Bernie Hayes Monsterverse Character Profile

Bernie Hayes is a podcaster in the Monsterverse, played by Brian Tyree Henry in Godzilla vs. Kong and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.

He is billed fourth in Godzilla vs. Kong and second in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, so his place in the cast list rises between the two films. Both were directed by Adam Wingard.

Newcomers can place him alongside the other human regulars in the Monsterverse characters index. He also connects to Monarch, the organization that tracks the Titans.

Bernie Hayes investigates Apex Cybernetics in Godzilla vs. Kong, then joins a Monarch expedition into Hollow Earth in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.

In Godzilla vs. Kong, Madison Russell, Josh Valentine and Bernie look into Apex and end up in Hong Kong, where they find a secret facility. That discovery runs in parallel with the Hollow Earth journey, where Nathan Lind, Ilene Andrews and Jia follow Kong. The facility ties into the reveal of Mechagodzilla, a giant machine piloted through a link to the severed head of King Ghidorah. In the finale it is Josh who disrupts the controls of Mechagodzilla.

In Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, some years after the Mechagodzilla fight, a Monarch outpost in Hollow Earth picks up a strange signal that also affects Jia. Ilene Andrews, Jia, Bernie and the Titan veterinarian Trapper go to investigate where it comes from. The signal turns out to be a distress call from the Iwi, and the trip leads the group toward a hidden community and a far bigger danger, the tyrannical Skar King and the Titan Shimo. By the end, Kong has a tribe of his own and Jia chooses to stay with the Iwi.

Bernie Hayes works with Madison Russell and Josh Valentine in Godzilla vs. Kong, and with Ilene Andrews, Jia and Trapper in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.

Madison Russell, played by Millie Bobby Brown, carries over from earlier Monsterverse films, so she gives the Apex investigation a link to the earlier Titan history. Josh Valentine is played by Julian Dennison. Together the three form the surface plotline of Godzilla vs. Kong, away from the Hollow Earth expedition.

In The New Empire, Bernie is grouped with Ilene Andrews, the Monarch scientist played by Rebecca Hall, and with Jia, played by Kaylee Hottle, who is the last known member of the Iwi tribe. Trapper, played by Dan Stevens, completes the party. Bernie is billed second in that film, directly behind Hall.

No direct bond ties Bernie to Kong; he reaches Kong through Jia and Ilene Andrews.

Bernie Hayes is not reported to die in either film, and his final status after Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is unconfirmed.

Godzilla vs. Kong ends with Mechagodzilla destroyed and Walter Simmons dead, while Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire ends with Kong leading his tribe in Hollow Earth and Jia staying with the Iwi. Neither ending shows what becomes of Bernie.

Whether he returns in Godzilla x Kong: Supernova, set for March 26, 2027 in the US, is not confirmed.

Bernie Hayes's best moments are the Hong Kong investigation of Apex in Godzilla vs. Kong and his move into Hollow Earth in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.

First, in my opinion, the Hong Kong investigation is where Bernie works best. While Kong and Godzilla trade blows, the film needs someone small enough to make the Apex facility feel like a real discovery, and Bernie, Madison and Josh supply it. Their thread also sets up Mechagodzilla before it is revealed, which is the kind of build up I like in a creature film, because the scare lands once we understand the rules of the thing.

Second, I would pick his move into Hollow Earth in The New Empire. His billing rises from fourth to second and he joins the main expedition rather than a side plot. The film also pairs him with Trapper, a Titan veterinarian, and the contrast between a podcaster and a vet gives the group a more everyday feel than a squad of soldiers would.