Today brings the first trailer for Ape vs. Monster. This is the latest mockbuster from the folks at The Asylum, who specializes in this sort of thing and have been doing it successfully for years. In this case, they are cutting from a similar cloth as Godzilla vs. Kong, which has been carving a path of destruction at the global box office as of late. As such, the studio decided to make its own low-budget movie, in which, a gigantic lizard monster fights an equally huge ape.

The trailer kicks off with a team of soldiers discovering a giant, deadly ape in the desert. Unfortunately, a mysterious substance that leads to tremendous growth was splattered on the desert floor, which another local creature discovers and ingests. As one might expect, the two monsters end up on a collision course with one another, ultimately leading to a huge, destructive brawl in Washington D.C. It is full-on destruction and chaos from then on out.

For those who may not be familiar with The Asylum's work, the independent studio was originally founded in 1997. They have gained notoriety for producing low-budget blockbusters that often mirror recent or upcoming Hollywood blockbusters. Thus, they have been dubbed mockbusters. Some examples include Atlantic Rim, Abraham Lincoln vs. Zombies and Triassic World. They are also behind Syfy's Sharknado franchise, as well as the TV show Z Nation.

But the studio does sometimes find itself in trouble for these riffs on popular movies. Several lawsuits have cropped up over the years as a result of these direct-to-video Asylum flicks. In 2008, they were sued by Fox over The Day the Earth Stopped, which mirrored The Day the Earth Stood Still. 2012 saw Universal take issue with American Battleship, which was seemingly riffing on Battleship, adapted from the popular game of the same name. Asylum later changed the title to American Warships. Warner Bros. also came after them in 2013 over Age of the Hobbits, which was coming out around the same time as The Hobbit. The title was later changed to Lord of the Elves.

In Ape vs. Monster, an ape lost in space crash-lands on Earth, oozing a sludge that makes him and a passing desert creature gigantic, leading to all out brawl for Earth. As the artwork teases, this will be "the greatest of all time." The greatest movie? The greatest fight? It is currently unclear. What is clear is that the studio is not afraid to hype up the low-budget monster brawl ahead of its release.

There is no word yet on a release date for the movie. Though with a trailer online and Godzilla Vs Kong in the middle of its theatrical run, Ape vs. Monster can't be far behind. Be sure to check out the trailer for yourself, and be on the lookout for Ape vs. Monster later this year from The Asylum.