At the end of March 2021, roughly a year after it was originally supposed to come out, Godzilla vs. Kong finally arrived in both theaters and on HBO Max. A month later, it was reported that Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures were moving forward with a new MonsterVerse movie in response to Godzilla vs. Kong’s critical and commercial success, with Adam Wingard sitting back in the director’s chair. Today now brings word that what’s unofficially being referred to as Godzilla vs. Kong 2 has cast its first actor, and it’s someone that Wingard directed in one of his previous movies.
Dan Stevens, who worked with Adam Wingard in The Guest, has signed on to star in Godzilla vs. Kong 2. Stevens played David Collins, the 2014 thriller’s lead antagonist, and now he’ll get to team with Wingard again within a MonsterVerse setting. Unfortunately, Deadline didn’t share any details about who Stevens is playing in Godzilla vs. Kong 2, so we have no idea yet how his character will factor into the upcoming movie… well, besides being astounded at seeing these two Titans in the flesh, just like everyone else.
The Guest was one of of Dan Stevens’ earliest movies, and was met with critical acclaim. Three years after its release, Stevens’ fame skyrocketed when he played Beast in Disney’s live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast. 2017 also saw Adam Wingard delivering his live-action film adaptation of Death Note to Netflix. Prior to The Guest, Stevens was best known for playing Matthew Crawley in Downton Abbey, and his other notable credits include Marshall, The Call of the Wild, Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, Legion and the currently-airing Starz limited series Gaslit.
Taking place five years after the events of Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and roughly five decades after what unfolded in Kong: Skull Island, Godzilla vs. Kong finally brought these two gargantuan creatures together in a Hollywood setting, as they previously clashed in the 1962 Japanese movie King Kong vs. Godzilla. Within the MonsterVerse, the Titans collided when Apex Cybernetics attempted to move Kong to Hollow Earth for two reasons. The first, Skull Island was no longer habitable enough for him to keep the towering gorilla there. Second, Apex was looking for a power source to use for a weapon capable of stopping Godzilla’s erratic rampages. However, as the story progressed, it became clear that Apex had wasn’t exactly the benevolent entity it presented itself as to the public.
Along with enjoying stronger overall critical reception than Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Godzilla vs. Kong made over $468 million worldwide, ranking as the eighth highest-grossing movie of 2021. When it was originally reported that a fifth MonsterVerse movie was entering development, Son of Kong was thrown out as one of the story ideas on the table. However, now it looks like we’re going a more straightforward sequel route with Godzilla vs. Kong 2, meaning that something will go down that leads to the two title Titans coming to blows again.
Godzilla vs. Kong 2 doesn’t have a release date yet, but filming is reportedly beginning this summer in Australia, so evidently Adam Wingard will tackle this movie before he helms the Face/Off sequel. If you’re in the mood to any or all of the prior MonsterVerse movies, they can be streamed with an HBO Max subscription.
