I called it! In a previous article, one of the possible directions that I wanted to see for King Kong’s future was a “Son of Kong” movie. And if the scuttlebutt is true, then we may be getting just that as a recent report says that the next film in the MonsterVerse could be a Son of Kong movie, directed by none other than Godzilla vs. Kong director, Adam Wingard. If this pans out, it would make him the first director to be handling two movies in this kaiju shared universe. And thankfully, based on THR's report on the matter, it might be another King Kong movie! Son of Kong is one of the titles said to have been discussed.
I'm happy to hear this because look, Godzilla is my homeboy and all, but I honestly think that Legendary has done a much better job with King Kong than Godzilla. I mean, even within the American Godzilla fanbase, there’s been some dissension. Just check social media. Most fans LOVE what Legendary has done with Godzilla in the 2014 movie and King of the Monsters. But some fans (myself included) have had much more lukewarm feelings toward the Legendary Godzilla films, citing complaints like too many boring human characters or (in 2014’s case) not enough Godzilla. But why am I talking about the big lizard? This article is all about the big monkey. So, here are five reasons why I think a new King Kong movie would be better than a new Godzilla film. Oh, and spoilers up ahead for Godzilla vs. Kong.
We Have Already Gotten Two Standalone Godzilla Movies, But Only One King Kong Film
I mentioned this in the intro, but we’ve already gotten two standalone Godzilla movies. And while fans are a little mixed on their feelings about both films, the fact remains, Godzilla has already gotten two solo affairs while King Kong has only gotten one with Kong: Skull Island. And that was an origin story no less. We still haven’t gotten a follow-up where Kong takes center stage yet.
But a Son of Kong movie would be interesting. Following the original 1933 King Kong, the next Kong film was actually a Son of Kong movie where the original Kong wasn’t even in the film since he died at the end of the first one. Instead, we got a return to Skull Island where Carl Denham (played by Robert Armstrong), found Kong’s son, who was a much, much smaller version of his papa. Given that King Kong is now in Hollow Earth by the end of Godzilla vs. Kong, might we have a similar version of that story where the human characters go back to Skull Island and find the progeny of Kong? Or, will a new story take place in Hollow Earth? Only time will tell if this project actually takes shape.
Kong Emotes More Than Godzilla, Meaning We Could Potentially Have Less Human Characters
Here’s something that’s also very important. King Kong is still alive at the end of Godzilla vs. Kong. Not only that, but he’s happy. This is a far cry from the end of the original 1933 film where Kong was shot down from the Empire State Building. So, one could speculate that King Kong would be in a movie that would also feature his son. And this would be a great thing, since King Kong emotes a lot more than Godzilla ever did in the MonsterVerse (Laughing Godzilla, aside).
We saw Kong doing sign language in Godzilla vs. Kong, and a film with a father and son dynamic could potentially explore a lot more of Kong’s thoughts and feelings, rather than meandering human plotlines. A big problem with these MonsterVerse films, in my opinion, is that we’ve gotten too many human storylines that somewhat take away from the main attractions. But as we saw in Godzilla vs. Kong, Kong was essentially the main character, and he carried the film since we could clearly see his emotions. So maybe a more monster-focused story of a father and his son could mean less emphasis on the human characters carrying the story through. Hey, it worked for the Planet of the Apes movies. Why not the next King Kong?
We Could Learn More About Hollow Earth, Which Means Even More New Monsters
As mentioned, at the end of Godzilla vs. Kong, the big ape is happily in Hollow Earth, so one would expect that the next movie would feature the underground realm as well. This would be really cool since we’ve already seen that all sorts of monsters are living there, which would mean that Kong or his son wouldn’t have to be stuck fighting a mechanized version of Kong (don’t ask) just because Kong doesn’t really have a huge stable of villains to pull from.
In fact, the MonsterVerse has set up a whole legion of Titans that King Kong could potentially fight. At the end of King of the Monsters, we see some of them bowing to Godzilla, but we never really got to see much of them since Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah took center stage in that film. Might we finally see titans like Leviathan or Sargon in the next MonsterVerse movie? I’m not sure, but it would be really cool if we did.
This Director Seems To Do A Better Job With Kong Than Godzilla
Adam Wingard, who also directed horror movies like Blair Witch 2016 and You’re Next, might not have seemed like the obvious pick for a giant monster movie at the time. But as sales have shown, people love what he did with Godzilla vs. Kong, which is why Legendary possibly wanted to work with him again. But one complaint that I’ve seen online is that this Godzilla doesn’t really match up with the Godzilla we’ve seen in the 2014 version or King of the Monsters. This Godzilla is a lot more expressive and maybe a little out of character from what came before in the MonsterVerse.
That said, Wingard does an amazing job with Kong, who seems to have evolved since we last saw him in Kong: Skull Island. In Wingard’s hands, Kong truly is the protagonist, which no other story in the MonsterVerse has been able to do thus far. Yes, we did have human characters again in Godzilla Vs. Kong, but one could argue that Kong carried that film. And while yes, that’s because it was in the script, it’s arguable that Godzilla Vs Kong is much more of a King Kong film than a Godzilla movie, and in Wingard’s hands, that still worked since he did such a good job with Kong. This brings me to my final and most contentious reason.
Kong: Skull Island Is Still Arguably The Best MonsterVerse Movie
I know this is debatable, but I still think that Kong: Skull Island is the best movie in the MonsterVerse. For me, it’s the film that feels the most enjoyable, as even the human characters don’t annoy me like the ones in the three other MonsterVerse films featuring Godzilla. And it’s certainly one of the best King Kong movies. That’s just one reason why I think another King Kong film would be the best course of action for the MonsterVerse.
Another would be that I just think Godzilla could use a break in America. And if Wingard could possibly make a film with a similar feel to it like Kong: Skull Island, then I think the MonsterVerse can feel somewhat fresh again, which I think is a very good thing for what could potentially be a very healthy series now that Godzilla vs. Kong was a hit.
Those are just some of the reasons I think the next MonsterVerse film should be a King Kong movie rather than a Godzilla one. But what do you think? Make your voice heard in the poll below! Oh, and for news about other 2021 movies make sure to swing by often!
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