Godzilla: King of the Monsters opens next summer, five years after the famous kaiju returned to theaters in 2014’s eponymous reboot. It’s not clear if the sequel will resume half a decade after the original in a real-time fashion or otherwise. But now, fans will learn what happened to Godzilla since the last time we saw him. Via Nerdist, Legendary Comics has announced plans for Godzilla: Aftershock, a new graphic novel that will bridge the two films.
The book picks up after Godzilla defeated the identical MUTOs in California. The new story will depict his fight against a new monstrous adversary. It’s anyone’s guess if this will be another well-known kaiju or an original creation. Next year’s King of the Monsters is already confirmed to be featuring Mothra, Rodan, and the three-headed King Ghidora. Nevertheless, writer Arvid Nelson and artist Drew Edward Johnson still have plenty of larger-than-life nemeses to choose from.
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Godzilla: Aftershock will also shed new light on the Monarch organization and introduce characters appearing in the 2019 film. Emma Russell, as portrayed by Vera Farmiga in the sequel, will be introduced in the graphic novel. The official synopsis reads, “The brilliant and driven Monarch operative Dr. Emma Russell races to stop the threat as clues emerge to reveal a terrible secret—a tragedy, of apocalyptic proportions from the distant past that changed the course of human history, is returning to threaten it once more. A shadowy figure stalks Emma’s every move as she travels the globe to uncover secrets, while Godzilla clashes in an ancient rivalry as old as the earth itself. The fate of the world lies in the balance in an epic confrontation that no Godzilla fan will want to miss.”
This isn’t the first time that Legendary has commissioned a comic book tie-in for a Godzilla film. In 2014, the publisher released Godzilla: Awakening, a prequel to the first installment that was set primarily in the mid-20th century. That book was co-written by the film’s screenwriter, Max Borenstein, and his cousin, Greg Borenstein.
Godzilla: Aftershock will hit shelves in spring 2019. That’s not long before Godzilla: King of the Monsters arrives in theaters on May 31. You can check out a limited edition poster for the book below. Fans heading to this weekend’s L.A. Comic-Con will be able to get it a panel. Who are you expecting Godzilla to square off against in the new graphic novel? Tell us what you think in the comment section!
