The king of monsters is back in top form once again in his latest film, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. If you want to know why Godzilla’s kaiju status is such a big deal, keep reading.
Kaiju means “strange beast” in Japanese and is pretty much the standard term referring to any giant monster in media. Not only is Godzilla considered a kaiju, but he’s also the most influential kaiju of all time.
The original Godzilla, directed by Ishirō Honda, is a post-war disaster movie where Godzilla is a huge metaphor for a nuclear apocalypse. Given that the film came after the incredibly evil bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, many Japanese directors responded to the trauma through art.
As No Film School says, Godzilla wasn’t the first kaiju in film history, as that honor would go to the 1925 film The Lost World, but the 1954 film Godzilla would go on to establish many of the genre’s tropes and influence cinema forevermore. The 1933 film King Kong is also enormously influential in the kaiju genre, which is why this upcoming team-up between Godzilla and Kong in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is so exciting.
Directed by Adam Wingard, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is the latest Godzilla movie to feature the iconic beast. Wingard has previously worked on the movies The Guest, You’re Next, Death Note, and Blair Witch (2016). The film releases in cinemas on March 29, 2024, in the U.S. and features the following cast: Rebecca Hall as Dr. Ilene Andrews, Brian Tyree Henry as Bernie Hayes, Dan Stevens as Trapper, Kaylee Hottle as Jia, Alex Ferns as Mikael, Fala Chen as Iwi Queen, and Rachel House as Hampton.
Unlike previous Godzilla movies like Shin Godzilla and Godzilla Minus One, Godzilla will be uniting with a familiar kaiju this time around: King Kong. Kong needs Godzilla’s help to prevent the Titans from wiping out his species. Godzilla x Kong is a direct sequel to the 2021 film Godzilla vs. Kong. Who doesn’t love a good enemies-to-allies story?
(featured image: Warner Bros. Pictures)
