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.

[lhb412]

Although I enjoyed the previous two movies I also appreciate a change of pace. Early word suggests a darker, more Godzilla-centric entry? Sounds good to me!

[Benjamin Haines]

^ With no director currently attached, there's no telling what direction this next sequel will go.

For all the differences in filmmaking techniques between G'98 and the various MonsterVerse flicks, one key advantage that Adam Wingard, Michael Dougherty and Gareth Edwards all had over Roland Emmerich is that the three of them all watched and appreciated classic Japanese Godzilla movies. Regardless of how much any of us fans like or dislike G'14, G:KotM, GvsK or GxK, there's no question that Godzilla looks and acts like Godzilla in each of those movies. That sort of baseline character accuracy is something we really can't take for granted from Hollywood after G'98, and now we're once again back to hoping that the director of the upcoming Hollywood Godzilla movie will be someone who at least respects the character's core qualities on that most basic level. Obviously the producers at Legendary have a solid track record in that regard but still, given their apparent fast-track approach to this next film, it wouldn't be too surprising if the director they hire is someone whose only prior Godzilla viewing has been the Hollywood films and maybe Minus One and/or Shin. I don't think these movies need to be directed by devoted Godzilla fans but I do hope that the influence of suitmation-era Godzilla isn't lost in Legendary's rush to get this next sequel done as quickly as possible.

If Legendary is aiming for a March 2026 release and they're not finished with all of the scriptwriting, pre-production, casting and filming by the end of this year, then by default this next movie is going to have a shorter post-production window than GxK, which finished shooting by the end of 2022.

[Kailem]

[quote="Benjamin Haines"]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.[/quote]

Same here (though I think Godzilla vs Kong is close behind). If any of the previous Monsterverse directors were to theoretically return, Vogt-Roberts is the one I'd most want to. Part of why I was disappointed with KotM was that it repeated some of the problems I had with G'14 that Vogt-Roberts fixed in Skull Island (spending enough time actually seeing the monsters fight and not shrouding them in darkness, not cutting away to the humans every time monster fights start), so I'm confident he'd be the best choice of the previous three to deliver something similar to what Adam Wingard did in the last two, and maybe improve on it.

You make a good point though about not being able to take for granted that Hollywood is always going to get Godzilla right. It's something I hadn't really considered, since I feel like over the past couple of decades we've seen a lot more adaptations of existing characters or franchises get things right, compared to how often they got things wrong in the pre-2000's. But you're right that it's still never a guarantee, and likewise I hope that whoever they get in for the next one has the same level of respect for the character and his history as all the previous directors have had.

Either way though, at this point we've got a pretty well-established direction for the Monsterverse as a whole, so I'd imagine that even if they brought onboard someone with no prior Godzilla-viewing experience that Legendary would want to steer them in the same direction as they've been going these past two movies, so it's not something I'm too worried about.

[Benjamin Haines]

^ I hope you're right, because Deadline just reported that Legendary has hired Grant Sputore to direct this next movie.

https://deadline.com/2024/06/monsterverse-grant-sputore-godzilla-x-kong-1235961375/

His only prior film is the Netflix sci-fi thriller I Am Mother, which I haven't seen yet but which seems to have been received well by critics according to Rotten Tomatoes. Apparently Sputore was a director of commercial advertisements prior to that.

I hope this turns out well.

[lhb412]

Director of a small-scale, criticality well-received film that features some impressive effects despite its modest budget - tapped to helm the next MonsterVerse film?

Hmmm, feels like I've heard that before?

[Dai]

Now that's an interesting pick, especially in conjunction with the bombastic MO of the writer. I Am Mother was a good movie that I particularly remember for its tension and moody cinematography. It's hard to judge a director by one movie, but I wonder if Legendary want to pull back from the pop-art excess of the Wingard movies and go for something closer to the grounded look of 2014 and Legacy of Monsters.

Directors who start out in commercials tend to have a good eye for visuals. David Fincher came up from that route, and IIRC Ridley Scott did too.

[Kailem]

Yeah it definitely seems like they're trying to go the Gareth Edwards route again by hiring a director who's only had one small sci-fi movie to their credit so far. I totally blanked on what I Am Mother even was when I saw the news, until I realised I'd watched it on Netflix a couple of years or so ago. And yeah, it was good! So at the very least, that's a positive sign!

As much as it felt like Adam Wingard himself was a big part of why the last two movies had the style and tone that they had (especially GxK), given how successful they were I've got to imagine Legendary is going to want to continue along similar lines even though they're bringing in someone completely new to helm them. With GxK becoming the highest-grossing Godzilla movie of all time I can't see them wanting to change up a winning formula too much, especially when the Monsterverse had already been heading in that sort of direction prior to Godzilla vs Kong anyway.

Plus this news only further confirms that they're definitely fast-tracking this for a 2026 release, so I doubt they're going to want to potentially indulge a still pretty new director with only one prior film if he came onboard and wanted to do some big course change or something. I'd wager we're still going to get something big, bombastic and pretty crazy, whether that might be Sputore's preferred style or not. Especially since he's not going to have as much clout to do things his way compared to what Wingard had by the time of GxK (and even then I highly doubt he was able to have everything his own way on that film either).

[Benjamin Haines]

Warner Bros. recently slated an "Untitled WB Event Film" for a March 26, 2027 release: https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl1426163201/

That could be when WB and Legendary intend to release the next MonsterVerse movie. That would maintain the same three-year gap that separated GvsK and GxK, which is surprising. If that is the case, then it seems like Legendary might have hired a writer and a director to begin working on this movie as soon as possible not so they can rush it for a quicker release but so they can maximize their development time without sacrificing any production or post-production time later. That's reassuring if this is the release date.

[Kailem]

Yep, Variety (and then Legendary's own Twitter account) have confirmed that is indeed the date for the next Monsterverse movie:

https://variety.com/2024/film/news/warner-bros-legendary-denis-villeneuve-1236056852/
https://x.com/Legendary/status/1806774629819985949

Not gonna lie, that's a year earlier than I was expecting it to be given the whole "NOWNOWNOW!" pace they seem to have been going at, especially with not letting Adam Wingard take a break to do something else in between. Given that his A24 deal was already set it's not like he would have been floundering around randomly looking for a project to take on in the meantime, but either way that ship has obviously sailed.

But yeah, at least it doesn't seem like it's going to be *insanely* rushed like we'd feared it would be if they'd set a 2026 release date for it.

[Dai]

Considering we just had Godzilla in two movies within a few months of each other, three years is going to feel like a dry spell.

I imagine the speed they got this on the slate is about trying to avoid clashing with Toho. So the question now is whether Toho will try to put a movie out in 2026 or continue their uncharacteristic patience in waiting for just the right ingredients to come together for a memorable Godzilla movie.

[Benjamin Haines]

^ It won't be that long of a wait with the second season of Monarch probably being released next year, assuming that Godzilla will continue to have a role in the show.

I wonder if Toho is working on another animated Godzilla project right now, whether a continuation of Singular Point or another original anime or something computer-animated from the makers of the Gemstone shorts. I don't think Toho will rush to make their next live-action Godzilla film but I can see them releasing a new animated Godzilla movie or series within the next two years.

[Kailem]

I'm sure they must be working on another Gemstone short for this year's Godzilla Day celebrations. The Gigan and Megalon shorts were super popular, and with this year marking not only Godzilla's 70th anniversary but Mechagodzilla's 50th and Ghidorah's 60th I've got to imagine they'll want another one to once again accompany their live-action short.

I'd love another season of Singular Point as I enjoyed it way more than any of the previous animated movies, but the lack of any news about season two makes me think we're probably not going to be getting one (same with Gamera: Rebirth, alas). I'd definitely be down for more Godzilla in animation though or another animated movie, so long as it was better than the Planet of Monsters trilogy.

Either way, more animated stuff would certainly be a good way to fill the gap between now and whenever we might see Toho's next live-action film. And yeah, no doubt we'll be getting season two of Monarch before the next Legendary movie as well, plus potentially the spin-offs! It certainly is weird after just getting soooo much Godzilla between Monarch, Minus One, GxK and last year's anniversary shorts that it could be a while before the next big thing, but even with the anniversary shorts alone at least these upcoming years shouldn't be as dry as the dry spells of yester-year.