One of the biggest modern franchises of blockbuster Hollywood movies is the Monsterverse, a term affectionately given to the recent series of Warner Bros. monster movies involving Godzilla and King Kong.
Both of those creatures have a long history. Godzilla has been in movies for almost 70 years after the original Toho Co. movie in 1954, with over 35 movies in Japan and the US. King Kong is even older, with the original King Kong coming out in 1933, and it too has had countless movies over time.
The Monsterverse doesn't include all of those, though; it specifically refers to the last few movies (and now TV shows) that were all created by Legendary Entertainment. They're big and flashy and have created their own mythos, with secretive organizations, hidden worlds and monster ecosystems, distinct from previous entries.
The most recent addition to the franchise is its second TV show: Monarch: Legacy of Monsters stars Kurt Russell and Wyatt Russell and has brought a whole new audience to this monster movie franchise.
So if you're coming to the Monsterverse for the first time or want to catch up on the decade of entertainment, here's how to watch the Monsterverse movies, and what order you should do so in.
How to watch each Monsterverse movie and show
Godzilla (2014)
The original Gareth Edwards that kicked off the Monsterverse shows how the creature was roused and unleashed on the world, and sets up the mysteries of Monarch too. It stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Brian Cranston.
To watch this movie in the US, you'll have to rent or buy it digitally, as it's not currently streaming. Most stores rent it for $3.99 or sell for $9.99 and you can do so from Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, YouTube, the Microsoft Store and more. Alternatively, you could buy it on DVD or Blu-Ray from Amazon here.
In the UK, you can watch Godzilla on Netflix, but you'll have to hurry as it's leaving the streamer on Monday, December 4. After that we don't know where it'll end up, but it may be worth buying it physically with Amazon selling the DVD and Blu-Ray here.
Kong: Skull Island (2017)
Kong: Skull Island takes us back to the 1970s, but it's less "groovy" and more "grave-y". It follows an all-star cast including Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, John Goodman and John C. Reilly as a US Army Unit that's recruited to search a recently-discovered island for primeval creatures. However, the island is inhabited by a parade of nasty creatures that picks off the team one by one.
You can't watch Kong: Skull Island on any streaming service in the US, so once again we look to rent or buy on a video platform. Apple TV, Amazon, Google Play, YouTube and Microsoft Store all offer it, but fans of physical media can jump to Amazon to buy a DVD.
In the UK it's once again to Netflix to watch Kong: Skull Island, and you'll be glad to hear that there's no removal date at the time of writing. That shouldn't stop collectors though, and the DVD is on Amazon too.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
The one Monsterverse movie that critics weren't impressed by, Godzilla: King of the Monsters follows as a team of eco-terrorists begins to free a load of monsters that have been held captive by Monarch. This leads a retaliation by Godzilla who tries to hunt them all down. Kyle Chandler, Millie Bobby Brown, Sally Hawkins and Charles Dance star.
In a nice surprise, Netflix has Godzilla: King of the Monsters in the US. It's also on DVD for a very low price if you want the physical copy.
In a not-so-nice surprise, this is the first entry in the franchise that's not available for UK Netflix subscribers. You'll have to rent (about £3.49) or buy (about £4.99) it digitally to watch it on Apple TV, YouTube, Microsoft Store, Sky Store, Amazon or Google Play. You can also buy it physically on DVD on Amazon.
Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)
Godzilla's quest to wipe out all rival monsters brings him to King Kong, whom humanity has been hiding on Skull Island since the 1970s. Their match-up is interrupted by a tech genius who's decided to make his own robot Godzilla. Lots of the same cast as the previous movie return here, with some changes.
You've actually got two options for watching Godzilla vs. Kong in the US. While it's on Netflix, you can also stream it using Max. Let's not forget physical copies either though, and Amazon has those.
UK fans can watch this movie on Netflix, where it proved a hit upon its release. Once again, Amazon UK has physical copies too.
Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire
Godzilla has not run out of enemies to fight just yet, with The New Empire forcing him to team up with King Kong once again as they battle for control of the hollow Earth. Select members of the previous two movies' cast return.
You can't watch The New Empire yet, and that's because it's not actually out yet. This latest blockbuster is going to come out in early 2024, with Friday, April 12 set to be its current release date.
Skull Island
Twenty years after Kong: Skull Island, a team of ocean explorers accidentally stumbles upon the ill-named island. They find themselves escaping from a menagerie of strange and horrible creatures in this animated show.
You can watch Skull Island on Netflix in both the US and UK, and that's because it's exclusive to that platform. It was the first Monsterverse TV show, with eight 20-minute episodes.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
A year after the events of the original Godzilla, a woman tries to figure out what links her father to the mysterious Monarch organization, while 60 years prior we follow the founding of the group as monsters are discovered for the first time.
Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is the latest addition to the Monsterverse. It's a 10-part show with each episode an hour long.
This show is another streaming exclusive, this time to Apple TV Plus in both the US and UK (and we've got a guide on Apple TV Plus free trials if you want to check it out).
Monsterverse watching order
There are two ways to watch the Monsterverse franchise, and we're going to list them, as well as a third made up by the What to Watch staff that presents the information of the movies in a brand-new way. Let's start with the two basic ones though:
Watch the Monsterverse movies in release order
This is the basic order, letting you watch each movie in the order it hit the big or small screen.
- Godzilla
- Kong: Skull Island
- Godzilla: King of the Monsters
- Godzilla vs. Kong
- Skull Island
- Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
- Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire
Watch the Monsterverse movies in chronological order
This order lets you watch the projects based not on when they came out, but in the order they take place in-universe. Some of the stories are set in the past but this straightens everything out.
- Kong: Skull Island
- Skull Island
- Godzilla
- Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
- Godzilla: King of the Monsters
- Godzilla vs. Kong
- Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire
Watch the Monsterverse movies in the Monarch order
One of the big mysteries in Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is 'what exactly is Monarch?'. It'd be a great question if not for the fact that loads of previously released movies already answer that question in great detail.
In order to make the TV show more compelling for yourself, you could watch the Monsterverse in this alternative order, which would add some mystery to the show and slowly reveal Monarch's depths over time. It was hard to pick which order you could watch Kong: Skull Island and Godzilla: King of the Monsters in, as both reveal different facets of Monarch (and can be watched in either order), so you can swap them around if you like.
- Godzilla
- Skull Island
- Monarch: Legacy of Monsters
- Kong: Skull Island
- Godzilla: King of the Monsters
- Godzilla vs. Kong
- Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire
