While Godzilla has faced off against a large assortment of monsters over the decades, King Kong has never really had his own notable adversary beyond Godzilla. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire director Adam Wingard wanted to change that with the Scar King.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire introduces audiences to the Scar King, the tyrannical ruler of a hidden civilization of apes found deep within the Hollow Earth. It’s safe to say that Kong and the Scar King aren’t exactly buddies, and Wingard broke down the new villain while speaking with Entertainment Weekly.

“What’s exciting about that is knowing that, as apes, these aren’t just reactive animals; they have a higher intelligence,” Wingard explained. “The Scar King is a major threat because, unlike most giant monsters, he’s not just doing things in an instinctual way. He’s doing it in a very evil, contemplative way. He’s making decisions, and he’s ego-driven. In that way, he’s very much a dictator character. It was a lot of fun to be able to play with a character that’s both a giant monster but also a conniving presence.“

Wingard also ensured that the Scar King was physically different from Kong, with the new ape coming across as rather lanky compared to Kong’s muscular physique. “The idea with him was always that his agility gives him an advantage in a one-on-one fight, but he’s also in possession of the Titan equivalent of a weapon of mass destruction,” Wingard said. “So he’s a very multifaceted villain in that sense because he’s a threat in lots of different ways. He commands an army, he commands this even bigger monster, and he’s a jerk. He’s very much the anti-Kong.” It remains to be seen how the MonsterVerse will continue, but I’d love to see Kong face off against his own villains.

Although Godzilla x Kong has been receiving mixed reviews, it does sound like it’s a lot of pure fun bursting with monster mayhem. However, our own Chris Bumbray did have one complaint. “While the trailers made it look like it’s a non-stop brofest between Godzilla and Kong, the two are kept apart for close to ninety minutes, and this movie is just under two hours,” Bumbray wrote. “All of the scenes you’ve seen of them doing their thing together are from the last chunk of the film. While that’s a bummer, I must admit that I found myself surprisingly engaged by the build-up.” You can check out the rest of Bumbray’s review right here.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is now playing in theaters.

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