so it needed to be a strong payoff to that storytelling. However, it also had to appeal to fans of the original 1962 movie King Kong vs. Godzilla, perform well after the previous film underperformed and in the middle of a pandemic.

But Godzilla vs. Kong did become a major turning point as it arrived to rave reviews and record-breaking pandemic numbers at the box office, showing us all that fun can just be loud, outlandish and look like two iconic movie monsters battling it out for supremacy. And if there is one thing that you can guarantee you'll get from this one, it's fun.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters (2023 - present)

Release date: November 17, 2023 - present (ongoing, renewed for season 2)
Original network: Apple TV+
Cast: Anna Sawai, Kiersey Clemons, Ren Watabe, Mari Yamamoto, Anders Holm, Joe Tippett, Wyatt Russell, Kurt Russell, Elisa Lasowski

After Godzilla vs. Kong took the MonsterVerse to a crossroads, the franchise decided to move forward with a new movie and delve into the story's past. We'll get to the former in a few moments, but the latter came in the form of a brand new Apple TV+ series centred on the organization that deals with all these Titans: Monarch. We are so, so glad that this one came along.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is told in two timelines: The first is centred in the "present", bridging the gap between Godzilla and Godzilla: King of Monsters, while the other is centred in the past, taking us back to the '50s to explore the origins of Monarch after the first sighting of Godzilla. Father and son duo Kurt and Wyatt Russell play the same character in different timelines, and both of them are exceptional in this thrilling cinematic series.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)

Release date: March 29, 2024
Director: Adam Wingard
Cast: Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Dan Stevens, Kaylee Hottle, Alex Ferns, Fala Chen

After putting their differences aside in Godzilla vs. Kong, thw two powerhouse Titans team up to battle a new threat from the underworld who looks to exact dominance over the Titans as their new leader. Naturally, the Eighth Wonder of the World and the King of the Monsters have something to say - or roar - about that and take it upon themselves to teach this new creature a lesson.

This is where the franchise throws caution to the wind and just becomes an all-out, off-the-wall, outlandish spectacle and it has a fun time doing that - meaning that we, as audiences, do the same. The New Empire received a positive response from moviegoers and it surprisingly became the highest-grossing movie in the franchise, once again guaranteeing its future.

UPCOMING: Godzilla x Kong: Supernova (2027)

Release date: March 26, 2027
Director: Grant Sputore
Cast: Kaitlyn Dever, Dan Stevens, Jack O'Connell, Matthew Modine, Delroy Lindo, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Sam Neill

After the success of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, a third crossover between the two icons was greenlit. Very little is known about this one, but it was fast-tracked due to its predecessor's overperformance, and production is underway. It also features a star-studded cast, including the legendary duo of Sam Neill and Matthew Modine, The Last of Us star Kaitlyn Dever, and Fear The Walking Dead's Alycia Debnam-Carey.

How to watch the MonsterVerse movies and shows in chronological order

If you would like the Godzilla and Kong stories of the MonsterVerse told in chronological order, you can watch the films in a somewhat different way. We know that Kong: Skull Island takes place in the 1970s, so that is technically the first story in the timeline. Granted, half of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters' story takes place even earlier in the 1950s, but as the other half of that narrative requires you to have seen Godzilla, it's best to watch it after that movie instead.

Taking all of that into account, here is the best order to watch the MonsterVerse in the order of when each major event takes place in the overall timeline.

And just like that, you now know how to watch the MonsterVerse movies in order. Whether you're planning on checking the franchise out in the order that its titles were released or experiencing the story in sequence, you are now fully prepared to catch up on the stories of these versions of Godzilla and King Kong ahead of their return to screens in 2027's Supernova!