Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a 2019 American monster film directed and co-written by Michael Dougherty. Produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is a sequel to Godzilla (2014), the third film in Legendary's Monsterverse franchise, and the 35th film in the Godzilla franchise. The film stars 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, and Zhang Ziyi. In the film, eco-terrorists release King Ghidorah, who awakens other "Titans" across the world, forcing Godzilla and Mothra to surface and engage Ghidorah and Rodan in a decisive battle.

The sequel was greenlit during the opening weekend of Godzilla, with Gareth Edwards expected to return to direct a trilogy. In May 2016, Edwards left the project. In October 2016, Dougherty and Shields were hired to rewrite the script. In January 2017, Dougherty was announced as the director. Principal photography began in June 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia, and wrapped in September 2017. The film is dedicated to executive producer Yoshimitsu Banno (director of Godzilla vs. Hedorah) and original Godzilla suit performer Haruo Nakajima, both of whom died in 2017.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters was theatrically released on May 31, 2019, to mixed reviews from critics, with praise for its visual effects, action sequences, cinematography, and musical score but with criticism to the plot, pacing, tone and characters. The film was a box office disappointment, grossing $387.3 million worldwide against a production budget of $170–200 million and marketing costs of $100–150 million, marking it the lowest-grossing film in the Monsterverse though it performed slightly better internationally.

A sequel, Godzilla vs. Kong, was released on March 24, 2021.

Plot

Five years after the revelation of giant monsters, called "Titans", Dr. Emma Russell, a paleobiologist working for the Titan-studying organization Monarch, and her daughter Madison witness the birth of a giant larva named Mothra. Emma calms Mothra with the "Orca", a device that emits bioacoustic frequencies to attract Titans or alter their behavior. A group of eco-terrorists, led by former British Army Colonel Alan Jonah, attacks the base and abducts Emma and Madison, while Mothra flees and pupates under a nearby waterfall.

Monarch scientists Dr. Ishirō Serizawa and Vivienne Graham approach former employee Dr. Mark Russell, Emma's ex-husband and Madison's father, to help track them down. Mark is initially reluctant due to his hatred toward Godzilla, whom he blames for his son Andrew's death in San Francisco, but eventually agrees. The Monarch team follows Godzilla to Antarctica, where Jonah plans to free a three-headed Titan codenamed "Monster Zero". Emma frees and awakens Monster Zero, which kills Graham and other members of Monarch's team, battles Godzilla, and flies off. The Monarch team realizes that Emma is working with the terrorists. From a bunker, Emma contacts Monarch, arguing that the Titans must all be awakened to heal Earth from the human impact on the environment, pointing to Monarch research indicating that Titans can terraform and replenish ecosystems using their radiation.

Conflicted, Madison begs her mother to reconsider, but Emma awakens Rodan in Mexico, who is lured toward Monster Zero. Monster Zero defeats Rodan and pursues the Monarch team, but Godzilla ambushes him, severing his left head. During the fight, the U.S. military launches a prototype weapon called the "Oxygen Destroyer", which seemingly kills Godzilla, but does not affect Monster Zero, who regrows his lost head and awakens the other dormant Titans worldwide; Rodan, who survived, submits to his rule. Horrified and disillusioned, Madison disowns Emma.

Through analyzing Monster Zero's abilities and mythological texts, Monarch deduces that he is King Ghidorah, a highly destructive alien who likely seeks to xenoform Earth to his liking. A fully transformed Mothra flies to Monarch's Bermuda base to communicate with Godzilla, who is recuperating in an ancient, radioactive underwater city, which the Monarch team discovers in a nuclear submarine. Deducing that it will take too long for Godzilla to heal on his own, Serizawa sacrifices himself by manually detonating a nuclear warhead next to Godzilla to speed up the process. The explosion destroys Godzilla's lair, but revives him and increases his power.

Emma realizes that Ghidorah's reign over the other Titans is bringing destruction far worse than anything humans could inflict, but Jonah ignores her pleas to try and stop it. Madison overhears her mother's plan to lure Ghidorah to Boston using the Orca, and steals the device to implement it herself. Arriving at Fenway Park, she broadcasts a frequency that calms the Titans, but unwittingly attracts them to her location. Ghidorah, attracted by the frequency, lands in Boston and almost kills Madison, but Godzilla, backed up by Monarch and military forces, arrives to battle him. Mark leads a team to rescue Madison, while learning that Godzilla's radiation levels are still increasing and will lead to a thermonuclear explosion. Mothra arrives to help Godzilla, but she is intercepted by Rodan, whom she defeats despite sustaining injuries.

Ghidorah overpowers Godzilla, but Mothra sacrifices herself and transfers her energy to Godzilla. The Russells are reunited and reactivate the Orca to lure Ghidorah away from Godzilla, buying time for him to recover. Emma stays behind with the Orca to distract Ghidorah, allowing her family and the Monarch team to escape. After absorbing Mothra's energy, Godzilla enters a newly empowered state and vaporizes Ghidorah's body and Emma with several nuclear pulses, before incinerating Ghidorah's remaining head with his atomic breath. Rodan and several other Titans converge on Godzilla and bow to him.

During the end credits, news clippings and Monarch public files show that the Titans are healing Earth, a suspected second Mothra egg has been discovered, and some Titans are converging on Skull Island. Ancient cave paintings depict Godzilla and a Kong-like Titan locked in battle. In a post-credits scene, Jonah and his forces purchase Ghidorah's decapitated left head in Mexico.

Cast

Kyle Chandler as Dr. Mark Russell:Emma's ex-husband, Madison's father, an animal behavior and communication specialist who formerly worked for Monarch, and co-inventor of the "Orca", a device that enables communication with the Titans, but can also "potentially control them using their bioacoustics on a sonar level". After suffering the loss of his son, Mark has an unfavorable opinion of the Titans, Godzilla in particular. Despite this, he joins a rescue mission along with Dr. Serizawa and Dr. Graham to save Emma and Madison from Alan Jonah and his terrorist group. Chandler spoke of the film's themes being about "healing the planet". Vera Farmiga as Dr. Emma Russell:Mark's ex-wife, Madison's mother and a renegade Monarch paleobiologist with a history of environmental activism in league with eco-terrorist Alan Jonah. She is the co-inventor of the Orca. Unlike Mark, Emma believes that humans and Titans can co-exist peacefully. She does not see Godzilla as evil, but as a potential savior in an age of catastrophic climate change. Farmiga stated that Emma views Godzilla in the same manner one views Mother Nature, specifying, "when these devastating natural occurrences come, it's because the environment has been mistreated and is showing righteous anger." Emma and Madison conspire with a mysterious organization interested in her technology, with their own plans for the creatures. Farmiga described her character as being a "DJ for the monsters", stating, "she has figured out a way to communicate with the creatures", she also described the film being about "saving the environment". Farmiga noted that while the previous film focused on a father/son relationship, King of the Monsters focuses on a mother/daughter relationship. Due to this, Farmiga believes the film may pass the Bechdel test. Millie Bobby Brown as Madison Russell:Emma and Mark's 12-year-old daughter. Scientifically gifted like her parents, Madison seeks to follow in her mother's footsteps. Although she is a co-conspirator in her mother's plan to release the Titans, Madison is more conflicted about it and Emma tricked her into it with lies and half-truths, claiming that it was to help people and save the world in Andrew's memory. Lexi Rabe as Young Madison Russell Bradley Whitford as Dr. Rick Stanton:A crypto-sonographer working for Monarch. Dougherty confirmed that Dr. Stanton is loosely modeled after Rick Sanchez from Rick and Morty. Dougherty had the character "drink a lot" to keep the character in line with the spirit of Sanchez. Sally Hawkins as Dr. Vivienne Graham:A paleozoologist working for Monarch as Serizawa's right-hand woman. Hawkins reprises her role from Godzilla (2014). Charles Dance as Alan Jonah:A former British Army SAS Colonel and MI-6 agent who defected after becoming disillusioned by humanity during his time in the service. Obsessed with "leveling the global playing field" and restoring the natural order, he became the mercenary leader of an anarchist eco-terrorist group funded through the trafficking of Titan DNA. He conspires with Emma to help her use the Orca to further their shared agenda. Dougherty described Jonah as a mysterious character with conflicting ideas about the Titans' role in the world, believing that mankind has damaged the planet and that bringing back the Titans will potentially set things right. Thomas Middleditch as Sam Coleman:Monarch's Director of Technology, leader on the development of the Monarch Sciences network, and communications liaison with the U.S. government. Aisha Hinds as Colonel Diane Foster:A decorated Green Beret and the leader of the G-Team, the special military branch established by Monarch specializing in battles involving Titans if necessary. O'Shea Jackson Jr. as Jackson Barnes:A Green Beret chief warrant officer who is a member of the G-Team David Strathairn as Admiral William Stenz:An Admiral in the 7th Fleet of the United States Navy. He is the commander of the U.S. Navy task force and was previously in charge of tracking down the MUTOs. Strathairn reprises his role from Godzilla (2014). Ken Watanabe as Dr. Ishirō Serizawa:A high-ranking scientist working for Monarch. His father Eiji Serizawa was one of Monarch's founding members, so he is seen by many as the agency's de facto leader. Watanabe reprises his role from Godzilla (2014). Watanabe noted the film's themes, stating, "In the 21st century we need to think about natural disasters. This creature is symbolic of that natural disaster. We cannot control them, but we must live on this planet."