Godzilla and King Kong – A Shared History

There are few greater cinematic spectacles than the clash of two giant monsters. It has long been a staple of blockbusters dating back to the 1950s. From Freddie vs Jason to Alien vs Predator; Dracula vs Frankenstein to Mega Shark vs Giant Octopus. Those may not me the strongest examples, but there is one cinematic monster who has fought all comers – Godzilla. The legendary Japanese kaiju has fought a litany of different monsters, demons, robots and giants during his time on screen. However, few have given Godzilla a run for his money in the way that King Kong has. With Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire hitting cinemas in March 2024, it's perhaps a good time to look back at their respective histories and their two previous encounters on the silver screen. 

King Kong made his debut in 1933, in the eponymous film that became an iconic fixture of American cinema with Fay Wray playing the damsel in distress opposite the giant ape. The film was a major success for RKO Pictures, spawning a number of sequels and a place in the cultural landscape. King Kong's ascent up the Empire State Building and battle with the planes while grasping Wray's character is one of the most enduring scenes from cinema in the 1930s and maintains its status as a cultural touchpoint almost a century later. 

In the opposite corner, Godzilla first appeared in 1954 in the Toho produced film of the same name, destroying much of Tokyo (possibly as an allegory for nuclear weapons) and spawning an iconic monster that has continued to appear in Toho films up to the present day with the recent critical and commercial success of Godzilla: Minus One. The first Godzilla film would also receive an international release as Godzilla: King of the Monsters, albeit in highly edited form and featuring the introduction of Raymond Burr as the main character and a radically different plot. This did serve to create international interest in Godzilla, although not enough for the sequel Godzilla Raids Again to be re-cut in a similar fashion for an American audience and renamed “Gigantis: The Fire Monster”. 

In the early 1960s, Toho secured the rights to use King Kong's name and likeness in a film, and naturally there was only one foe who made sense, Godzilla. There were legal issues, Merian C. Cooper, the co-creator of King Kong, was highly opposed to the project and attempted to block the film from seeing the light of day. Cooper was unsuccessful and Toho produced King Kong vs Godzilla in 1962. Interestingly King Kong is largely presented as the stronger of two titans in this incarnation, presumably due to his name value and cultural status. After a convoluted plot with Kong being brought to Tokyo from Faro Island, the monsters have two major face offs during the film. One ending after Godzilla counters Kong's rock attacks with his atomic breath, causing burns to Kong, and ending with Kong retreating. The second, and climactic battle features Kong being transported to Mount Fuji where he once again grapples with Godzilla, initially outmatched until a lightning bolt brings him back to the fight and allows him to overcome Godzilla, plunging them both into the ocean, where only Kong emerges. 

King Kong vs Godzilla was an enormous hit for Toho, becoming one of it's highest grossing films in Japan and with a re-edited, dubbed version proving very popular internationally. While Toho would utilise the Kong character further in King Kong Escapes, attempts at a sequel and a rematch with Godzilla would never materialise and they lost the rights to the King Kong character soon after. 

It would be many years before Kong and Godzilla would once again share a screen with Godzilla having a revival in the 1980s and a successful run of Japanese films. Before the much maligned 1998 American adaptation helmed by Roland Emmerich, and then a return to Japanese-only productions for over a decade. Importantly during this time period Godzilla would often be portrayed as a protector or hero, something which would become more common as the film series grew.

For his part, Kong would have several less successful outings onscreen in the 1970s and 1980s, including a remake of the original film starring Jeff Bridges and Jessica Lange that performed well, but is largely forgotten. There was also the 1986 effort King Kong Lives , starring Linda Hamilton that fared far less well critically and commercially.  Kong would remain on ice until a big budget remake of the 1930s classic came about in 2005 under the stewardship of Peter Jackson, with Naomi Watts, Jack Black, Adrian Brody and Andy Serkis among the cast. The film was highly successful, but any plans for a sequel were shelved. 

Enter The Monsterverse.

With the success of Godzilla (2014) and Kong: Skull Island (2017), as well as the growth of Legendary Pictures “Monsterverse” meant that a return bout between the two behemoths seemed inevitable, and in 2021 that rematch took place in Godzilla vs Kong. Their first battle mirrors the meeting in King Kong vs Godzilla with Kong not at full strength and having recently awoken on a raft and Godzilla claiming victory. Their later, longer, more intense face-off takes place in Hong Kong with buildings and landmarks destroyed in the process. It's a monster fight on an epic scale previously unseen. Despite being entirely CGI generated, it remains unmatched for scale and fun in a monster movie featuring two giant creatures facing off. While Godzilla again emerges victorious, he eventually joins forces with Kong and there's an acknowledgement of mutual respect before they go their separate ways. 

In terms of cinematic battles, Godzilla and King Kong have proved to be equals, both capable of immense destruction but also able to act in a role of defender for the human race. As such the idea of a team up between the two in Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire is an intriguing prospect. But, given both have claims to be an alpha in the “monsterverse” it seems only a matter of time before that fragile truce comes to an end. Another battle between the two most dominant monsters in cinema history once again come to blows in spectacular fashion feels inevitable.

Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire is in UK cinemas from March 29