Movies - Godzilla vs. Kong: Discover the trailer

By Mulder, 24 january 2021

Godzilla vs. Kong is a film directed by Adam Wingard that follows Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Kong: Skull Island. It is the fourth film of MonsterVerse. The film is also the 36th film of the Godzilla franchise, and the 12th film of the King Kong franchise. It is also the fourth Godzilla film to be entirely produced by a Hollywood studio. The cast includes Alexander Skarsgård, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Shun Oguri, Eiza González, Jessica Henwick, Julian Dennison, Kyle Chandler and Demián Bichir.

The project was announced in October 2015 when Legendary announced his plans for a film universe shared between Godzilla and King Kong. The main shooting began in November 2018 in Hawaii, Australia and Hong Kong, and was completed in April 2019. After being delayed by one release date in November 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Godzilla vs. Kong will be released simultaneously in theaters and on HBO Max on March 26, 2021 in the United States.

In September 2015, Kong: Skull Island went from Universal to Warner Bros. In October 2015, Legendary confirmed that they would unite Godzilla and King Kong in Godzilla vs. Kong, scheduled for release on May 29, 2020. Legendary has launched a joint film franchise centered on Monarch that unites Godzilla King Kong in an ecosystem of other giant, classic and new super-species. Producer Alex Garcia has confirmed that the film will not be a remake of King Kong vs. Godzilla, stating that the idea is not to remake the film. In May 2017, Adam Wingard was announced as the director of Godzilla vs. Kong.

In July 2017, Wingard commented on the plan created by the writers' room, saying, "We are going to look in detail at all the characters, the bows they have, how they relate to each other, and especially how they relate to monsters, and how monsters relate to or reflect them". He also said it's about finding ways to make the story as strong as possible, so that when Terry Rossio is going to write the script, he will have a clear idea of what to include. In August 2017, Wingard talked about his approach to the monsters, saying, "I really want you to take these characters seriously. I want you to be emotionally invested, not only in the human characters, but also in the monsters. It's a huge monster-fighting movie. There are a lot of monsters that go crazy about each other, but at the end of the day, I want there to be an emotional surge. I want you to be emotionally invested in those monsters. I think that's what's going to make the movie really cool".

In March 2017, Legendary assembled a newsroom to develop the Godzilla vs. Kong story, with Terry Rossio (who co-wrote a first non-produced script for TriStar's Godzilla) leading a team comprised of Patrick McKay, J.D. Payne, Lindsey Beer, Cat Vasko, T.S. Nowlin, Jack Paglen and J. Michael Straczynski. On his experience with the writers' room, Rossio said, "Godzilla vs. Kong was my first experience directing several writers, and it was fantastic. It was a real explosion of readings, meeting different writers and developing a story in a group setting. It was similar to animation, where the film takes place on the walls, and the end result is better than what one person could accomplish alone".

Michael Dougherty and Zach Shields, the director and co-writers of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, provided rewrites to ensure that certain themes in King of the Monsters were taken up and certain characters were properly developed. Dougherty revealed how he wrote for the main characters and how the film will deal with their different interactions with people. For Kong, Dougherty said the film would feature "those very unique, even warm moments that create a bond" between Kong and humans, as they have been an essential part of the character since the 1933 film. For Godzilla, his connection with humans would be more implicit as his softer side is rarely shown.

In June 2017, it was announced that Ziyi Zhang had joined the legendary MonsterVerse, having an apparently key role in Godzilla: King of the Monsters and Godzilla vs. Kong. In June 2018, Julian Dennison was chosen to play alongside Van Marten, while Millie Bobby Brown and Kyle Chandler return to their roles in Godzilla: King of the Monsters. In October 2018, Brian Tyree Henry, Demián Bichir, Alexander Skarsgård, Eiza González and Rebecca Hall were added to the cast. In November 2018, Jessica Henwick, Shun Oguri and Lance Reddick were added to the cast.

The main shooting started on November 12, 2018 in Hawaii and Australia and ended in April 2019 under the working title Apex. Production was originally scheduled to begin on October 1, 2018. For the Hawaii shoot, the team filmed on the USS Missouri, Manoa Falls and downtown Honolulu. In January 2019, filming also took place in Gold Coast, Queensland, at the Village Roadshow Studios for an additional 26 weeks. Shooting locations in Australia included Miami State High School and parts of Brisbane such as the suburb of Newstead, Fortitude Valley's Chinatown Mall and the Wickham Terrace parking lot. In June 2020, Tom Holkenborg was announced as the film's composer, and Wingard met him in 2018, where he admits to having written music for Godzilla years before, because he is a fan of Holkenborg. Holkenborg began communicating with the director afterwards, fine-tuned the material and played it for the director, declaring that Wingard was totally in love.

Godzilla vs. Kong will be released simultaneously in U.S. theaters and on HBO Max on March 26, 2021. It will be distributed in theaters worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, except in Japan, where it will be distributed by Toho, while WarnerMedia will stream the film for one month on HBO Max in the United States. The film has been delayed several times and was previously scheduled to be released in 2020 on March 13, May 22, May 29 and November 20, and then postponed until May 21, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Synopsis :
At a time when monsters roam the Earth, and as humanity struggles for its future, Godzilla and King Kong, the two most powerful forces of nature, collide in a spectacular new battle. As Monarch embarks on a perilous mission into uncharted territory, and discovers clues to the origins of the Titans, a human plot threatens to eradicate these creatures - both good and evil - from the face of the planet.

Godzilla vs. Kong
Directed by Adam Wingard
Produced by Mary Parent, Alex Garcia, Eric McLeod, Brian Rogers
Screenplay by Eric Pearson, Max Borenstein
Story by Terry Rossio, Michael Dougherty, Zach Shields
Based on Godzilla by Toho, King Kong by Edgar Wallace and Merian C. Cooper
Starring Alexander Skarsgård, Millie Bobby Brown, Rebecca Hall, Brian Tyree Henry, Shun Oguri, Eiza González, Jessica Henwick, Julian Dennison, Kyle Chandler, Demián Bichir
Music by Tom Holkenborg
Cinematography : Ben Seresin
Edited by Josh Schaeffer
Production company : Legendary Pictures
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures (Worldwide), Toho (Japan)
Release date: March 26, 2021 (United States)