Warning: Major spoilers for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire below!

Summary

• Godzilla and Kong join forces to defeat the Skar King, utilizing new Titan Shimo's ice-breathing abilities.
• Kong finds a surrogate family in the Hollow Earth and frees enslaved apes with young Suko's help.
• The film's ending hints at a potential Son of Kong sequel in the MonsterVerse's future.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire sees the iconic kaijus reluctantly teaming up to stop an apocalyptic threat, with help from some old and new friends. The MonsterVerse franchise's latest entry sees Godzilla defending the surface world while Kong explores the Hollow Earth. Their paths are soon on a collision course when Kong unearths a hidden layer of the Hollow Earth and discovers an enslaved race of apes, ruled by the cruel Skar King. Meanwhile, a mysterious distress signal calls both The New Empire's human cast of characters and Godzilla himself down to the Hollow Earth.

It is revealed - thanks to some conveniently placed wall carvings - that Godzilla was the one who trapped the Skar King, who now wants to break free to the surface. Once there, Godzilla x Kong's main villain plans to use an ice-breathing Titan to cause a new ice age. A reborn Mothra unites Godzilla, Kong and the human characters, and after a tough battle both in the Hollow Earth and the world above, the Skar King is slain and a second ice age averted. Kong returns to the Hollow Earth, while Godzilla takes a well-earned nap in Rome's Colosseum.

Godzilla & Kong Defeat Skar King With Shimo's Help

Godzilla x Kong's ice-breathing Titan is enslaved by the Skar King

Skar King is seeking revenge for being trapped inside the Hollow Earth after his last bout with Godzilla and decides revenge is a dish best served icy cold. In addition to having enslaved most of the apes, he also has a Titan called Shimo under his control. The simian Titan uses a special crystal capable of causing Shimo intense pain, and while she doesn't want to fight on the Skar King's behalf, the kaiju has her completely under his command.

Godzilla, Kong and Shimo gang up on the Skar King in the finale, with the ice-breathing Titan freezing the kaiju with her frost breath. When Kong notices one of the Skar King's eyes is still moving, he smashes the frozen Titan to pieces.

That is until Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire's finale, where the kaijus clash in Rio de Janeiro. After a gruelling fight, Kong's new ape pal Suko smashes the crystal the Skar King has been using to control Shimo. Now free of his influence, Godzilla, Kong and Shimo gang up on the Skar King, with the ice-breathing Titan freezing the kaiju with her frost breath. When Kong notices one of the Skar King's eyes is still moving, he smashes the frozen Titan to pieces.

In introducing Shimo and the Skar King, Godzilla x Kong gave the MonsterVerse Titans some worthy foes to battle. Despite her world-ending potential, Shimo is really far too adorable and sympathetic to be a true villain and reveals her true colors once freed of her captor's influence.

Shimo's appearance was first teased in the graphic novel Godzilla x Kong: The Hunted when Kong looks at a cave painting of her.

Kong & Suko Return To Hollow Earth To Free The Apes

Kong has finally found the family he was seeking

When Godzilla x Kong opens, the latter Titan cuts a lonely figure. He came to the Hollow Earth because he needed a new home - following the destruction of Skull Island - and to seek others of his own kind. When the story begins, his search looks hopeless, until he happens upon an entrance to the Hollow Earth's hidden depths. This is where he meets the young ape Suko, who initially tries to ambush him, but they soon form a nice father/son bond.

Suko proves invaluable in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire's finale when he shatters Shimo's crystal. Having averted a new ice age, Kong, Suko and Shimo return to the cave where the Skar King's slaves reside and frees them. Having spent so many decades alone, The New Empire finally gives Kong the new family he has been searching for.

How Mothra Is Alive In Godzilla x Kong

Godzilla x Kong kept Mothra out of the sequel's marketing

Mothra is one of the Godzilla movie franchise's most iconic kaijus and made her debut in the MonsterVerse during 2019's Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Mothra sacrificed herself in King of the Monsters's finale to save Godzilla, but she returns once again in the latest MonsterVerse adventure. Mothra's return ties into the human storyline of The New Empire, where Rebecca Hall's Dr. Ilene Andrews takes adoptive daughter Jia (Kaylee Hottle) - who is seemingly the last of the Iwi tribe - into the Hollow Earth to investigate a kaiju signal.

Following an Iwi ceremony, Jia revives Mothra, who soon flies to the surface to break up the latest brawl between Godzilla and Kong.

During Godzilla x Kong's second act, Ilene, Jia, Bernie (Brian Tyree Henry) and Dan Stevens' Trapper find an Iwi tribe living deep within the Hollow Earth. Jia and the tribe are psychically linked, and there is an Iwi prophecy stating Jia must bring Mothra back to life to stop the Skar King for good. Following an Iwi ceremony, Jia revives Mothra, who soon flies to the surface to break up the latest brawl between Godzilla and Kong. In the final battle, she stays behind to hold off the Skar King's troops while Kong and Godzilla chase the monster through a portal.

Godzilla's Supercharged Form & How He Gets More Powerful

Godzilla levels up before his Hollow Earth trip

Just like 2021's Godzilla vs Kong, the King of the Monsters doesn't get much screentime in The New Empire. When the movie opens, Godzilla is battling other Titans that occasionally emerge to menace mankind, but when he senses something is brewing in the Hollow Earth, he charges up on radiation. This includes seeking out the serpent Titan Tiamet, who also appeared in the comic spinoff Godzilla Dominion.

Godzilla and Tiamet then have a nasty underwater fight, though the former quickly emerges the winner. Godzilla then absorbs all the energy from Tiamet's lair to "supercharge" himself, giving him a distinctive pink color scheme when the process is complete. This makes his atomic blasts even more powerful and comes in especially useful during Godzilla x Kong's ending.

Kong's Power Glove Upgrade Explained

Godzilla x Kong introduces the B.E.A.S.T. Glove

The trailers for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire have been proudly showing off Kong's new mechanical gauntlet. This glove is saved for the final act, and while it might help sell Kong toys in real life, it serves a story function too. The Titan's first encounter with Shimo does not end well, and Kong receives severe frostbite on his right arm. Realising Kong is in no condition for the upcoming battle against the Skar King, the human characters recall a prototype gauntlet was constructed following the events of Godzilla vs Kong.

The characters of Jia, Dr. Ilene Andrews and Bernie all return from Godzilla vs Kong.

In that MonsterVerse installment, the two Titans teamed to fight MechaGodzilla, and they both barely survived. Monarch thus built the B.E.A.S.T. Glove prototype to give Kong some help if a similar, MechaGodzilla-shaped challenge presented itself, though the project was ultimately abandoned. Thankfully, the gauntlet was shipped to the Hollow Earth, so Trapper retrieves it from a Monarch base, attaches it to Kong's wounded arm and restores him to fighting shape. The B.E.A.S.T. Glove packs a suitably hefty punch, being able to demolish buildings in one hit.

How Godzilla x Kong's Ending Sets Up The Monsterverse's Future

Is Son of Kong the next MonsterVerse sequel?

The sequel breaks with tradition from most cinematic universes by featuring no Godzilla x Kong post-credits scenes of any kind. Instead, just about everyone receives a happy ending. Jia decides to return to the surface with Ilene instead of staying behind with the Iwi tribe, while Bernie and Trapper become new best friends. Godzilla returns to the Colosseum to rest until the next Titan threat emerges, while Kong, Suko and Shimo return to the Hollow Earth.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire doesn't set up any future Titan threats and is something of a standalone adventure. That said, Kong and Suko becoming a surrogate family suggests the next Kong movie will be Son of Kong. The giant ape hasn't had a solo adventure since Kong: Skull Island and this sounds like a promising direction to head in. Even so, it also suggests Suko could eventually take the reins and that Kong could die in a future MonsterVerse sequel.

Source: Rotten Tomatoes, The Numbers