Posted in: Godzilla, Legendary, Movies, Warner Bros | Tagged: adam wingard, Godzilla X Kong: The New Empire

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire Director On Godzilla's "Continuity""

The director for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire says that he wanted "continuity" regarding how the monsters looked.

The MonsterVerse has been on a weird journey at the box office. After a strong start with the first two films, Godzilla: King of the Monsters underperformed, and Godzilla vs. Kong got hit with the hybrid release of the pandemic and was an early 2021 release that was heavily pirated because people weren't vaccinated and weren't willing to take the chance on a movie theater. Now, there is a television show that seems to be doing all right, and the fifth entry in the franchise, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, because short titles are for scrubs even in 2024. Director Adam Wingard recently spoke to Total Film about the look of Godzilla and Kong specifically and how he hoped to give them continuity. The evolutions that we are seeing teased in the trailer are very much intentional and not just because they look cool [though they do look cool].

"Very specifically in the last film, I wanted Godzilla to have a continuity, to look the way that he had in King of the Monsters and the 2014 Godzilla," he explains. "But then I didn't get a chance at doing my version of Godzilla. So now I wanted to do different things with the spines and try different colours. I didn't want it to just be random; it's part of the story. … And similarly, with Kong, I wanted to give him some sort of new look as well. We grew his beard out and gave him a little bit more grey hair and stuff."

This franchise remains utterly bizarre because it feels like it isn't as big as it should be. However, the last entry did get kicked while it was down due to the pandemic, and King of the Monsters was released in 2019, which we have talked about as an absolutely insane time at the box office with tons of massive movies going out and breaking records. It was hard for almost anything to compete. Right now, it looks like Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is heading into prime release conditions, and that, more than anything, will be a test as to whether or not there is still life in this universe beyond this film.

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire: Summary, Cast List, Release Date

The epic battle continues! Legendary Pictures' cinematic Monsterverse follows up the explosive showdown of Godzilla vs. Kong with an all-new adventure that pits the almighty Kong and the fearsome Godzilla against a colossal undiscovered threat hidden within our world, challenging their very existence—and our own. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire delves further into the histories of these Titans and their origins, as well as the mysteries of Skull Island and beyond, while uncovering the mythic battle that helped forge these extraordinary beings and tied them to humankind forever.

Once again at the helm is director Adam Wingard. The film stars Rebecca Hall (Godzilla vs. Kong, The Night House), Brian Tyree Henry (Godzilla vs. Kong, Bullet Train), Dan Stevens (Gaslit, Legion, Beauty and the Beast), Kaylee Hottle (Godzilla vs. Kong), Alex Ferns (The Batman, Wrath of Man, Chernobyl) and Fala Chen (Irma Vep, Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings).

The screenplay is by Terry Rossio (Godzilla vs. Kong the Pirates of the Caribbean series) and Simon Barrett (You're Next) and Jeremy Slater (Moon Knight), from a story by Rossio & Wingard & Barrett, based on the character "Godzilla" owned and created by TOHO Co., Ltd. The film is produced by Mary Parent, Alex Garcia, Eric Mcleod, Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni and Brian Rogers. The executive producers are Wingard, Jen Conroy, Jay Ashenfelter, Yoshimitsu Banno, Kenji Okuhira.

Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures Present a Legendary Pictures Production, A Film By Adam Wingard, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. It is slated for release nationwide only in theaters and IMAX on April 12, 2024, and beginning 10 April 2024 internationally, distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures except in Japan, where the film will be distributed by Toho Co., Ltd and in mainland China, where it will be distributed by Legendary East.

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