Legendary’s Monsterverse has been building up to Godzilla vs. Kong for a long time. The movie will see the two cinematic titans going to toe-to-toe, with Kong’s ferocity and agility a decent match for Godzilla’s sheer destructive power. However, if things had gone to plan, we would have been gearing up to watch this very soon, as the pic was originally set to release this March but has been delayed until November due to reshoots.
This means that we’re yet to see a trailer for the movie, but at least we now have our first full look at the slightly redesigned Godzilla. The origin of this image – see below – is uncertain, but I believe it’s a piece of concept art used as the backing image at the Godzilla stand at the New York Toy Fair.
The beast is seen here blasting his atomic heat beam upwards into the sky, presumably at Kong perched atop a Hong Kong skyscraper. Given that this Godzilla is the same one we’ve seen in previous movies, there are no great surprises in his design, but it’s notable that his back spines are white now, which may be an indication that he’s powered up somehow.
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Whatever the case, watching these two throw down should be a real blockbuster spectacle. Word is that King Kong is by far the better fighter of the two. He’s agile, strong and knows how to throw a punch. But that doesn’t necessarily mean he can bring down the insanely durable Godzilla, and you’d imagine that his atomic breath could do some serious damage to Kong very quickly.
But longtime Godzilla fans will know this isn’t the first time they’ve battled on screen. In 1962, Toho released King Kong vs. Godzilla. In that battle, Godzilla had the upper hand throughout most of the fight, using his atomic breath to burn the forest around Kong and beat him with his tail. Kong was on the ropes, only for a bolt of lightning to strike him and charge him up. Powered by this second wind, the two monsters eventually plunged into the ocean, still beating the hell out of one another. Only Kong surfaced though, swimming back to Skull Island to recuperate.
It remains to be seen whether director Adam Wingard will be taking much inspiration from the original, but let’s just hope both monsters get their moment in the spotlight when Godzilla Vs. Kong hits cinemas on November 20th, 2020.