Why Do Monsterverse Movies Keep the Spotlight on Kong?

The new relationship between Godzilla and Kong is fascinating. Godzilla has had a ton of rivals over the years. Some didn’t last, but many became iconic enemies. Godzilla and Kong shared one brawl in the 1960s before spending several decades apart. Now, they’re the twin stars of the Monsterverse, but they don’t always get equal billing. Godzilla started the franchise with his 2014 reboot and earned a second solo project in 2019, but he seems less central to the crossovers. Godzilla x Kong centers on Kong, but why?

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is the highest-grossing film in both Godzilla and King Kong’s filmographies. The movie claimed second place at this year’s box office before Inside Out 2 came along and shoved everything down one spot. This massive financial victory for Legendary and Warner Bros. will likely push the franchise into future sequels. Those follow-ups might take a lot from the recent hit, but they could also deliberately steer away from its blueprint.

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This mighty Pteranodon is one of very few kaiju who appear in the classic Toho series and the modern Monsterverse.

Godzilla x Kong and Godzilla vs. Kong center on King Kong

The headlining moments of the two most recent Monsterverse productions appear in the title. Fans showed up in 2021 to see Godzilla fight King Kong. They returned to the theater three years later to see Godzilla and Kong put aside their differences to face a greater threat again. Viewers absolutely got what they came for both times. However, very few films can sustain momentum for over 100 minutes with only one fight scene, so they needed other stuff to do. Both follow human characters as they investigate the comings and goings of various Titans in and around the Hollow Earth. When those humans encounter Kong, they treat him as a friend. Kaylee Hottle’s Jia, a deaf native of Kong’s home, exists primarily to allow Kong to communicate with the English-speaking heroes. The plot of both films involves humanity helping Kong reach or reclaim his home. He is consistently framed as the hero. Godzilla x Kong even gives him the first few minutes to establish his home life. Godzilla doesn’t get a spokesperson.

Godzilla is, at least at first, the antagonist of both crossover films. He wreaks havoc all over the world, kills some other Titans, and sets the stage for the battle with Kong. The first film treats him as a violent, territorial animal seeking to needlessly kill an old rival. The sequel sees him butcher a few other Titans to prepare himself for the rematch. While the camera frames Kong inside the beautiful painted environment of the Hollow Earth, it tracks Godzilla like he’s the shark from Jaws. When Godzilla and Kong meet again in their second crossover, Godzilla immediately attacks. Only Mothra’s calming influence can pull him off of the ape without a fight. Godzilla comes across as a selfless hero, defending humanity from evil monsters before returning to his home in the sea in his solo films. However, in his collaborations with Kong, Godzilla is a menace who only agrees to work together against an existential threat. Why is Kong a main character while Godzilla feels like a secondary antagonist?

King Kong and Godzilla have very different source material

Yes, Godzilla and King Kong are both giant monsters. They both attack cities and destroy things, much to the delight of audiences. They are, however, very different in tone, context, and metaphorical weight. Godzilla is the living embodiment of the atomic bomb. He began life as a villain but gradually attained more heroic roles in future outings. Even when Godzilla is the hero, he’s still something of an unknown quantity. He starts almost every movie deep beneath the ocean and returns to the same location by the end. King Kong is a more central figure. Kong stands in for many themes. His story is about many of the fears that gripped America in the thirties. It’s about the crimes of slavery and colonialism, the abuse of nature, and the American response to its own sins.

Kong is never the villain of his story, though his outrage has collateral damage. Humanity comes to Kong, drags him into the spotlight, and forces his hand. Godzilla steps out of the sea to defend or destroy, then returns after he’s finished. The difference in perspective prompts the Monsterverse to use Kong as a point-of-view character and Godzilla as an encroaching threat. Godzilla is the storm, while Kong is the hero who must weather, redirect, and wield it for the good of humanity. Godzilla may still be the atomic bomb, but that would mean Kong is the soldier, scientist, or bureaucrat who presses the button. Kong stands with the heroes, briefly taming the greatest weapon ever created for the purpose of saving the world. At the end of it all, Kong and Godzilla agree to live in harmony, but only as long as they remain outside each other’s territory. The Monsterverse views Godzilla as something to be wielded responsibly and carefully left alone.

Could Godzilla lead the next Monsterverse movie?

Godzilla x Kong director Adam Wingard suggested that the next Monsterverse movie would center on Godzilla in the same way the previous one did Kong. Fans would see a day in the life of the King of the Monsters, learn his routines, and finally perceive him as something other than a combatant. Every Monsterverse movie featuring Kong gives the ape a moment to show off his default state. Skull Island sees him hunt, eat, bathe, and relax in his titular home. It’s time to give Godzilla a similar spotlight. Let him lead the film, live as the animal everyone always describes him as, and finally enjoy the heroic spotlight he deserves.

Some might naturally assume that Kong usually gets the spotlight because he is closer to humanity than Godzilla. That’s almost certainly a factor. Many will always relate more easily to something that looks a little more like them. However, humanizing the monsters isn’t necessarily the point. Godzilla x Kong sees Kong find a home, free his people, and adopt a son. Meanwhile, Godzilla just keeps doing the same cyclical routine of killing and sleeping. Let Godzilla act as something more than a walking bomb. If the Monsterverse wants to elevate the King of the Monsters, they have to give him time to grow.