How old is Godzilla? There are several things to keep in mind when dating the giant monster. Godzilla first appeared in 1954 with the Toho film, Gojira, which was a monster movie that played on the horrors of World War II, and specifically the radiation coming after the dropping of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The entire idea of this monster was the fear of a nuclear holocaust in post-war Japan. However, things changed as the franchise moved on, with Godzilla becoming an anti-hero who battled other monsters.

The American MonsterVerse has made more changes to the Godzilla mythology. While Toho is still going strong with its recent Oscar-winning Godzilla Minus One, the MonsterVerse has re-introduced Godzilla with Mothra, King Ghidorah, King Kong, and a mysterious organization called Monarch. Through it all, Legendary has made some significant changes, especially concerning the age of Godzilla. With the new movies and streaming shows, it turns out Godzilla is much older than anyone expected.

Godzilla Is Over 250 Million Years Old

Godzilla’s Age Has Changed Drastically In The MonsterVerse

When examining Godzilla’s age, it is important to understand the monster’s evolution. Since Gojira hit screens in Japan, 11 different versions of Godzilla have been introduced. The original Godzilla (the Shōwa era) lasted throughout most of Toho’s movies and was always seen as the definitive version of the monster. However, the MonsterVerse version is right up there with Toho as far as fans are concerned in today’s society. The two are very different creatures. The Toho Godzilla was mostly a force of nature.

However, the MonsterVerse version had much more exposition with scientists and experts who debated the monster’s age and origin. The graphic novel Godzilla: Awakening stated that Godzilla was 250 million years old. It says that Godzilla woke up when the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. The book reveals he descended from a species called тιтanus Gojira, which evolved in the Permian Period between 250 and 300 million years ago.

The Permian Period was before dinosaurs lived on Earth and was the final period of the Paleozoic Era, which ended with the largest mᴀss extinction in Earth’s history, killing all but 10% of the species present. If this graphic novel is canon, Godzilla survived that time and ended up hibernating. This eliminated the original idea that the atomic bomb created Godzilla, and the bomb instead awakened him.

This also shows that the Toho Godzilla could have woken up from his hibernation, the same as the MonsterVerse version, and he had been asleep for millions of years, connecting these two Godzilla monsters. There are other versions that this does not account for, such as Shin Godzilla, which is very different, has different powers, and likely has a different origin.

However, Greg Keyes, who wrote the novelization of the 2014 movie, said that no one at Legendary believes Godzilla is 250 million years old and that the monster was much younger when he fought the other Kong on Skull Island. According to Keyes, Legendary thinks Godzilla might be under 5 million years old and is a descendant of the original species from the Permian Period. However, until the films specifically place an age on him, the only written age given is 250 million years, which remains canon until a movie disproves this.

Godzilla’s Future In The MonsterVerse Explained

Godzilla’s Future Still Looks Bright In American Movies

The last movie in the MonsterVerse franchise was 2024’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, which saw Kong and Godzilla team up against a tribe of Kong’s species that has lived underground for ages. When he finished directing that movie, Adam Wingard said he had been talking about another movie with Kong and Godzilla (via IGN). He hinted that it could primarily follow Godzilla on a journey of discovery, the same way that Godzilla x Kong followed King Kong. This could have meant that Godzilla might find another of his species.

However, Wingard won’t return for the sequel, and instead, Grant Sputore (I Am Mother) signed on to direct the next movie, with the next Godzilla x Kong movie starting filming in April 2025. New humans will be added to the franchise, with Mathew Modine, Kaitlyn Dever, Jack O’Connell, and Delroy Lindo joining Dan Stevens in the cast. The plot is said to see Kong and Godzilla team up again to face a “cataclysmic world-ending threat.“

However, that isn’t all that is coming for Godzilla. The Apple TV+ series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters was renewed for a second season after the 10-episode first season detailed the Monarch organization’s past (1959) and present (one year after Godzilla’s re-emergence in 2015) actions as they encountered Godzilla and other monsters. Filming on the second season ended in February 2025.

Godzilla

Movie(s)

Godzilla, Godzilla 2, Godzilla 3, Shin Godzilla, Godzilla, Godzilla, Godzilla vs. Kong, Godzilla Minus One, Mothra vs. Godzilla, Godzilla Vs King Kong, Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S., godzilla: monster planet, Godzilla vs. Gigan, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla, Godzilla: Final Wars, King Kong vs. Godzilla, Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II, Godzilla: The Showa Era Films, Godzilla vs. Biollante

Created by

Tomoyuki Tanaka, Akira Watanabe

First Film

Godzilla

Latest Film

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

First Episode Air Date

November 17, 2023

Cast

Akira Takarada, Momoko Kôchi, Akihiko Hirata, Takashi Shimura, Anna Sawai, Kiersey Clemons, Ren Watabe, Kurt Russell, Wyatt Russell

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