Godzilla plays a pivotal role in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, and the movie broke a major Monsterverse record for Godzilla after 10 years.

Godzilla is back in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, but the movie breaks a Monsterverse record for the King of the Monsters thanks to the size of his role. As the original Toho monster to lead the Monsterverse, Godzilla has always had a prominent role to play. Outside of Kong: Skull Island, the giant lizard has appeared in every installment and had top billing in the movie titles. Godzilla once again plays a pivotal role in his return, as he scours the Earth for opportunities to supercharge his powers ahead of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire‘s ending.

Still, the size of Godzilla’s role in Godzilla x Kong divided audiences. The Monsterverse movie positioned the story around Kong, making him the film’s focus, relegating the King of the Monsters to more of a supporting player. That brought about arguments that Godzilla’s role in Godzilla x Kong is disappointing and that the movie wasted him. The counterpoint to that is how impactful Godzilla’s screen time still is when he is on-screen. However, the amount of time audiences actually see Godzilla in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is a record.

Godzilla Has His Least Amount Of Screen Time In The Monsterverse Movies In Godzilla x Kong

Godzilla Only Has 8 Minutes Of Screen Time

If Godzilla’s role in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire seemed smaller than usual for the Monsterverse, that’s because it was. As noted by @PhysicalMedia_ on X/Twitter, Godzilla only has eight minutes of screen time in Godzilla x Kong. That means The New Empire gives Godzilla his lowest amount of screen time in any of the Monsterverse movies. Kong: Skull Island is excluded from this as Godzilla did not appear in the movie. This is two minutes shorter than the previous record low, which came in 2014’s Godzilla.

Godzilla’s Screen Time In The Monsterverse Movies

Movie
Runtime
Godzilla’s Screen Time

Godzilla (2014)
2 hours and 3 minutes
10 minutes

Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
2 hours and 12 minutes
11 minutes

Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)
1 hour and 53 minutes
11 minutes

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024
1 hour and 55 minutes
8 minutes

The decrease in screen time for Godzilla in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is certainly felt in the film. Godzilla has notable scenes, but the bulk of them come in action moments and the finale. Meanwhile, Kong is elevated to an even bigger role and is given a character arc as the movie unfolds. Godzilla is sparingly used in Godzilla x Kong to deliver the Monsterverse action scenes audiences have come to expect, but any efforts to expand his characterization are not present with so little screen time.

Why Godzilla Is Used So Sparingly In Godzilla x Kong & The Monsterverse Movies

The decision for Godzilla to have a limited role in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire was made on purpose. Director Adam Wingard always intended for the movie to be more focused on Kong as a means to introduce Skar King, explore more of Hollow Earth, and expand his story. Godzilla had to be pushed to more of a supporting role to make the movie and properly balance the monster action with the main story and human characters. It also comes after Godzilla was the main monster of two movies and a bigger character than Kong in Godzilla vs. Kong.

Godzilla’s relatively limited screen time in the Monsterverse movies at large is due to the difficulty in giving him a bigger role. Since Kong’s screen time in the Monsterverse movies has constantly risen, the VFX requirements to give Godzilla a major role should be a non-factor. It instead could be the difference in how easily it is for Godzilla and Kong to emote and communicate. Kong has very clear facial expressions and knows some sign language. However, developing Godzilla similarly is more difficult, and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire was not in a position to take on that challenge.