Last month brought with it exciting news for fans of monster movies: the previously announced prequel Kong: Skull Island was moving from Universal to Warner Brothers, setting up a truly monumental showdown of the titans between Godzilla and King Kong.

Now Legendary Pictures has officially confirmed their bold shared monster universe, which includes Godzilla, Kong, and others, and they have also confirmed release dates for the previously mentioned Skull Island, Godzilla 2, and a release window for the biggest of them all, Godzilla vs. King Kong. Full details can be found below.

The official announcement was made today by Legendary CEO Thomas Tull and Warner Bros. Chairman and CEO Kevin Tsujihara, who confirmed the shared reinvention of monsters universe. The press release explains that Legendary still maintains its home at Universal, but that WB will be distributing Kong as part of this franchise. Skull Island will be heading into production in just a few days on October 19th.

Of the announcement Tull said:

With Tsujihara adding:

The human organization Monarch, which uncovered Godzilla in the 2014 reboot, will continue their work throughout the upcoming movies in the franchise, which currently has these three new movies scheduled but will continue on with more movies if all goes well. Other monsters Legendary has acquired the rights to from Toho’s Godzilla universe include Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah.

With Skull Island set to begin production next week for an early 2017 release, we know all the details about that movie:

KONG: SKULL ISLAND stars Tom Hiddleston, Sam Jackson, Brie Larson, John Goodman, Tian Jing, Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, John Ortiz, Shea Whigham, and Toby Kebbell. Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts and written by Max Borenstein, John Gatins, Dan Gilroy, and Derek Connolly, KONG: SKULL ISLAND will fully immerse audiences in the mysterious and dangerous home of the king of the apes as a team of explorers ventures deep inside the treacherous, primordial island. Legendary’s Thomas Tull and Jon Jashni will produce with Mary Parent. Alex Garcia and Eric McLeod will executive produce. Warner Bros. will distribute the film in 3D and IMAX 3D on March 10, 2017.

Godzilla 2 will be the next release, directed once again by Gareth Edwards and written by Borenstein. It is scheduled to be released on June 8, 2018.

For those most excited about Godzilla vs. King Kong, you still have much waiting to do. That movie is currently planned for release sometime in the year 2020.

[Source: Legendary]