The 2024 monster movie Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire heads deep into the depths of Hollow Earth, an ancient subterranean ecosystem, pitting Kong and Godzilla against a fearsome threat hidden within our world. Wētā Workshop's Design Studio helped bring this incredible film to life, working on characters, creatures and costumes.

The great apes

For this action-adventure, Wētā Workshop was tasked with bringing the great ape characters of Hollow Earth to life, including Skar King, Suko and the many members of their tribe. Building off the initial concept design from Legacy Effects, our Design Studio considered Skar King’s and Suko’s anatomies to develop 3D concept models.

The titans 

The lost kingdom of the Hollow Earth comes alive with flora, fauna and, of course, the mighty titans. It was an exciting journey for us to help make this forgotten paradise feel diverse, dense and hostile. We worked with the film’s VFX team to populate the mythical world of Hollow Earth, from the sinister ‘lake monster’ to the ‘wart dogs’. We even created the Vertacene, a completely new airborne creature with extraordinary lightning powers. 

The costumes 

We also worked closely with costume designer Emily Seresin to design the material culture of the Hollow Earth’s Iwi vestments. For the Iwi male attendant and lady-in-waiting, we expressed their dignity and status in fine ceremonial jewellery, structured silk vestments and clay facial markings — a life in service of a titan.