Monsterverse Timeline Explained
Ancient species once owned this Earth long before mankind.
If you haven’t seen everything from the 2014 film through Godzilla x Kong: New Empire, beware of spoilers ahead.
Long ago, in the hollow Earth, far away from the surface of the planet, monsters roamed freely in an otherworldly habitat. While a few of them visited prehistoric humans from time to time, the Titans mostly kept to themselves. This made it hard for researchers to paint an exact history of what they were up to in those ancient times. However, early human records confirmed that two major monster conflicts happened in the early eons of Earth. At some point, the extraterrestrial Ghidorah arrived on Earth and tried to dominate all the other creatures. But Godzilla and Mothra worked together to literally put the dragon on ice. The second major event that occurred during this ancient era was the Great Titan War. This conflict saw Godzilla and Kong’s ancestors warring for supremacy and control. In the end, the primates would lose to the big lizards, while some apes hid in the hollow Earth, a few decided to make a new home on Skull Island.
Titans Surface
They wouldn’t be the only monsters that ventured up to the Earth’s surface. Although Titans continued to appear at different times in history, the sightings were largely dismissed as myths until humanity started taking monsters seriously again after World War II began. In 1943, Bill Randa was serving on a US Navy ship when it was suddenly wrecked by an ion dragon. Initially, the government tried to brush aside the rumors that a monster was responsible, but they changed their tune a decade later when one of their nuclear submarines awoke Godzilla. After the creature munched on a few atomic vessels, the government paid a visit to the few existing members of the Monarch monster organization. Bill Randa, Lee Shaw, and Kiko Mura were able to come up with a plan to lure Godzilla out. They honestly wanted to study the titan; however, the government tried to kill the kaiju with another bomb as soon as it revealed itself. While the Monarch trio was devastated at first, it wasn’t long before they discovered that Godzilla survived.
Monarch's Risky Ventures and Discoveries
Their success with the kaiju would lead each of them to take big risks that came with huge consequences. During a titan mission in 1959, a hive insect creature pulled Kiko Mura into the hollow Earth. Three years later, Lee Shaw tried to explore the mysterious place with an entire crew, but the mission went sideways, and he was declared missing. Although Bill Randa lost his closest friends, he didn’t lose his enthusiasm for monster research.
The Skull Island Expedition
In 1973, he got official approval to take a crew of researchers and soldiers to mysterious Skull Island. Randa’s ambitious plan helped confirm that monsters like Kong were still present on the Earth’s surface. Unfortunately, neither he nor most of his allies made it off the island alive. He seemed to be the last original member to die until Lee mysteriously reemerged in 1982. Since he hadn’t aged in the 20 years he had been missing, scientists assumed he fell into a part of the hollow Earth where time moves differently. In the wake of the Skull Island incidents, Monarch decided to go to extreme lengths to keep the existence of monster’s secret, but the organization couldn’t stop humanity from coming face to face with Titans. In 2014, after a creature classified as a MUTO fed on and destroyed a nuclear facility, Godzilla emerged to confront the beast in Hawaii. Before the global public could truly accept that monsters exist, Godzilla returned to fight two MUTOs in San Francisco. San Francisco soldiers ultimately decided to side with the Big G over the other two creatures. While they were happy to see Godzilla achieve an impressive victory over his foes, the battle wasn’t without its casualties. Kiko’s granddaughter, Kate, lost many people she cared about in one fell swoop. Meanwhile, Dr. Emma Russell lost her son during the chaos in San Francisco. Their traumatic experience would eventually have ripple effects that would change this new world of monsters.
Personal Losses and New Alliances
Kate’s father, Hiroshi, mysteriously disappeared shortly after the titan battle in San Francisco. While she was looking for closure in 2015, she found out her father worked for Monarch, helped Lee Shaw escape prison, and met a lot of monsters. Kate’s journey seemingly came to an end when she and Shaw fell into the hollow Earth. Fortunately, she was able to reunite with both her new allies and her still youthful grandmother, Kiko, while in the mysterious land. During their attempts to escape the hollow Earth, Lee got to safety, but his allies ended up emerging next to an angry Kong on an extremely stormy Skull Island in 2017. While it’s currently unknown what Kate’s group did next, we do know the world faced another dangerous monster two years later. In 2019, Dr. Emma Russell decided to help awaken kaijus around the world in the hopes that titans could make the world a better place, but she soon regretted her decision. After the gruesome Ghidorah opened its eyes, the draconic kaiju immediately tried to ascend to the top of the monster food chain by wounding or killing any opponent that stood in its way.
The Rise of King Godzilla
Although Godzilla was initially overwhelmed, it turned things around after it got a nuclear power boost. After winning a close battle, the heroic kaiju became the king of the monsters. But not all humanity was willing to accept the beast as a Saviour. Apex Cybernetics wanted a way to keep Godzilla in check. By 2024, they found a way to use Ghidorah’s remains and advanced technology to pilot a metal monstrosity. Godzilla’s violent attempts to stop the project before it could be completed were misinterpreted as random attacks. While humanity was becoming apprehensive about the creature’s motivations, concerned Monarch scientists were trying to get Kong away from the devastated Skull Island. During transport, Godzilla attacked to try and prevent the ape from making a grab for power. Kong survived the attack and journeyed to the hollow Earth. 
The Mecha Godzilla Showdown
Although he picked up a new anti-Kaiju, he still couldn’t beat his rival during a heated rematch. But the two put their grudge aside when Apex’s Mecha Godzilla broke free from its creators. The two organic kaijus were able to stop the metal monster together.In the aftermath of the battle, Kong and Godzilla agreed to leave each other alone, but it wouldn’t be long before the duo was brought back together. While all the kaijus were going about their normal routines, Monarch scientists picked up a distress call coming from the hollow Earth. After some investigation, a few brave heroes discovered that a twisted ape named the Scar King had an angry army ready to attack. Kong recognized the threat and teamed up with Godzilla to topple the crooked royal’s crown. It helped that Mothra was also there to help keep the peace. By the time the dust cleared, the Big Bad was dead, and both Godzilla and Kong were free to be kings of their own empires.
