The best order to watch all the Godzilla and Kong MonsterVerse movies

Godzilla and Kong are teaming up to take down a new adversary in their new upcoming movie. But before you head to the theaters to check out Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, it’s worth catching up on everything that’s come before it in Legendary’s MonsterVerse.

While the universe isn’t too extensive, featuring just four movies and one TV show, we’ve still put together a few of the best orders to watch everything in, whether you’re just starting your Godzilla journey or you’re returning to series to remember how Kong and Godzilla teamed up in the first place.

All of the movies except for the upcoming GxK: The New Empire are available to stream on Max (2014’s Godzilla is also available on Netflix). The TV show Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is available to stream on Apple TV Plus.

MonsterVerse chronological order

This is probably the most logical way to watch through these movies, but it’s still a little complicated. Since part of Monarch: Legacy of Monsters takes place back in the 1950s, it’s technically the earliest thing in the MonsterVerse timeline, but since the bulk of its action doesn’t take place until after Godzilla, we’re putting it a little further back. Instead, we start things off in the 1970s with Kong: Skull Island, then progress through the series from there.

• Kong: Skull Island
• Godzilla
• Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
• Godzilla: King of the Monsters
• Godzilla vs. Kong
• Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire

MonsterVerse release order

Image: Legendary

Just like it says on the tin, this is the order these projects were originally released in. This isn’t necessarily the most insightful viewing order, but it is an interesting window into the franchise-building process that led to to this moment. Things started out simple enough, with Gareth Edwards’ excellent and under-appreciated Godzilla film in 2014, then Kong got a movie of his own that took the timeline back to the ‘70s. After that, the series starts becoming more and more about monsters meeting each other, which is how you get both Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Godzilla vs. Kong. The funniest part of all of this is that Apple TV’s Monarch is the only part of the series that’s actually concerned with providing connective tissue between the MonsterVerse’s past, present, and future.

• Godzilla
• Kong: Skull Island
• Godzilla: King of Monsters
• Godzilla vs. Kong
• Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
• Godzilla x Kong: A New Empire

Best order to watch the MonsterVerse

Image: Apple TV Plus

What’s important about this order isn’t necessarily what order you watch the movies in, but rather that you absolutely do not under any circumstances watch Godzilla: King of the Monsters, because that movie sucks. Other than that, just watch the movies in your own personal ranking from worst to best. Without the standout stinker, it’s a pretty fun series no matter how you slice it. If you haven’t seen the movies before, we’ll give you a sample ranking that should work just fine — though it’s worth noting that we’re ending with The New Empire, not because it’s best (we haven’t seen it yet), but because you’re watching the rest of these in preparation for its release.

• Kong: Skull Island
• Godzilla vs. Kong
• Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
• Godzilla
• Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire