Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire director explains why one of its central monsters sees its look changed for the upcoming film. Godzilla x Kong is directed by Adam Wingard and will be the next addition to the Hollywood Monsterverse franchise. Godzilla x Kong is set for release on April 12, 2024, and stars a leading cast of Dan Stevens, Rebecca Hall, Rachel House, and Brian Tyree Henry.
Now, Wingard explains why Godzilla’s appearance is different in Godzilla x Kong. Speaking with Total Film (via Games Radar), Wingard explained that for the previous film, he wanted there to be “continuity” between Godzilla’s look in The King of Monsters and the 2014 Godzilla remake. In Godzilla x Kong, however, Wingard was looking for “a chance at doing [his] own version of Godzilla.” Check out the full quote from Wingard below:
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. 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.
Wingard also spoke in brief on the presentation of Kong in the film:
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.
Could Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire Revive the Monsterverse?
As he alludes to in his statement, Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is not Wingard’s first dive into the Monsterverse. The director previously took on the story of Godzilla and King Kong in 2021’s Godzilla vs. Kong, which is the follow-up to the 2019 film Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Having been invited back for another entry into the Monsterverse, it seems that Wingard will be more comfortable taking creative liberties with the classic characters than he did in Godzilla vs. Kong.
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Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is positioned uniquely within recent Godzilla films. While Wingard’s Godzilla vs. Kong received largely positive reviews — garnering a 76% on Rotten Tomatoes — Godzilla: King of the Monsters received a far less glowing 42% on Rotten Tomatoes. Additionally, 2023 saw the release of Toho’s Godzilla Minus One, a Japanese revamp on the monster which received universal acclaim. Godzilla x Kong will have to do work to keep the Monsterverse on a positive review track, or else risk being overshadowed by the lauded Toho version of the kaiju monster.
If Godzilla vs. Kong is any indication, Wingard might be just the right director for the task. Wingard helped send the Monsterverse on a better path after Godzilla: King of the Monsters, showing that the Hollywood versions of the films still had hope at regaining their quality. Hopefully, Wingard will be able to continue this trend as he creates his own unique rendering of Godzilla for Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire
After nearly destroying each other in 2020’s Godzilla vs. Kong, the giant Titans are back to face a new dangerous threat, but this time, they are on the same side. Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is the fifth film in Warner Bros.’ growing Monsterverse franchise and will be directed by Adam Wingard.
- Release Date
- April 12, 2024
- Director
- Adam Wingard
- Cast
- Dan Stevens , Rebecca Hall , Brian Tyree Henry , Kaylee Hottle , Fala Chen
- Rating
- Not Yet Rated
- Genres
- Action , Adventure
- Writers
- Terry Rossio , Simon Barrett , Jeremy Slater
- Studio(s)
- Legendary Pictures
- Distributor(s)
- Warner Bros. Pictures
- prequel(s)
- Godzilla (2014) , Kong: Skull Island , Godzilla: King of the Monsters , Godzilla Vs Kong
- Franchise(s)
- Godzilla , King Kong , Monsterverse
