During the course of Godzilla X Kong: Supernova, the Legendary Monsterverse needs to rectify a mᴀssive Godzilla problem that has plagued the last two movies in the interconnected cinematic universe. The sixth entry in the Monsterverse is set for a March 2027 release date, and will once again feature the two Alpha тιтans squaring off against a colossal world-ending threat.
The Supernova subтιтle has naturally spawned plenty of theories about who the primary villain will be, with answers ranging from iconic Toho monsters like SpaceGodzilla to unused monsters who have never appeared on the big screen. Despite production already being underway, we are unlikely to get any confirmed plot details for at least a few more months.
Regardless of which direction the narrative for Godzilla X Kong: Supernova goes, there is a significant Godzilla problem that the Monsterverse needs to address. A trend emerged over the last two movies, Godzilla vs. Kong and Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire, that needs to be broken in the upcoming film or there could be disastrous consequences for the Monsterverse.
Godzilla’s Screen Time Needs To Be Higher Than Kong’s In Godzilla X Kong: Supernova
The Monsterverse has done an admirable job of building up the character of Kong into much more than another ally or enemy in Godzilla’s rogues’ gallery. He has a well-defined personality and acts as a stand-in for the Monsterverse’s human audience, as Kong is able to relay the emotional beats of the story when it goes monster-heavy.
As good for Kong’s character as that is, it has come at the expense of the King of Monsters. From a sheer screen time standpoint, Kong has managed to outshine Godzilla despite Godzilla having one extra movie and some scenes in the Apple TV+ Monsterverse tie-in show Monarch: Legacy of Monsters.
Monsterverse – Estimated Screen Time |
||
---|---|---|
Movie/TV Show |
Godzilla Screen Time |
Kong Screen Time |
Godzilla |
~10 minutes |
0 minutes |
Kong: Skull Island |
0 minutes |
~14 minutes |
Godzilla: King of the Monsters |
~11 minutes |
0 minutes |
Godzilla vs. Kong |
~11 minutes |
~16 minutes |
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters |
~4 minutes |
~20 seconds |
Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire |
~9 minutes |
~26 minutes |
In total, Kong has accrued roughly 53–56 minutes of screen time (depending on what you count as screen time), while Godzilla is somewhere around 42–45 minutes. The gap was particularly egregious in the last two movies, peaking with Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire, which saw Godzilla almost reduced to a side character; Kong had over 25 minutes of screen time while Godzilla had under 10.
The Monsterverse desperately needs to shift this ratio back to Godzilla for Godzilla X Kong: Supernova. It’s clear that Kong’s ability to emote and stand in for the audience is what drove the expansion of his arc over the last two movies, but it’s time to explore Godzilla in far more depth.
Exploring Godzilla’s backstory or developing a new character arc should be a top priority, perhaps via the introduction of a son or younger тιтanus Gojira, as some theorize. Godzilla X Kong: Supernova just needs to very clearly operate as a Godzilla-centric movie, to remind audiences who the true King of the Monsters is, and why Godzilla is the most popular monster of all time.