If Avengers: Infinity War stands as the culmination of everything that has come before it in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, thereby laying the groundwork for an event movie unlike anything we’ve ever seen, the same can be said about Godzilla Vs. Kong.
With Adam Wingard (The Guest, Death Note) at the helm and a prime 2020 release date in place, there’s a tangible sense of excitement swirling around Legendary and Warner Bros.’ crossover event, as it’ll herald a gladiator match between two of cinema’s time-honored creatures. Of course, thanks to Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla and this year’s Kong: Skull Island, moviegoers have already been acquainted with Gojira and that skyscraping ape, and while chatting to IGN at San Diego Comic-Con, Wingard spoke a little more about fostering a sense of emotional attachment to both monsters.
Godzilla Vs. Kong is, of course, still incubating in the early stages of development, and that’s something the writer-director addressed, stating: “it’s been a pleasure already in the first stages of it, having an excuse to go back and watch 30 Godzilla movies and justifying it to yourself. For me, it’s about taking the series to the next level.”
However, there’s an inherent similarity in both beasts, according to Adam Wingard, who also addressed the apparent height difference between Godzilla and Kong. It’s something he and the creative team are “very aware” of, but there is one thing viewers tend to forget: “Kong is still growing.”
“I think they’re very similar in a lot of ways. It’s easy to demonize Godzilla on one hand, but I have a lot of emotional attachment to both monsters. They gave us a good out in Kong when they mentioned that Kong is still growing, but that’ll be a challenge we have to deal with, and we’re very aware of that issue.”
Following the trail of destruction left by Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla and the Vietnam-set prequel film, Kong: Skull Island, next up for Legendary’s MonsterVerse is the release of Godzilla: King of the Monsters on March 22nd, 2019. Michael Dougherty’s monstrous sequel is set to pit Gojira against three of his most-famous adversaries: Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah, which ought to stand him in good stead ahead of that all-important clash in 2020’s Godzilla Vs. Kong.