GODZILLA X KONG: SUPERNOVA Test Screening Reactions Tease a Darker, More Serious MonsterVerse Movie
The MonsterVerse may be dialing back the cartoon chaos and putting some real weight behind its Titans again.
New details from early test screenings of Godzilla x Kong: Supernova point to a more serious movie with higher stakes, a larger world, and a tone that reportedly lands somewhere between Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Godzilla vs. Kong.
That could be good news for fans who enjoyed the insane monster action of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire but wouldn't mind seeing Godzilla and Kong regain some of the menace and scale that defined the earlier MonsterVerse movies.
Since Gareth Edwards launched the MonsterVerse with Godzilla in 2014, the series has grossed more than $2.5 billion worldwide. Jordan Vogt-Roberts followed with Kong: Skull Island in 2017, while Michael Dougherty unleashed an army of Titans with Godzilla: King of the Monsters in 2019.
Adam Wingard then brought the two icons together for Godzilla vs. Kong in 2021 before returning for 2024's Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. Wingard has since moved on, leaving Grant Sputore, director of I Am Mother, to take control of the next chapter.
Godzilla x Kong: Supernova is currently deep into post-production, with Warner Bros. and Legendary keeping most of the movie's secrets locked away. Test screenings have been happening since early this year, however, and some encouraging reactions from a February screening have now surfaced.
Godzilla YouTuber D Man1954, who says he knows three people who attended that screening, shared:
"[It] went incredibly well and the movie was received very positively. I actually know three individuals who attended the screening. All three of them really liked it."
That's obviously secondhand information from an early version of the movie, so plenty could have changed during the months of post-production that followed. He went on to say:
"By pretty much every account I've heard, the general atmosphere in the theater was that the movie was an improvement over New Empire and maybe even an improvement over Godzilla vs. Kong.
"All three of them have compared it to something of a blend between Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Godzilla vs. Kong in terms of tone and style. Not in terms of plot or subject matter."
I personally wasn’t a fan of either of those movies. They embraced the blockbuster spectacle and pushed the franchise much further into colorful sci-fi adventure territory. With each film, the MonsterVerse became increasingly goofy.
Supernova apparently pulls things back toward something a little heavier without abandoning the massive monster fights people are paying to see. So, I guess that is a step in the right direction.
D Man1954 added: "People really enjoyed Supernova, which makes me feel very confident and excited to see what they do with this. My big fear obviously is that they were going to go too far and jump the shark.
“And there are elements that I'm definitely worried about heading into this new movie. It's a little more serious than New Empire."
He concluded: "The stakes are a little higher and more serious, and the world is a little more expansive and developed.”
That's an encouraging direction. Nobody needs the MonsterVerse to become a grim two-hour meditation on humanity every time Godzilla crawls out of the ocean, but these creatures work best when they actually feel dangerous.
We've already seen evidence that this franchise can balance its more fantastical mythology with compelling drama. There's also Godzilla Minus One, which reminded audiences just how frightening and emotionally powerful Godzilla can be when the human story and monster destruction are given equal importance.
Supernova doesn't need to imitate it, but returning some gravity to the MonsterVerse certainly isn't a bad idea.
Official story details remain scarce. Sputore is directing from a screenplay by Dave Callaham, writer of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, with Godzilla and Kong expected to confront a new cataclysmic threat capable of destroying the world.
An early synopsis revealed at the China Licensing Expo in April offered another clue about where the story is heading:
"As the sixth instalment in the 'MonsterVerse' film series, this movie will delve deeper into the delicate relationship of coexistence and trust between humans and prehistoric behemoths.
"Meanwhile, the earth-shaking monster storm triggered by the epic clash between Godzilla and Kong," it continued, "the two guardians of Earth’s ecological balance, will once again sweep across the big screen!"
That focus on coexistence between humanity and the Titans could give Supernova an opportunity to expand the MonsterVerse beyond simply finding the next enormous creature for Godzilla and Kong to punch.
The movie’s cast includes Kaitlyn Dever, Jack O’Connell, Delroy Lindo, Matthew Modine, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Sam Neill, and Dan Stevens returning as veterinarian Trapper Beasley following his debut in The New Empire.
Early test screenings should always be treated cautiously. Movies change, scenes are reworked, and audience reactions don't necessarily predict how the finished film will land.
4 hits theaters March 26, 2027.