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Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a 2019 American monster film directed and co-written by Michael Dougherty. A sequel to Godzilla (2014), it is the 35th film in the Godzilla franchise, the third film in Legendary's MonsterVerse, and the third Godzilla film to be completely produced by a Hollywood studio. The film stars Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown, Bradley Whitford, Sally Hawkins, Charles Dance, Thomas Middleditch, Aisha Hinds, O'Shea Jackson Jr., David Strathairn, Ken Watanabe, and Zhang Ziyi. In the film, humans must rely on Godzilla and Mothra to defeat King Ghidorah, who has awakened Rodan and other Titans to destroy the world.
The sequel was green-lit during the opening weekend of Godzilla, with Gareth Edwards expected to return to direct a trilogy. In May 2016, Edwards left the project. In October 2016, Dougherty and Shields were hired to rewrite the script. In January 2017, Dougherty was announced as the director. Principal photography began in June 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia, and wrapped in September 2017. The film is dedicated to executive producer Yoshimitsu Banno (director of Godzilla vs. Hedorah) and original Godzilla suit performer Haruo Nakajima, both of whom died in 2017.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters was theatrically released on May 31, 2019, to mixed reviews from critics, with praise for its visual effects, action sequences, cinematography, and musical score but with criticism to the plot, pacing, tone and characters. The film was a box office disappointment, grossing $386 million worldwide against a production budget between $170–200 million and marketing costs between $100–150 million. A sequel, Godzilla vs. Kong, was released on March 24, 2021.
Plot[]
Five years after the existence of the "Titans" was revealed to the world, Dr. Emma Russell, a paleobiologist working for the Titan-studying organization Monarch, and her daughter Madison witness the birth of a larva called Mothra. Emma calms Mothra using the "Orca," a device that can emit frequencies to attract or alter Titan behavior. A group of eco-terrorists, led by former British Army Colonel Alan Jonah, attacks the base and abducts Emma and Madison, while Mothra flees and pupates under a nearby waterfall.
Monarch scientists Dr. Ishirō Serizawa and Dr. Vivienne Graham approach former employee Dr. Mark Russell, Emma's ex-husband and Madison's father, to help track them down. Mark is reluctant at first due to his hatred toward Godzilla, whom he blames for the death of his son during the events in San Francisco, but eventually agrees. The Monarch team follows Godzilla to Antarctica, where Jonah plans to free a three-headed Titan codenamed "Monster Zero". Emma frees and awakens Monster Zero, who battles Godzilla, devours Graham and escapes. The team later realizes that Emma is working with the terrorists. From a Monarch bunker in Boston, Emma contacts Monarch and argues that the Titans must be awakened in order to heal the Earth from the damages that humans have caused.
Emma awakens Rodan in Mexico, and the Monarch team lure it towards Monster Zero. After Rodan is defeated, Godzilla ambushes Monster Zero and severs his left head. During the fight, the U.S. Navy launches a prototype weapon called the "Oxygen Destroyer", seemingly killing Godzilla. Unaffected, Monster Zero regrows his lost head and awakens all the other dormant Titans around the world, with Rodan submitting to his rule. As a result, Madison disowns Emma.
Through mythological texts, Dr. Ilene Chen discovers that Monster Zero is King Ghidorah, a prehistoric alien seeking to transform the Earth. Mothra emerges from her cocoon and flies to Monarch's Bermuda base to communicate with Godzilla, who is recuperating in an ancient underwater city. Via submarine, the team locates Godzilla's lair, which is highly radioactive. They deduce it will take too long for Godzilla to heal on his own and decide to detonate a nuclear warhead to speed up the process. Serizawa sacrifices himself by manually detonating the warhead, reviving Godzilla and increasing his power.
Emma realizes the destruction Ghidorah and the other Titans will bring to the world is far worse than anything humans could inflict, but Jonah ignores her pleas to stop. Madison overhears this and steals the Orca. Arriving at Fenway Park, Madison broadcasts a frequency that calms the Titans but unwittingly attracts them all to her location. Ghidorah lands in Boston to destroy the Orca. Godzilla arrives to engage him in battle with Monarch personnel's assistance. Mark leads a team to rescue Madison and escape the city after learning Godzilla's radiation levels are increasing and will lead to a thermonuclear explosion. Mothra arrives to help Godzilla but is intercepted by Rodan; she defeats him but is injured in the process.
Ghidorah overpowers Godzilla and prepares to kill him, but Mothra sacrifices herself and transfers her energy to Godzilla. Mark, Emma, and Madison are reunited and reactivate the Orca to lure Ghidorah away from Godzilla. Emma sacrifices herself to lead Ghidorah away, giving Mark, Madison, and the Monarch team time to escape. Godzilla enters a newly empowered state and defeats Ghidorah. Rodan and the other Titans converge on Godzilla and bow to him.
During the ending credits, news clippings and Monarch files show that the Titans are helping to heal the planet, a suspected second Mothra egg has been discovered, and some of the Titans are converging on Skull Island. Ancient cave paintings of Godzilla and Kong in battle are shown. In a post-credits scene, Jonah and his forces purchase Ghidorah's severed left head in Mexico.