With the notable exceptions of Ken Watanabe’s Dr. Ishiro Serizawa, Sally Hawkins' Vivienne Graham and David Strathhairn's William Stenz, the upcoming Godzilla: King of the Monsters will feature a new cast of characters not seen in the 2014 Godzilla film. Fortunately for fans of the MonsterVerse, Godzilla 2 is getting a prequel story to bring everyone up to speed on some of the important new faces and the state of the universe heading in to this titanic clash.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters is getting an official MonsterVerse prequel graphic novel titled Godzilla: Aftershock from Legendary Comics this April. According to Gomaru Island, Godzilla: Aftershock is written by Arvid Nelson and illustrated by Drew Edward Johnson. The prequel takes place after the destructive events in San Francisco that happened in the first Godzilla film as a new threat arises, heralded by horrible earthquakes.
The graphic novel will follow Monarch operative Dr. Emma Russell, the character who is being played by Vera Farmiga in King of the Monsters, as she races to stop this threat. Along the way she discovers clues leading to a devastating secret and what it tells us about how humanity’s past holds dark portends for our future. As she traverses the globe to avert disaster, she is followed by an unknown mystery person. All the while, Godzilla does battle with an old foe.
Arvid Nelson is best known for his Rex Mundi comics, but he also wrote the Skull Island: The Birth of Kong comics that served as both prequel and sequel to the 2017 MonsterVerse movie Kong: Skull Island. So he is well-versed in this universe and should be able to build out some more compelling mythology for fans wanting to get more immersed in the MonsterVerse prior to Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
The fact that this graphic novel will focus on Dr. Emma Russell is particularly interesting because judging by the trailers for Godzilla: King of the Monsters, her actions will be one of the major driving forces of the story. The Russell family is at the heart of the movie, with Kyle Chandler’s Mark Russell and Millie Bobby Brown’s Madison Russell all playing a part.
The trailers have made it seem like Emma has perhaps more knowledge than she is sharing with everyone else, and maybe a different view of the Titans and different goals. Therefore it will be cool to get a little bit of her backstory prior to the movie. I don’t expect it to be spoilery given that this is an official tie-in prequel, but the extra knowledge could enhance your viewing of the film.
Plus, Monarch is a fascinating clandestine organization, so seeing one of their operatives globetrotting to look for answers while having her footsteps dogged by a shadowy figure is quite interesting.
Godzilla: Aftershock hits your local comic shop in April. Godzilla: King of the Monsters follows it in theaters on May 31. Check out our 2019 release schedule to keep track of this year’s biggest movies and stay tuned to CinemaBlend for all your movie news.
