Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a 2019 American monster film directed by Michael Dougherty and co-written by Dougherty and Zach Shields from a story by Max Borenstein, Dougherty, and Shields. A sequel to Godzilla (2014), it is the 35th film in the Godzilla franchise, the third film in Legendary’s MonsterVerse, and the third Godzilla film to be completely produced by a Hollywood studio.

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. It is dedicated to executive producer Yoshimitsu Banno and original Godzilla suit performer Haruo Nakajima, who both died in 2017. In the film, humans must rely on Godzilla and Mothra to defeat King Ghidorah and Rodan, the former which has awakened other Titans to destroy the world.

The sequel was green-lit during the opening weekend of Godzilla, with original director Gareth Edwards expected to return. In May 2016, Edwards left the project. In October 2016, Dougherty and Shields were hired to rewrite the script. In January 2017, Dougherty was announced as the director. Principal photography began in June 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia, and wrapped in September 2017.

Godzilla: King of the Monsters was theatrically released on May 31, 2019, to mixed reviews, with praise for the visual effects, action sequences, cinematography, and musical score but criticism aimed at the pacing, tone, story, and characters. The film was a box office disappointment, grossing $385 million worldwide against a production budget between $170–200 million. A sequel, Godzilla vs. Kong, is scheduled for release on November 20, 2020.