There's no better place to watch monsters duke it out than on the silver screen, and the Godzilla franchise has consistently proven itself as the go-to place for badass Kaiju action for more than half a century. That tradition is set to continue with the release of 2019's Godzilla: King of the Monsters, and all eyes are on that film to continue the hot streak established by Gareth Edwards' 2014 original. The film is set to bring some key players back into the fray, and we can now confirm that Sally Hawkins has officially joined the cast of the sequel as Dr. Vivienne Graham.
A new report from Deadline confirms that Sally Hawkins is currently slated to return to the MonsterVerse for Godzilla: King of the Monsters. She is slated to return as Dr. Vivienne Graham alongside fellow Godzilla actor Ken Watanabe (who will come back as Dr. Serizawa), although few other details about her particular relevance to the plot have been revealed at this time. Considering how useful the British scientist's technical expertise proved during the events of the first film, we can assume that she will play a significant role in doling out vital exposition during King of the Monsters.
We're obviously delighted to see Sally Hawkins return to the Godzilla franchise, as she was one of our favorite performers from the original. Although she hasn't necessarily reached leading lady status in Hollywood, Hawkins has regularly proven herself as an enjoyable presence through her roles in movies like Layer Cake, Blue Jasmine, and even Paddington. Her willingness to return to the Godzilla universe instills quite a bit of confidence in the strength and direction of the sequel.
There appears to be a solid mixture of old and new in the cast of Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Although Godzilla alums such as Sally Hawkins and Ken Watanabe will return to the fray, plenty of other newcomers will show up as well. In particular, the sequel has already locked down Stranger Things star Millie Bobbie Brown, Vera Farmiga, and Kyle Chandler. On top of that, we have also just learned that Game of Thrones star Charles Dance was recently confirmed to join the cast alongside Ms. Hawkins.
Needless to say, I think there's quite a bit to get excited about with this cast. Godzilla may be the star of the show, but actors like Sally Hawkins and Charles Dance will give the human characters a time to shine as well. Unlike Hawkins, Dance's character has yet to be fully revealed, so we will have to wait and see how he comes together as we learn more about the film.
The kaiju genre is currently experiencing a massive renaissance. Between the burgeoning MonsterVerse (which will eventually combine the Godzilla franchise with the rebooted King Kong franchise) and the Pacific Rim film series, Hollywood has started to return to that old-fashioned monster movie style that we haven't seen since the 1950's. Couple that with the recent release of Colossal, and it's fairly clear that directors are beginning to show increasing confidence when it comes to using these iconic monsters in a variety of innovative ways.
CinemaBlend will bring you more information related to Godzilla: King of the Monsters as more details related to the film becomes available to us. The kaiju blockbuster will hit theaters on March 22, 2019. For more information related to the rest of the blockbusters set to debut this year, make sure to take a look at our comprehensive movie premiere guide.
