Thomas Tull Resigns from Legendary

[Jorzilla]

[Henry88]

[lhb412]

I can understand how this happened, as Tull has a history of rubbing people the wrong way (think about their public breakups with WB and Universal), but I'm glad he's staying on as producer for the kaiju movies.

[Jinzo Ningen]

Wow. Bummer news. Let's just hope this shake up doesn't end up F-ing up the monster-verse Tull has helped engineer over the last several years. Things are just starting to gel. Whew. Depending on how much administrative muscle he still flexes within the company things could continue fly or crash & burn. If the owners put someone in charge who's not a fan of our genres then everything we've been enjoying could all end rather quickly.

Hmmm......

(Will keep fingers crossed.)

[Gwangi]

I think box-office for "Kong: Skull Island" and "Godzilla, King of Monsters" is going to become a little more essential now. "Godzilla vs. Kong" is Thomas Tull's baby, and as long as he was there, it was a pretty sure thing that it would come to fruition, even if the previous two monster flicks might under perform. My gut feeling is that Wanda will eventually see this through, but might demand that a Chinese city or cities get demolished in either "King of Monsters" or "G vs. KK".

[lhb412]

^Yeah, King of Monsters is a sure thing, but I think Godzilla vs. Kong is slightly more percipitous depending on Skull Island. I still think it's likely, though.

I've been keeping my expectations tempered throughout this whole thing. I'm not hanging my hopes on there being any movies beyond what's been announced, but am perfectly happy that we're actually getting these in the first place. Legendary is releasing a kaiju movie every year for the three years in a row starting this year. If it ends after that? We got five movies out of the deal in a genre I thought was dead!

[mr.negativity]

[jellydonut25]

This throws the whole thing into flux other than Kong (OBVIOUSLY since it's coming in a couple months) and PacRim 2. Nothing else is assured anymore, and I believe that unless Kong and PacRim 2 perform well, Godzilla 2 will be scrapped and forget about Kong vs Godzilla. It's almost not even worth thinking about these movies anymore.

[Henry88]

[lhb412]

I wouldn't go as far as jelly, I think Godzilla 2 is pretty safe, but as for anything else? It depends on the success of the movies if they'll make more. If Kong is a success we'll see more Kong. People loving PacRim2 makes 3 happen. Godzilla2 makes money we'll see more Godzilla movies. At a certain point you just gotta enjoy getting these movies without fretting about a dozen theoretical movies.

[daikaijusaurus]

This certainly is a bummer, but I wouldn't necessarily predict doom and gloom yet. As far as I'm concerned, if these movies make money they will definitely make more. Both Pacific RIm and Godzilla 2014 made money in China, so the sequels are happening. If the sequels make money as well, then Godzilla Vs Kong and Pacific Rim 3 are in the bag. Same goes for future Kong movies if Skull Island is a hit.

Another thing that bums me out is that I was hoping more of a Japanese presence for Godzilla 2, such as maybe more Japanese actors or settings. But now since Legendary is owned by a Chinese company it's likely we'll be seeing Chinese actors and major scenes in China since the darn movie is going to be shot in China.

[KaiserGhidorah]

I believe Godzilla 2 will be safe. Godzilla vs Kong is probably up in the air now unless Skull Island and Godzilla 2 exceeds expectations at the box office. I'm actually surprised Pacific Rim 2 made it this far to be honest and didn't get the ax considering the lack luster performance for the first film at the box office. The only thing that saved it was the foreign ticket sales returns. I enjoyed the flick but it wasn't anything special and could have done without the sequel. Kong is set in stone....and I do want Godzilla 2 which I believe we will get. I do hope that both films take in enough money to justify the production for Godzilla vs Kong.

[Gman2887]

Whether Tull remained or not, I really feel like a great deal of this will come down to Skull Island's performance. Right now it's only tracking for a $40 million opening, which seems like a bold prediction this far out. But it is sandwiched between Logan and Beauty and the Beast, which are both pretty much destined to win the highly competitive March month right now. Even if Kong has decent word-of-mouth and legs, it'll still have to contend with Beauty and the Beast and Power Rangers the next couple of weeks. Who knows how Ghost in a Shell will do in the last week.

There's just too many event movies released per year these days. It's a wonder Hollywood hasn't imploded on itself yet. I'm pretty much banking on China to come to the rescue for Legendary again.

[lhb412]

^I don't know what to make of the whole 'tracking' thing. It was rightish with PacRim and wrongish with Godzilla '14. My gut feeling is that Kong'll do about as well as Logan, and those X-Men films have tended do on the okay-ish side of successful (aside from Deadpool, of course). Beauty and the Beast looks to be a big hit, maybe a repeat of The Jungle Book's success last year, but do we have to worry about Kong and that movie really competing for the same audience? Some irony there, of course, me saying Kong isn't directly competing with a movie based on the fairy tale that partially inspired the original King Kong's plot.

... and you make another good point, re: China.

[Gman2887]

Like I said, I think any prediction this far out is bold. But it's a bloated March, one that many are looking to be a battlefield. I think the fact Logan is Jackman's final foray with the X-Men character will be enough to bolster it as one of the highest grossing movies of the month--Probably right behind Beauty and the Beast.

[lhb412]

^ I don't know. It is an insanely overstuffed March, hell, it starts off an overstuffed couple of months.

I know that China places limitations on foreign films, but I wonder if it being a Chinese coproduction gives it certain advantages?

[Benjamin Haines]

[jellydonut25]

[lhb412]

[jellydonut25]

[Gwangi]

Well, Legendary has already invested heavily in this kaiju universe, first buying the rights to Mothra, Rodan and Ghidrah from Toho and have them in play for "Godzilla 2" or possibly "Godzilla vs. Kong", and then moving "Kong: Skull Island" from Universal to Warner Brothers for that potential Kong-Godzilla match-up. Of course, that was all Thomas Tull's doing. Will the Chinese still want to take those investments and proceed, should "Kong" and "Pacific Rim" under perform?

But then, that brings up another question. Would they be more concerned with how they perform in the Chinese box-office rather than the U.S.? "Warcraft" did buffo box-office in China, and there is talk of a sequel, eventhough, it did not do so well here in the States. "The Great Wall" is not expected to break records here either, but has been a pretty solid hit with the Chinese thus far:

[lhb412]

[jellydonut25]

[lhb412]

^But that's a Universal film they assisted with, not one of their movies they do the majority of production on. Are they even involved with the Jurassic World sequel? I recall Universal being angry with Tull over their partnership there.

[Benjamin Haines]