Ever since Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla created a successful template, the Monsterverse has expanded to become one of the most popular sci-fi action franchises of the past decade. Since 2014, five movies and two TV shows have created an expansive, interconnected web of content that’s proved popular with both fans and critics. However, with so many separate releases to enjoy, there are understandable questions for both newcomers and long-term fans about how to enjoy the King Kong and Godzilla movies of the Monsterverse in order.

The Monsterverse has enjoyed huge success since Godzilla. Combined, the five finished films have generated over $2.5 billion globally – an impressive feat for any franchise. Given this clear connection with a global audience, it’s unsurprising that the series has since expanded into other formats, with the Monarch: Legacy of Monsters live-action and Skull Island animated shows proving that there is plenty of scope to the story. Each entry in the Monsterverse has its own fans and can be enjoyed in isolation. However, for the best viewing experience, there are preferable orders to the Monsterverse movies and TV shows.

Monsterverse Movies & TV Shows In Release Order

The first entry in the Monsterverse is Gareth Edwards’ successful reboot, Godzilla. Released in 2014, the movie proved popular with audiences and critics, scoring an impressive 76% on Rotten Tomatoes (the joint-highest rating in the franchise so far) and earning nearly $530 million against a $160 million budget. This release provided a template for success that the four subsequent films would follow.

The next installment in the Monsterverse was Kong: Skull Island. Despite being set before Godzilla in the Monsterverse timeline, the movie came out three years after the original film in 2017. Kong: Skull Island was followed by Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), Godzilla vs. Kong (2021), and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024). The final two films in the franchise were punctuated by Skull Island and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters – both of which came out in 2023.

Monsterverse Movies & TV Shows In Chronological Order

The Monsterverse’s chronological timeline is arguably more complicated than other comparable franchises. Not only were some films and TV released out of order, but some projects also encompass multiple time periods within a single story. Nevertheless, it is possible to establish a correct chronological viewing order for the entire series.

Kong: Skull Island

With a prologue set in the 1940s and a main story set largely in 1973, Kong: Skull Island represents the earliest entry in the Monsterverse. The movie plays into its distinctive aesthetic, with visual nods to Vietnam movies like Apocalypse Now. A key theme of Kong: Skull Island is exploring Monarch in its infancy, with the 1973 expedition constituting the American government’s early attempts to understand Titans.

Skull Island

A sequel to the 2017 movie set in the same location, Skull Island moves the action forward to the 1990s. Although most of the action is set two decades after Kong: Skull Island, the animated series also features multiple flashbacks, making its timeline somewhat complex. Nevertheless, because of where the majority of the action takes place, Skull Island constitutes the second chronological installment in the franchise.

Godzilla

Once again, Godzilla features crucial flashbacks to both 1954 and 1999, giving the movie an extremely varied timeline. However, because most of the story takes place in 2014, Godzilla counts as the third Monsterverse project in the chronological series. However, it’s important to note that both flashbacks (in which Godzilla is lured to Bikini Atoll and Samantha Brody tragically dies in an incident at a nuclear power station) are vital in introducing the creatures that populate the wider Monsterverse.

Monarch: Legacy Of Monsters

Despite being released several years after multiple other Monsterverse movies, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters is almost a direct sequel to Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla. The show is set in 2015, months after Godzilla’s battle with the terrifying MUTOs in San Francisco. Once again, however, multiple Monsterverse timelines are in play, with a separate story set in the 1950s acting as a Kong: Skull Island prequel. As a result, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters probably has the most contentious position in the entire franchise.

Godzilla: King Of The Monsters

Unlike previous entries in the Monsterverse, Godzilla: King of the Monsters has a relatively simple timeline. Save for some historical cave paintings and brief images, the movie is almost entirely set five years after the 2014 Godzilla film. This gives it a clear position in the chronology – certainly relative to other projects.

Godzilla Vs. Kong

Much like the previous cinematic installment in the series, Godzilla vs. Kong eschews the flashbacks that are so prevalent in other Monsterverse movies. Instead, the film tells a self-contained story set five years after Godzilla: King of the Monsters. However, in an interesting twist, Godzilla vs. Kong is the first movie in the franchise to technically take place in the future, with its timeline putting the events of the movie in 2024, rather than 2021.

Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire

Following on from the example of Godzilla vs. Kong, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire continues the trend of setting the series in the future. Despite being released in 2024, the movie is actually set in 2027. Once again, the film’s timeline is fairly straightforward, making the movie the final chronological entry in the Monsterverse franchise to date.

Which Monsterverse Viewing Order Is Best

The many time jumps features across the Monsterverse make establishing the best viewing order far from straightforward. On the one hand, viewing the movies and TV shows in release order makes sense, as early projects were clearly made without prior knowledge of everything that was to come in the series. On the other, following the chronology allows viewers to keep track of events as they unfold and arguably benefit from a more well-rounded perspective on the series.

Ultimately, the best Monsterverse viewing order may be some combination of these approaches. Although its 2015 timeline sets it after Godzilla, it might make more sense to view Monarch: Legacy of Monsters immediately after Godzilla, rather than between Skull Island and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, sits it helps set everything about the wider franchise up. As a result, one recommended viewing order for the Monsterverse could be in release order, with Monarch: Legacy of Monsters brought up ahead of Kong: Skull Island.