Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, the latest installment in the MonsterVerse saga, has finally arrived on the big screen – and it's here with a bang. After the explosive battle at the end of Godzilla vs Kong, the mighty pair are being kept apart for their own good, until a new threat means they may have no choice but to put their differences aside and fight together. They're joined by some other faces too, both old and new, so we've outlined all the biggest (in size and plot importance) kaiju and other assorted creatures in the movie, excluding our titular titans, whose role and significance go without saying.
Here's everything you need to know about the key players in the movie, but be warned: there are big Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire spoilers ahead, so proceed with caution if you haven't seen the film yet and don't want to know what happens!
Skar King
The Skar King is the Big Bad of Godzilla x Kong. A large and powerful ape who's a fair match for Kong, he has a history in Hollow Earth. The Iwi people recount a long-ago war between Godzilla and the apes, which resulted in the apes banished to a secluded, fiery part of Hollow Earth in order to keep the peace. Their leader, Skar King, is still desperate to get to the surface world, though, which is what he's fighting to do that in the new movie – and it's up to Godzilla and Kong to team up and stop him from achieving his goal.
Shimo
Shimo is a repitilian Titan kept in captivity by the Skar King. He controls her using a giant whip called the Whipslash – the weapon is made from the spine of a Titan and has a glowing blue crystal at the end. When he points the crystal, Shimo is forced to do his bidding. She has lethal ice breath, which gives Kong frostbite and can even freeze the ocean when the Skar King brings her to the surface world.
Baby Kong
We should start by clarifying that Baby Kong is not actually Kong's son, but that's the name the internet gave the young ape after the movie's trailer first dropped and it's kind of stuck. When he first meets Kong, he's with two antagonistic apes from the Skar King's tribe who attack Kong when he gets too close to their territory. When Kong defeats them, Baby Kong tags along with him and the pair become a team going forward. Baby Kong is vital in the final battle against the Skar King and helps Kong and Godzilla take him down.
Tiamat
Tiamat is a giant sea serpent who lives in the Arctic Ocean who glows pink and has similar powers to Godzilla. After he's done wreaking havoc in Rome, Godzilla pays her a visit – the pair fight Godzilla comes out triumphant, absorbing her powers and becoming even more powerful (with a new pink glow to boot).
Mothra
Mothra is the queen of the monsters. She's the protector of the Iwi people, and there's even a temple built in her honor in Hollow Earth. The Iwi have a prophecy that one of their people from Skull Island will return to Hollow Earth at the end of the world to awaken Mothra – and that person happens to be Jia (Kaylee Hottle), the adopted daughter of Dr. Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall), who accompanies her mother on the mission to Hollow Earth. Jia successfully awakens Mothra and, as an ally of Godzilla, Ashe helps convince him to team up with Kong to take down the Skar King.
Vertazines
Finally, we have the Vertazines. These aren't Titans, but they still have a role to play in Godzilla x Kong. When the final battle against the Skar King kicks off in Hollow Earth, Trapper (Dan Stevens) gets the flying, Pteradactyl-like creatures into the fray to help Godzilla and Kong.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is out now in cinemas. For more on the movie, check out the rest of our coverage:
