Untangling the Godzilla series continuity and watching the movies in order can be a kaiju-sized endeavor, but if you get lost, just remember one thing: Green lizard bad. But also sometimes good!
The franchise launched in 1954 with the black-and-white original, both a creature feature that was en vogue for the decade and a metaphor for nuclear fallout and atomic fear. Today, the lizard is loved as much as any time in his 70-year history, with Japan’s Shin Godzilla and Godzilla Minus One stomping box office and awards records, and running parallel to America’s Monsterverse, the royal rumble featuring Godzilla, Kong, Mothra, Rodan, and King Ghidorah, with more challengers to come.
The Monsterverse, which launched in 2014, is driven by Legendary Entertainment, while in Japan, Toho has held and steered Godzilla since deep-sea birth. In our guide to Godzilla movies in order, we’ll start at the very beginning and then navigate the separate eras of our dear god of destruction. (Thanks to IGN and Wikizilla for details and reference.)
Showa era (1954-1975)
The Showa era (named so after the Japan’s then-reigning emperor) is one storyline that can be separated by three periods. There is the original duology of Godzilla (1954) and Godzilla Raids Again (1955), with Godzilla, King of the Monsters! being the widely-seen American cut of Godzilla starring Raymond Burr. Godzilla was released from his long ice bath in the revival period of the ’60s, which sees his evolution as an anti-hero, and where we’re first introduced to his monster rivals and allies. Toho then held their Champion Film Festival from 1969 to 1978, and the movies produced for the fest re-framed Godzilla as a children’s matinee idol. These as-such Champion movies take place between 1967’s Son of Godzilla and 1968’s Destroy All Monsters. All of these are collected in Criterion Collection’s epic box set from 2019.
Original duology (1954-1955)
94% Godzilla (1954)
64% Godzilla Raids Again (1955) *American version of Godzilla
84% Godzilla, King of the Monsters! (1956)
Revival period (1962-1968)
52% King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962)
92% Mothra vs. Godzilla (1964)
77% Ghidrah, the Three-Headed Monster (1965)
50% Invasion of Astro-Monster (1965)
63% Ebirah, Horror of the Deep (1966)
63% Son of Godzilla (1967)
82% Destroy All Monsters! (1968)
Champion period (1969-1975)
29% All Monsters Attack (1969)
67% Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)
67% Godzilla vs. Gigan (1972)
38% Godzilla vs. Megalon (1973)
86% Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)
43% Terror of Mechagodzilla (1975)
Heisei era (1984-1995)
The Heisei era (again named after the Emperor of Japan who reigned over most of this timeline) pulls a Halloween and ignores every sequel after the first, following then its own separate continuity.
- - The Return of Godzilla (1984)
27% Godzilla 1985 (1984) *American version of Return
71% Godzilla vs. Biollante (1989)
56% Godzilla vs. King Ghidorah (1991)
78% Godzilla and Mothra: The Battle for Earth (1992)
83% Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla II (1993)
57% Godzilla vs. Space Godzilla (1994)
100% Godzilla vs. Destoroyah (1995)
TriStar era (1998)
This era, as it were (named after the producing studio), resulted in the American would-be blockbuster.
20% Godzilla (1998)
Millennium era (1999-2004)
After 1998’s failure to launch, Toho took what opportunity there was to set up a new story that could boast spanning millennia. Once again, these steer clear of all sequels after the 1954 original.
57% Godzilla 2000 (2000)
60% Godzilla vs. Megaguirus (2000)
65% Godzilla, Mothra, King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack! (2001)
- - Godzilla Against Mechagodzilla (2002)
80% Godzilla: Tokyo S.O.S. (2003)
50% Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)
Monsterverse (2014-)
Legendary Entertainment produced a solo Godzilla movie in 2014, with rights being subsequently secured for apex axe Kong for future fights, plus more from the Toho stable. Godzilla vs. Kong swatted the pandemic blues away, with the two forces collaborating in The New Empire.
76% Godzilla (2014)
42% Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019)
76% Godzilla vs. Kong (2021)
54% Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024)
Reiwa era (2016-)
Encouraged again by the American counterpart run, the Reiwa era began with Shin Godzilla, part of a loose branding that saw other Japanese pop culture titans like Ultraman and Kamen Rider. An animated trilogy was released in theaters in Japan and saw release in America on Netflix. Godzilla Minus One, the first period piece of the series, is set post-World War II and won Gojira-san his first Oscar for Best Visual Effects.
86% Shin Godzilla (2016)
75% Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters (2017)
60% Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle (2018)
60% Godzilla: The Planet Eater (2018)
98% Godzilla Minus One (2023)
See below for the full continuous list of Godzilla movies in order.
