Godzilla: King of the Monsters necessarily set up the table for the final confrontation in Legendary's MonsterVerse quadrilogy, and although King Kong did not appear in the sequel there were several allusions to his presence. There's a constant thread about how Kong is seemingly growing stronger every day, but with all the Kaiju that appear in the sequel fans were wondering why Kong never actually showed up. What was it doing?

When asked by a fan what Kong's relationship to the other Kaiju is, director Michael Dougherty cleared up what Kong was doing during the sequel with an excerpt from the film's novelization written by Greg Keyes.

According to the excerpt, which seems to capture when King Ghidorah's roar suddenly awakened the rest of the sleeping Kaiju on Earth, Kong had heard the call. But he didn't care. Kong had heard these kinds of calls from other Kaiju from the Hollow Earth before, but they began increasing in number in recent seasons. But since they didn't bother him on Skull Island, he didn't care.

As the excerpt continues, Kong started to get angry as these calls continued however. These Kaiju were now on the hunt, and their restlessness seemed to have an effect on his own nature. This is especially true when Ghidorah's roars seemed to have awakened those skull faced monsters from Kong: Skull Island, "He felt movement in the stone beneath him, and his anger grew brighter. The deep dwellers heard the call, too. The crawlers with faces like bone that haunted his sleep. They were waking. The quiet was over. He scratched the itch on his ribs and began to hunt."

So it seems like Kong was doing just fine, just like Godzilla, until everything was disturbed by an entity from space, Monster Zero. And like Godzilla, Kong isn't about to take these disturbances to his home sitting down.

Godzilla vs. Kong is currently slated for a release March 13, 2020, but that might just change if recent reports are to be believed. Either way, fans will get to see Godzilla in action before its big fight with Kong in Godzilla: King of the Monsters now in theaters. Directed by Michael Dougherty, Godzilla: King of the Monsters stars Millie Bobby Brown, Vera Farmiga, Sally Hawkins, Kyle Chandler, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Ken Watanabe, Bradley Whitford, among many other talents. The film is officially described as such:

"The new story follows the heroic efforts of the cryptozoological agency Monarch as its members face off against a battery of god sized monsters, including the mighty Godzilla, who collides with Mothra, Rodan, and his ultimate nemesis, the three headed King Ghidorah. When these ancient superspecies, thought to be mere myths, rise again, they all vie for supremacy, leaving humanity's very existence hanging in the balance." You can read ComicBook.com's spoiler-free review here.