It's Official: Godzilla x Kong Follow-Up Is Go!

[Kailem]

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Legendary have hired Shang-Chi and early G'14 writer Dave Callaham to pen the next installment of the Monsterverse!

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/godzilla-x-kong-follow-dave-callaham-1235895879/

After the fantastic box office takings of GxK it was pretty obvious we'd be getting more, so I'm glad they're confirming it early rather than beating around the bush and acting like we didn't all know that was going to be the case. Granted I didn't think Shang-Chi was anything amazing, but then it's not like the writing has ever really been the strong suit of these movies anyway.

I'm sure they'll get Adam Wingard back again once he's finished with his recently-announced A24 film this year too, so I think for better or worse we can expect another entry that's very much in the same vein as these last two. Either way, I'm just happy we've officially got more (movie) Godzilla on the horizon once again!

[lhb412]

Have a feeling we'll get a more Godzilla focused story this time around. Wingard has hinted as much, but I also just feel like the more human, straightforwardly likeable character of Kong really saved the MonsterVerse as a franchise, but after the success of the previous two films plus Minus One the stock of Godzilla as a character has risen considerably in just the last couple of years.

[Benjamin Haines]

Yeah, there was another article from THR last week about Adam Wingard's upcoming A24 horror movie, Onslaught, which mentioned that he doesn't yet have an official deal with Legendary to direct their next Godzilla/Kong flick but he is expected to return for it.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/a24-scoops-up-adam-wingard-onslaught-1235889025/

It makes sense that Wingard wants to make another smaller-scale horror film first. He was hired to direct GvsK back in 2017, so if the follow-up to GxK is released in 2027 then by that point he'll have spent a decade of his career directing Godzilla/Kong movies. It takes a long time to make big films like this but I don't think Wingard shooting Onslaught this fall will delay the GxK follow-up at all. After GvsK was released in March 2021, GxK began pre-production in January 2022 and filming took place from July to November that year. That allowed all of 2023 for post-production to finish the extensive VFX in time for its March 2024 release. As long as this follow-up begins pre-production early in 2025 and completes filming by the end of 2025, it should have no problem being ready to release in March 2027. In order to start pre-production early next year, Legendary would need to start the scriptwriting process as soon as possible, and it looks like that's exactly what they're doing!

It's always great to have another new Godzilla movie to look forward to! Man, looking back on the post-G'98 years of the Millennium Series, who could have ever imagined that we'd eventually get a Hollywood Godzilla film series that would span five pictures including three crossovers with Kong?

[Kailem]

Yeah *both* parts of that would have been insane to think about back then. Not only that we'd one day be getting an American Godzilla series that would be so successful it would span at least half a dozen entries and a live-action TV series, but that so many of them would also be crossing over with King Kong! Both of those were total fanboy dreams back then to the point where even reading them back now they still don't seem like they can be real!

[Kailem]

In a surprising turn of events, Adam Wingard will NOT be returning!

https://www.darkhorizons.com/wingard-out-of-third-godzilla-x-kong/

I definitely didn't see that coming! I guess Legendary wants to move on this next one so fast that they're just not willing to wait for him to finish his prior commitments! Granted it's not like I've loved *everything* in these past two movies, but it's kinda crazy that they'd rather push ahead without the guy who just helped them make *all* the money with their last two entries.

I'd imagine whoever they get in now will probably stick with the crazy late-Showa direction they've been going in, because audiences have clearly been digging it, but it'll be interesting to see how much of a turn things are going to take across the board now that the guy behind so much of what we got in the last two films is out.

[Benjamin Haines]

That is very unexpected. I really thought that Legendary would stick with Wingard after the increasing commercial success of the last two films, and I thought he would move into pre-production on this early next year after he finished Onslaught. I guess that timetable wouldn't work after all but I hope this isn't a sign that Legendary wants to rush this next movie for a 2026 release.

I like both GvsK and GxK, and I think there's more creativity and effort on display in those movies than they get credit for, so I was looking forward to seeing what Wingard would do with a third flick. Still, those movies do wear their flaws on their sleeves and they both have a lot of obvious room for improvement, so bringing in a different director for Legendary's next Godzilla/Kong adventure could be for the best. I doubt that anyone at Legendary wants this next film to be much different from the crowdpleasing approach of the last two, although they did hire Dave Callaham to write the script instead of getting Terry Rossio again, so who knows? Gareth Edwards is directing the next Jurassic World movie for Universal, and it's unlikely that Michael Dougherty would direct another MonsterVerse flick, but what about Jordan Vogt-Roberts? He's currently the only director other than Wingard to helm one of Legendary's Kong movies, and I'm in the camp that thinks Kong: Skull Island is still the best MonsterVerse entry.

[Dai]

Between the quick greenlight, the choice of writer, and dropping Wingard, the next Monsterverse movie is looking like it's set for the fast track. I imagine they are targeting 2026. Looking at Callahan's previous writing credits (Doom, The Expendables), I can only assume he's a reliable pick for turning out a workable script quickly. I suspect that Legendary want to lock in their next release date ASAP so they don't have to worry about Toho blocking off their preferred year with whatever they're planning next for Godzilla.

I certainly wouldn't bet against Wingard returning to the Monsterverse at some point, especially if Legendary want to build towards a big Destroy All Monsters style crossover eventually.