[e] 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.

Monarch scientists Dr. Ishirō Serizawa and Vivienne Graham approach former employee Dr. Mark Russell, Emma's ex-husband and Madison's father, to help track them down.

Mark is initially reluctant due to his hatred toward Godzilla, whom he blames for his son Andrew's death during the events in San Francisco,[g] but eventually agrees.

However, Monster Zero is unaffected and regrows his lost head before awakening the other dormant Titans worldwide, with Rodan submitting to his rule; Serizawa chides Mark that he's gotten his wish.

A fully transformed Mothra flies to Monarch's Bermuda base to communicate with Godzilla, who is recuperating in an ancient underwater city in the Hollow Earth.

Through motion capture, T.J. Storm reprises his role as Godzilla, while Jason Liles, Alan Maxson, and Richard Dorton portray the heads of King Ghidorah.

[41] Dougherty, co-writer Zach Shields, Seth Green, Clare Grant, Eli Roth, Stephen Moyer, and Jermaine Turner make uncredited appearances as members of a fighter jet squadron attacked by Rodan.

[47] At San Diego Comic-Con in July 2014, Legendary confirmed that they had acquired the rights to Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah from Toho Co., Ltd. A short teaser clip showing concept art of all three with the ending tagline "Let them fight" was shown.

Legendary is creating a shared cinematic franchise "centered around Monarch" that "brings together Godzilla and ... King Kong in an ecosystem of other giant super-species, both classic and new."

[52] In May 2016, Warner Bros. announced that Godzilla 2 had been pushed back from its original June 8, 2018 release date to March 22, 2019, and shortly afterward, that Edwards had left the sequel to work on smaller-scale projects.

[64] Dougherty and Shields chose a human story line where the science fiction elements could be replaced with themes such as climate change or eco-terrorism and stand out on its own without the monsters.

Shields noted that this was also to parallel Godzilla and Mark's characters, stating, "Kyle's loss of faith in the beginning, and finding it in this moment when he realizes, you know, God is dead.

"[71] In Dougherty and Shields's treatment and early drafts, full sequences of the non-Toho Titans rising after Ghidorah's call were written but later trimmed due to budgetary concerns.

[79] The names of the non-Toho Titans were revealed as Baphomet, Typhon, Abaddon, Bunyip, Methuselah, Behemoth, Scylla, Tiamat, Leviathan, Sargon, and Mokele-Mbembe.

[7][98] Dougherty confirmed that the film would feature practical effects and creature designs by Tom Woodruff Jr.[89] Lawrence Sher served as director of photography.

[30] Regarding his involvement, McCreary stated, "I am thrilled to be the composer for Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and honored beyond words to have the opportunity to contribute to one of cinema's longest-running musical legacies.

[112] In April 2019, WaterTower Music released two tracks from the soundtrack, "Old Rivals", composed by McCreary, and a cover of Blue Öyster Cult's "Godzilla" by Serj Tankian.

McCreary stated "For [the character] Godzilla, I chose to incorporate and adapt the legendary Akira Ifukube's iconic theme, and for Mothra, Yūji Koseki's immortal 'Mothra's Song'.

On this decision, Dougherty commented, "we feel incredibly fortunate to have had [Alexandros] contribute such an anthemic song that captures not only the gravitas of the film, but also perfectly complements its dramatic conclusion.

[118] On July 12, 2018, two first-look images featuring Godzilla unleashing his atomic breath skyward, and Millie Bobby Brown and Vera Farmiga, were released, along with a few plot details.

[122] In November 2018, a panel for the film was held at the Tokyo Comic-Con where Dougherty revealed concept art, a teaser for an upcoming trailer, and the S.H.MonsterArts figures with designs of the Titans.

[138] and The Curse of La Llorona, while US theater chain AMC Theatres (of which the parent company of Legendary, Wanda Group, are a majority stakeholder in) attached the preview to their IMAX screenings of Avengers: Endgame.

[153] Godzilla: King of the Monsters was released on May 31, 2019, in IMAX, 3D, Dolby Cinema, RealD 3D, 4DX, and ScreenX formats by Warner Bros. Pictures,[154] except in Japan where it was distributed by Toho.

[167] Toho released multiple editions of the film on 4K, Blu-ray, and DVD in Japan on December 18, 2019, which included retail exclusives from Amazon, the Godzilla Store, and Tsutaya.

The website's consensus reads: "Godzilla: King of the Monsters delivers spectacular kaiju action -- and reaffirms that cutting-edge effects are still no substitute for a good story.

[11] Benjamin Lee of The Guardian gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, writing that it "has rare moments of visual splendour but they can't disguise a laughable script with a ramshackle narrative.

"[191] Ben Travis, writing for Empire Online, gave the film 1 out of 5 stars, stating, "Globe-trotting but not adventurous, action-packed but not remotely exciting, utterly overstuffed and completely paper-thin.

"[192] Owen Gleiberman of Variety wrote that the film "makes for a spectacular clash of the titans, but this one has a less commanding balance of schlock and awe," compared to its predecessor.

"[193] Scott Collura of IGN.com gave the film a score of 7.8 out of 10, calling it "a fun exercise in giant monster madness that indulges in all the kaiju fights fans and even casual viewers could hope for.

They planned to create a shared cinematic franchise "centered around Monarch" that "brings together Godzilla and Legendary's King Kong in an ecosystem of other giant super-species, both classic and new.