We’re almost halfway through the 2024 movie schedule, and there are some hits from earlier this year that are still making a splash. Director Adam Wingard’s Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is one such movie, and the announcement of its home entertainment release date has proven just how excited its studio is about sending this picture into people's houses.
However, there’s another pretty big reveal that’s intended to celebrate a major anniversary for the MonsterVerse in play as well. And that news is what’s pushed me all in on reuniting with these theatrical Titans yet again.
When Is Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire Heading To Home Entertainment?
Thanks to a press release from Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment, we now know that fans will be able to rent or own Godzilla x Kong digitally very soon. Per the information provided, the movie will be released in that form on May 14th. Physical media aficionados who want to continue their MonsterVerse collections will have to wait a little longer though, as the 4K UHD, Blu-ray and DVD versions will hit shelves a little under a month later, on June 11.
It sounds like that delay will be worth it, however, especially for all of you special features fiends out there. That’s because every variant, minus the DVD version, will include the following selection of additional content:
- GxK: Day of Reckoning
- Evolution of the Titans: Godzilla Evolved
- Evolution of the Titans: From Lonely God to King
- Into the Hollow Earth: Visualizing Hollow Earth
- Into the Hollow Earth: Monsters of Hollow Earth
- The Battles Royale: A Titanic Fight Among the Pyramids
- The Battles Royale: The Zero Gravity Battle
- The Battles Royale: The Titans Trash Rio
- The Intrepid Director: Adam Wingard: Big Kid
- The Intrepid Director: Adam Wingard: Set Tour
- The Imagination Department
- The Monarch Island Base: Portal to Another World
- The Evolution of Jia: From Orphan to Warrior
- Bernie’s World: Behind the Triple Locked Door
- Commentary by Director Adam Wingard, Visual Effects Supervisor Alessandro Ongaro, Production Designer Tom Hammock and Editor Josh Schaeffer
At first glance, I’d say the features that intrigue me the most are “The Battles Royale” segments, as well as “The Evolution of Jia: From Orphan to Warrior.” The former promises to give us some better looks into creating insane action setpieces, like the Zero-G fight scene in the Hollow Earth. There might even be some insightful commentary on the Rio battle that addresses some of the criticisms of the Titans trashing the town without a care.
Meanwhile, “The Evolution of Jia” sounds like a profile on Kaylee Hottle’s returning Godzilla vs. Kong character. It’s a possibility that holds a particular interest to me, as I previously theorized that Jia was a potential Mothra Twins substitute; thanks to those characters who were seemingly cut from Godzilla vs. Kong.
Obviously, I’m excited to own the next chapter of the MonsterVerse’s cinematic journey. However, there’s one more announcement that has me even more amped up, as Warner Bros. Discovery Home Entertainment is celebrating a pretty big milestone as part of this campaign.
How Godzilla X Kong’s Home Release Is Celebrating The MonsterVerse’s 10th Anniversary
At the time of this publication, we’re days away from the 10th anniversary of the picture that started it all…again: Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla. With an opening weekend that delivered the massive success the MonsterVerse was built off of, its importance cannot be understated.
So learning about a new 4K UHD collection of every cinematic entry had my curiosity, as I still need to complete/upgrade my own library with the likes of Kong: Skull Island. That being said, what really grabbed my attention, and put me all in on this box set, were the following details shared in this home entertainment news blast:
Additionally, a 5-film collection celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Monsterverse will be available on 4K UHD disc this summer. The 6-disc collector’s edition will include Godzilla (2014), Kong: Skull Island (2017), Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), Godzilla vs. Kong (2021) and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024), along with a disc of special features including the new “Directors of the Monsterverse” featurette with Monsterverse directors Gareth Edwards, Jordan Vogt-Roberts, Michael Doughtery and Adam Wingard.
My friends and fellow kaiju enthusiasts, we’ve won. A bonus special features disc, with all of the MonsterVerse directors to date chatting it up, is pretty spectacular. In fact, the only way I think that scenario would be finer is if that talk was moderated by Godzilla Minus One director Takashi Yamazaki.
While I know we’ve seen Yamazaki and Adam Wingard’s previous Godzilla chat giving some fine insight into both sides of the Godzilla movie spectrum, the greedy part of me wants that dream to become a reality. Regardless of my wish list, having a MonsterVerse collection this well-stocked only proves to me that we monster movie fans are being treated quite well.
The post-Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire future is uncertain at this point, as there’s still room for deciding what happens next. But seeing how the home release of this film and its predecessors is being handled, I’m confident that the next 10 years have the potential to be just as rewarding. So drink it in, my fellow MonsterVerse fans! Our moment is here, and it's time to celebrate.
For now, you can expect Godzilla x Kong to hit digital storefronts for rental or purchase, starting May 14th; with the physical media releases debuting on June 11th. And though there isn’t a specific date on when to expect a streaming debut for the fifth MonsterVerse chapter, you can be sure that it’ll debut first for those with access to a Max subscription.
