Godzilla and King Kong are on a collision course as Legendary continues to work toward their confrontation in Godzilla vs. Kong. Very little is known about that movie at this point -- other than it's going to have at least one huge fight in it -- but now we may have an idea of what tone the movie could be going for. Adam Wingard is getting ready to direct the monster movie, and he recently spoke about how he feels there's an underlying darkness in Godzilla films, which could indicate he's making Godzilla vs. Kong with a similar tone.
Even though these are big, wild monster movies the origin of that is really from World War II and Hiroshima. If you watch that first film it's really a sad movie. It's a really depressing exploration of that, so you always have to remember at the end of the day the reason you're here is because a major catastrophe took place. There's this underlying darkness under it all, but at the end of the day it is for kids as well. Its evolved into this whole other thing that means so many things to different people.
Adam Wingard recently did an interview with Coming Soon about his Death Note adaptation for Netflix, and the director also touched upon his upcoming massive blockbuster: Godzilla vs. Kong. Godzilla, in particular, is a character with a deep history, having several different iterations from different filmmakers. Even though two monsters fighting each other is a fun concept, Wingard notes that you can't forget to take it seriously. Godzilla's roots are in the aftermath of Hiroshima and Japan's reaction to nuclear power. The first Godzilla movie is quite serious, and even though Godzilla has been portrayed a bunch of different ways (bad guy, good guy, indifferent guy), you really can't escape that core aspect of him. So, maybe we shouldn't expect everything to be sunshine and rainbows for Godzilla vs. Kong.
Nailing down the tone of Godzilla vs. Kong isn't an easy task. While two of the biggest movie monsters fighting each other is inherently fun, it has to have a level of seriousness for there to be stakes. However, it can't lean too seriously because no one wants to watch a bleak and depressing movie where a giant lizard and ape punch each other. Striking that balance could be vital in making Godzilla vs. Kong resonate with the audience.
Godzilla vs. Kong is currently scheduled to hit theaters on May 22, 2020. It will follow Godzilla: King of Monsters, which stars Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, and Millie Bobby Brown. For more updates on Godzilla vs. Kong and all of the MonsterVerse films, stick with CinemaBlend and we'll keep posting new information as soon as available.
