Monsterverse Timeline Explained: ‘Godzilla’ to ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ (Watch Order)

Now spanning well over ten years and over eight projects, Legendary’s Monsterverse remains one of the most lucrative franchises to date. Ahead of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Season 2, many people are catching up on the franchise. Here is an exhaustive timeline of the films and series in the Monsterverse timeline, with both timeline order and release order specified.

Monsterverse Timeline Order

‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ Season 1 Flashbacks (1952-1959)

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Season 1 features two timelines, one in the present day and one in the 50s. The 50s timeline follows a young Lee Shaw (Wyatt Russell), Keiko (Mari Yamamoto) and Bill Randa (Anders Holm) as they develop the foundations of Monarch. This ties more into the other timeline of the show, but no spoilers!

‘Kong: Skull Island’ (1973)

Kong: Skull Island opens with a prologue in 1944 showing two pilots who encounter Kong on Skull Island.

Most of the film takes place in 1973, showing a team of scientists (Brie Larson, John Goodman, John Ortiz, Corey Hawkins) and Vietnam War soldiers (Tom Hiddleston, Samuel L Jackson, Toby Kebbell) travel to the island and encounter several monsters, including Kong.

Untitled ‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ Cold War Spin-Off

Not much is known about the first Monarch: Legacy of Monsters spin-off but we do know that it will follow Lee Shaw (again played by Wyatt Russell) in the Cold War era as he attempts to stop Russian forces from unleashing a Titan that could spell the end of the world.

‘Skull Island’ (1993)

The only Netflix release on this list, Skull Island, takes place 20 years after the events of Kong: Skull Island and sees a group of explorers search for a missing girl stranded at sea, but soon find themselves stranded on the island where they meet Kong.

‘Godzilla’ (2014)

The film features a prologue, set in 1954, where scientists attempt to kill Godzilla in Bikini Atoll with nuclear weapons. It is later revealed that a 1954 deep sea expedition awakened Godzilla.

In 1999, Monarch scientists investigate a cavern in a uranium mine that showcases a skeleton in similar size to Godzilla. Meanwhile, an earthquake causes a meltdown in a Japanese nuclear facility.

In 2014, where most of the film takes place, a Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organism (MUTO) hatches from a facility secretly erected in the old reactor, and another emerges in Nevada, leading MUTOs to destroy cities across the globe (dubbed “D-Day”) before Godzilla kills them with atomic blasts.

‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ Season 1 (2014-2017)

One year after the D-Day attack on San Francisco, half-siblings Cate (Anna Sawai) and Kentaro Randa (Ren Watabe) learn about their missing father Hiroshi’s (Takehiro Hira) connection to Monarch, attempting to track him down after he goes missing, which is only complicated when a century-old, but not decrepit Lee Shaw (Kurt Russell) shows up. The finale sees Cate, May (Kiersey Clemons), and Keiko in 2017, meaning Season 2 will likely lead into Godzilla: King of the Monsters.

‘Godzilla: King of the Monsters’ (2019)

Set five years after D-Day, the film follows Monarch scientists (Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown, Sally Hawkins) after an eco-terrorist group attacks and attempts to free King Ghidorah, another Titan. The film also introduces Mothra and Rodan.

‘Godzilla vs Kong’ (2024)

Following the events of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Kong is being monitored by Monarch on Skull Island and is soon transported to the Hollow Earth, where he is attacked by Godzilla mid-transit, and soon the two must fight, or team up and fight an even bigger threat. The film introduces Mecha-Godzilla.

‘Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire’ (2027)

In the Hollow Earth, Kong encounters more members of his species but soon must reteam with Godzilla in order to stop the villainous Skar King from invading the Earth. The film introduces Trapper, played by Dan Stevens, who will return in the upcoming sequel to the film.

‘Godzilla x Kong: Supernova’

Godzilla x Kong: Supernova does not have many plot details as of yet, but will bring back Trapper, as well as introduce roles for Kaitlyn Dever, Jack O’Connell, and Delroy Lindo. Due to it being a sequel, we can assume it releases after The New Empire.

Monsterverse Release Order

• Godzilla (2014)
• Kong: Skull Island (2017)
• Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
• Godzilla vs Kong (2021)
• Skull Island Season 1 (2023)
• Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Season 1 (2023)
• Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)
• Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Season 2 (2026)
• Godzilla x Kong: Supernova (2027)
• Untitled Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Cold War Spin-Off (TBA)

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Season 2 stars Kurt Russell, Wyatt Russell, Anna Sawai, Kiersey Clemons, Ren Watabe, Mari Yamamoto, Joe Tippett, Anders Holm, and Amber Midthunder.

Thanks for reading this Monsterverse watch order article. For more, stay tuned here at Feature First.