Since returning to theaters in 2014, fans have been eagerly awaiting he return of Gareth Edwards' Godzilla franchise with bated thermonuclear breath. Well after the latest round of news, we'll have to wait about another year for Godzilla 2 to happen, but it won't be in vain as its follow-up, Godzilla vs. Kong, has finally found a release date amidst the dust.
The Wrap grabbed the scoop about the legendary MUTO and the shift of his first sequel from its original June 2018 release date into a much safer March 22, 2019 slot. The reasoning for this seems to be so that Gareth Edwards' second installment of fighting monster action won't have to deal with the eventual behemoth that is Transformers 6 being released on the same day, but there's another reason the switch may have happened. That reason being that Godzilla vs. Kong has finally found itself with a release date of May 29, 2020, which keeps the series going for another year.
From this side of the mirror, an extra year of waiting for Godzilla 2 doesn't look so good, especially considering how good that first Gareth Edwards film was. However, the delay between the reboot and its first sequel effort does have the advantage of possibly bringing out the best sequel possible. Not to mention, with Godzilla vs. Kong finally being scheduled, the entire shared universe of larger than life monsters is heading our way in the tangible future. So it's not going to surprise us one bit if we hear about some sort of mysterious teaser at the end of Godzilla 2, in which the lizard king stumbles upon the wreckage of the S.S. Venture, only to hear a very familiar roar in the distance.
This twist of fate comes after Godzilla vs. Kong found itself re-homed at Warner Bros., as production company Legendary Pictures found itself being rejected by current partner Universal when it came to all things Kong. The project moved over to the studio home for 2014's Godzilla the moment that Kong: Skull Island shifted backlots in preparation of its March 10, 2017 release date, ensuring that the entire giant monster universe being brewed up would take place under the same roof. While this may have seemed like a bit of a pain to execute, it was probably all for the best, as a shared venture would have been messy, with two different parties trying to make the movie they felt was best fit for their overall canon.
The dawn of gigantic creatures duking it out for our amusement is upon us, and Kong: Skull Island will kick things off on March 10, 2017, with Godzilla 2 taking up the mantle on March 22, 2019. All of this leads to the title fight, Godzilla vs. Kong, which is scheduled for May 29th, 2020, but if the return of Kong manages to be a bigger hit than anticipated, all of this planning might change yet again.
