King Kong defeated Godzilla in their first showdown in 1962, and it was due to some interesting behind-the-scenes details.
SUMMARY
- Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire is the fifth film in the MonsterVerse and a sequel to the epic showdown in Godzilla vs. Kong.
- In 1962, King Kong won its first cinematic smackdown against Godzilla in the iconic film King Kong vs. Godzilla.
- Behind-the-scenes conflicts led to King Kong being chosen as the winner over Godzilla in King Kong vs. Godzilla, a landmark film.
Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire is right around the corner. It is the fifth film in the MonsterVerse and the follow-up to 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong. That film was a highly anticipated event, as it saw the two legendary movie monsters come face to face in an epic showdown. However, it was not their first cinematic smackdown; in fact, it was round two. In 1962, King Kong vs. Godzilla was released by Toho and was the third film in both the Godzilla and King Kong franchises. The movie was a landmark film, a crossover event that followed 1941’s Frankenstein Meets The Wolfman and helped set the stage for other cinematic monster showdowns like 2003’s Freddy vs Jason and 2004’s Alien vs. Predator.
What is notable is that despite Toho being the creator of Godzilla and the studio being a Japanese film company, King Kong actually won its first cinematic smackdown. The rumors that the studio had different cuts of the movie for both Japanese and American audiences have been proven false, as King Kong was always the winner and was from the start of the film script. How did King Kong beat Godzilla in King Kong vs Godzilla, and more importantly, why did he win?
