The mysterious new villain featured in the teaser for Kong and the new ape will clash in the Hollow Earth.
The Kong-centric storyline of Godzilla vs. Kong was well-received by audiences and critics alike, and it seems likely that the exploration of Kong's history will continue in Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire. However, that could lead to the repetition of an issue that has long-plagued Godzilla in modern movies. The 2024 sequel will need to ensure that the stronger of the movie's two eponymous receives ample focus and screen time if it is going to be considered a success.
Godzilla vs. Kong 2 Is Already Looking Like Another Kong Story
Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire runs the risk of not placing enough focus on Godzilla, a criticism that has plagued almost every American Godzilla adaptation. Godzilla definitively won the battle between the two titans in Godzilla vs. Kong, but by and large that movie was a Kong story. The focus was on Kong's discovery of the Hollow Earth, and with the latest movie setting up a villainous member of Kong's species, it is shaping up to be another Kong story. The idea that Kong is not the last of his species points towards another focus on the massive ape and his ancestry.
In Godzilla's first two entries in the MonsterVerse, most estimates gave him under ten minutes of screen time in each movie. In Godzilla vs. Kong his screen time rose to over 11 minutes, but that paled in comparison to Kong's 26+ minutes. While that's understandable given that the movie focused on Kong to introduce the Hollow Earth, that is not a ratio that can be repeated in Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire. The entire MonsterVerse is based off Godzilla. As the reigning alpha, it would be a mistake for another team-up movie to not spend more time with the King of Monsters, especially given how little audiences know about his history.
How Godzilla vs. Kong 2 Can Avoid Its Godzilla Problem
Just because the villain in Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire is a member of Kong's species does not mean that the movie needs to focus on Kong. In fact, focusing on Godzilla's history with this villain makes even more sense. It seems likely that Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire will explore the new villain's role in the ancient Titan War, and could further explain the animosity between Godzilla and Kong's species.
Judging by the pile of skeletons at his feet, it seems likely that the new villain was responsible for the deaths of many titans during the Titan War. This could be a perfect way to center the story around Godzilla – the new villain could be the reason that Godzilla is the last of his species. While the final battle in Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire will most certainly feature Kong and Godzilla teaming up to take down their common enemy, it's important for the franchise that the movie avoids becoming a Kong movie again, and instead spends enough time with Godzilla.
