It’s been rumoured for a while now, but Legendary and Warner Bros. have finally made it official: 2020 will see the release of Godzilla vs. Kong! There’s still no explanation as to how the very differently sized beasts are going to duke it out, but it sounds like we’re definitely going to be getting a shared monster universe which these two icons will be calling home.
Described as an epic, new shared cinematic franchise, Monarch, the human organization that uncovered Godzilla in the 2014 film, will apparently expand their mission across multiple releases and tie the franchises together.
2017 will see the release of Kong: Skull Island, with Godzilla 2 following in 2018 and this epic mashup set for release in 2020. Legendary hold the rights to monsters like Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah, so don’t be surprised if they end up factoring into this movie as well.
Legendary CEO, Thomas Tull, had this to say about the plans for Godzilla vs. Kong today:
“Audiences really responded to Godzilla. Today, I’m excited to reveal that film was only the beginning of an epic new entertainment universe. As a lifelong fan of these characters, I’ve always wanted to see the ultimate showdown, and today we’re pleased to be announcing that and more.”
Warner Bros. Chairman and CEO Kevin Tsujihara also weighed in with the following:
“Working with our partners at Legendary, we enjoyed tremendous creative and commercial success with ‘Godzilla’. It’s great to be able to revisit these characters and help create a franchise with so many creative possibilities for filmmakers. Fans love these big, globally iconic films and it doesn’t get any bigger than this.”
This sounds like a pretty epic undertaking, and fans have been dreaming about a crossover featuring these two characters ever since Godzilla was released and Kong: Skull Island was announced at last year’s San Diego Comic-Con. Making Monarch the focal point is an interesting move, and while it’s hard to figure out the logistics of how Godzilla vs. Kong will work right now, you just know it’s going to be epic.