Warner Bros and Legendary Entertainment's MonsterVerse is building up to an epic conflict between two of pop culture's greatest monsters: Godzilla and King Kong. Following 2014's Godzilla, 2017's Kong: Skull Island and 2019's Godzilla: King of the Monsters, the two beasts will come to blows in 2020 for Godzilla vs. Kong. While the exact circumstances of their brawl have yet to be revealed, the project just took an impressive step forward, as horror veteran Adam Wingard has been tapped to direct.
THR dropped the news that Adam Wingard has officially been hired as Godzilla vs. Kong's director. This reveal comes months after Pirates of the Caribbean's Terry Rossio assembled a writers room to crack the team-up blockbuster's story. The article also noted that Wingard is reportedly a "massive creature feature fan," so directing Godzilla vs. Kong should be nothing short of pure bliss for him. Adam Wingard confirmed the announcement by stating he's already prepared himself for those who will negatively judge his work on Godzilla vs. Kong before even seeing it.
Kong: Skull Island director Jordan Vogt-Roberts also congratulated Adam Wingard on obtaining the directing gig.
Adam Wingard is certainly no stranger to directing movies that frighten audiences. His notable credits include You're Welcome, The Guest and Blair Witch, as well as contributing to anthology movies like V/H/S, The ABCs of Death and 60 Seconds of Solitude in Year Zero. Wingard also directed the live action American film adaptation of Death Note, which premieres on Netflix this August. While Godzilla vs. Kong likely won't pack as many scares as his typical theatrical contributions, Wingard working with clashing monsters already sounds like it will be an excellent fit.
The MonsterVerse kicked off in 2014 with the Godzilla reboot, which saw the fire-breathing reptile batting the MUTOs more than 50 years after the world's governments tried to kill him with a nuclear bomb. Earlier this year, Kong: Skull Island wound the clock back to show an expedition team battling the giant gorilla and other freaky monsters on his home turf during the Vietnam War. The next entry up is Godzilla: King of the Monsters, which is being directed and co-written by fellow horror storyteller Michael Dougherty. Godzilla vs. Kong was announced back in 2015, and Adam Wingard being hired as director is by far the biggest piece of news to come from its development.
Godzilla vs. Kong wreaks havoc in theaters on May 22, 2020.
