Next month, the MonsterVerse’s two heaviest hitters are finally colliding, with Godzilla and King Kong finally battling one another in a Hollywood production. That said, six years after Godzilla vs. Kong was announced, there’s still no official word on what the MonsterVerse holds in store afterwards. But don’t think that means the plan is for this blockbuster franchise to end with Godzilla vs. Kong. Far from it, as seeds are being planted in this movie for the next phase of Titan mayhem.
During a trip to Goldcoast, Queensland, Australia in March 2019 to visit the Godzilla vs. Kong set, my fellow reporters and I spoke with producer Alex Garcia, who gave us a comprehensive overview of what to expect from the fourth MonsterVerse movie. Naturally Garcia wasn’t willing to delve too deeply into spoiler territory, but as far as what Godzilla vs. Kong is doing to set up more MonsterVerse movies, he had this to say:
We have a sort of franchise team in the company that we’ve really worked hard with to build out this world in a way that, hopefully you’ll find this when you see the film, all of the mythologies are woven together, and that there is a greater mythology that will allow us to continue forward, where we can have stories continuing and in escalation of where that mythology leads, even beyond this film. However, we really have taken it one by one by one.
It’s become all too common for major franchises to have eyes bigger than their stomachs, so to speak, in terms of planning ahead. Just look at how many DC movies have been announced over the years that never moved forward, or to a more extreme degree, how Universal had big plans for the Dark Universe, only for the entire endeavor to collapse when The Mummy underperformed. So when it comes to the MonsterVerse, Alex Garcia and everyone else steering the that proverbial ship have been careful to not get too ahead of themselves with figuring out where the MonsterVerse goes next.
Nevertheless, Alex Garcia made it clear that the events of Godzilla vs. Kong do allow for the MonsterVerse to expand, which is a bold claim considering that having Godzilla and King Kong duking it out is already a big deal. Still, considering where the MCU took fans following the first Avengers movie, so there’s no reason to think why the MonsterVerse can’t embark down a similar, escalating path. Not only are there plenty of Toho monsters left to be introduced to this franchise, from Anguirus to Megalon, but there’s still a lot of mystery surrounding the MonsterVerse’s own Hollow Earth and the origin of the Titans.
We’re a little over a month away from Godzilla vs. Kong arriving in both theaters and on HBO Max (which you can sign up for using this link), but it’s hard to say if what’s next for the MonsterVerse will be announced right after the movie’s release, or if the news is being saved for later in the year. It’s also possible Warner Bros is waiting to see how Godzilla vs. Kong performs before making a decision on the MonsterVerse’s future, especially considering the mixed critical and commercial performance of Godzilla: King of the Monsters in 2019. But assuming Godzilla vs. Kong doesn’t serve as the MonsterVerse finale, then it’ll be interesting to see where we embark next in this world filled with gargantuan creatures.
Stay tuned to CinemaBlend for more Godzilla vs. Kong coverage ahead of its March 31 drop, and don’t forget to check out our 2021 release schedule to learn what other movies are forthcoming this year.
