:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/53620053/kongkong.0.jpg)
Spoiler alert: This article discusses the post-credits scene of Kong: Skull Island
Taking a page out of Marvel’s playbook, the credits of Warner Bros.’ Kong: Skull Island include an extra scene that connects the movie to a bigger cinematic universe.
Mid- and post-credits scenes have become welcome — and often expected — treats for fans. They tease upcoming movies, add new wrinkles to established characters, and sometimes hint at what future sequels might entail. In fact, they’ve become so common that we’re now seeing similar scenes air ahead of movies, like the Deadpool 2 preview that Fox is running before its latest X-Men flick, Logan.
Here’s what happens in Kong: Skull Island’s post-credits scene
As Skull Island’s credits roll, we see that James Conrad (Tom Hiddleston) and Mason Weaver (Brie Larson) are being held captive by Monarch, the movie's secret government agency devoted to tracking giant monsters. Monarch was also part of 2014’s Godzilla, another Warner Bros. film, and Skull Island’s post-credits scene starts to sketch out the two movies’ shared universe.
Two Monarch employees — Houston Brooks (Corey Hawkins) and San (Jing Tian) — come into the room where Mason and James are being interrogated, and tell them there are more giant monsters. They show Mason and James some images of what look like cave paintings of Godzilla, but also some of Godzilla's biggest enemies and allies, including Mothra (the giant moth with energy beams), Rodan (a pteranodon who can fly at amazing speeds), and King Ghidorah (a three-headed dragon). The scene then cuts to black as you hear Godzilla’s signature roar.
This is a tease for Warner Bros.’ upcoming Godzilla: King of Monsters, the sequel to Godzilla that’s slated for a 2019 release. The plot and full monster roster of Godzilla: King of Monsters has previously been kept under wraps (the movie is currently in its casting announcement stage), though it was announced in 2014 that Legendary, this series’ production company, had purchased the rights to Godzilla’s classic monster trio — Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah — from Japanese studio Toho.
The post-credits scene adds credence to that three-year-old promise, while also setting the table for the 2020 showdown known as Godzilla v. Kong, where the giant radioactive lizard and the colossal ape will finally face off.
