Anticipation is building for the epic monster showdown in Godzilla vs Kong. This summer’s Godzilla: King of Monsters dropped plenty of teases for the matchup between cinema’s most famous giant monsters. But as is normal for a movie of such epic proportions, very few details have been provided so far.
Given the iconic nature of Godzilla and King Kong, as well as the movies that have come before, it’s hard to know what direction this film will take. With the film a little under a year away, it’s likely we’ll start to learn more soon. For now, let’s dive into everything we know so far about Godzilla vs Kong.
Returning Cast
Despite the real draw of these films being the giant monsters and their destruction, the shared Monsterverse has managed to assemble quite a lot of quality actors for their films so far. While some of those characters didn’t make it through their films, several characters will be returning for this match-up film.
Kyle Chandler and Millie Bobby Brown will return as father and daughter Mark Russell and Madison Russell who served as the heroes in Godzilla: King of Monsters. Zhang Ziyi will also return as twins Dr. Ilene Chen and Dr. Ling Chen. Joe Morton had a brief role in Godzilla: King of Monsters which served as a connection to Kong: Skull Island, but it’s unclear if he’ll return in the role.
New Additions
Along with those returning cast members from previous Monsterverse movies, there are plenty of other famous faces joining the new adventure. Alexander Skarsgård joined the cast in what is rumored to be the lead role.
Other notable names who are set to appear include Brian Tyree Henry (Altanta), Rebecca Hall (Iron Man 3), Eiza González (Hobbs and Shaw), Jessica Henwick (Iron Fist) and Julian Dennison (Deadpool 2). Little is known about which characters they will be playing, but it certainly is an impressive cast.
Director
The MonsterVerse theory seems to be making a trend of switching up its directors with each new installment of the franchise. Michael Dougherty directed the previous installment, Godzilla: King of Monsters, and while he returns as one of the screenwriters, Adam Wingard will direct.
Interestingly, Wingard is mostly known for his smaller, hard-R-rated thrillers like The Guest and You’re Next. It will be interesting to see how he deals with a film of such massive scope as well as a probably PG-13 rating.
Synopsis
Though there were plenty of references to the possible coming conflict in Godzilla: King of Monsters, that film didn’t give many clues as to why the two Titans will do battle in this film. Though Kong was conspicuously absent when the other monsters came to bow to Godzilla.
The film’s official synopsis provides some hint at the story with the world being overrun with the monsters now. As a human conspiracy is devised to wipe out the remaining Titans, Godzilla and Kong are put on “a collision course” with each other.
Release Date
It feels like this film has been talked about for ages without anyone seeing a single frame of footage. But as unlikely as it may seem the epic match-up is less than a year away from finally hitting the big screen.
Warner Bros. has confirmed that the film will open internationally on March 11, 2020. It was originally rumored the film would be pushed back a couple of months, but this seems to be the firm date. While the film might seem like a sure-fire summer release, the early release date was likely chosen to avoid such big films as Fast & Furious 9 and Black Widow.
Other Monsters
The end of Godzilla: King of Monsters presented a completely different world for the human race. The other Titan monsters are awoken and seem to have excepted Godzilla as their new king. Though the film will focus on Godzilla and Kong, it begs the question if the other monsters will play a role.
It seems unlikely that the movie will just ignore the fact that several giant monsters are roaming around the world. Especially with well-known monsters like Rodan, we fully expect them to be featured in the film and perhaps pick sides in the ultimate fight.
Human Connection
Despite their intimidating size and the fact that they are capable of devastating destruction, Godzilla and Kong are willing to fight on behalf of mankind. In each of their movies in the MonsterVerse, these two Titans have shown to connect to humans in an unexpected way.
It’s likely that theme will carry over to their showdown and Michael Dougherty spoke about the differences in this connection for each of the monsters. In his mind, Kong has always been more closely connected to humans, being a primate. While Godzilla is only becoming used to sharing the world with them.
Kong The Underdog
While it is exciting seeing these two massive monsters go head-to-head, it doesn’t exactly seem like a fair fight. While Kong is certainly no slouch and has held his own against other deadly monsters, Godzilla just seems like he’s in another league entirely.
Michael Dougherty admitted the film took the approach of Kong being the underdog in this fight and likens it to a David and Goliath battle. However, while he also pointed out that Kong has grown a lot since we last saw with and is potentially much smarter than Godzilla which should even the odds a bit. Interesting, Dougherty also pointed to Rocky Balboa and Ivan Drago in Rocky IV as an inspiration for the battle.
Clear Winner
This is not the first time we’ve seen two famous characters face-off on the big screen. From Batman versus Superman to Freddy versus Jason to Alien versus Predator, these battles often end the same way. Either the foes team up to take on a bigger threat or there is a draw.
While it is understandable that they would be hesitant to declare one iconic character champion over the other, this can make for a rather unsatisfying end. However, the filmmakers have promised this won’t be the case for Godzilla vs. Kong as a clear winner will emerge once the dust settles.
