Interconnected film series is apparently the hot new trend for the big film studios. Following in the footsteps of the massively popular and already established Marvel and DC Universes, Warner Bros. Studios announced its plans for an interconnected series of films in 2014; the MonsterVerse. Universal Studios has also followed suit, releasing the first reboot in their Dark Universe franchise, The Mummy, this year.
Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures have begun principal photography in Atlanta, Georgia, on their latest reboot Godzilla: King of the Monsters. The film is set to be an epic action adventure that pits Godzilla against some of the most popular monsters in pop culture history, and is directed by Michael Dougherty (Krampus).
The new story follows the heroic efforts of the crypto-zoological agency Monarch as its members face off against a battery of god-sized monsters, including the mighty Godzilla, who collides with Mothra, Rodan, and his ultimate nemesis, the three-headed King Ghidorah. When these ancient super-species—thought to be mere myths—rise again, they all vie for supremacy, leaving humanity’s very existence hanging in the balance. Godzilla: King of the Monsters is the third in the interconnected franchise; the first installment was Godzilla (2014), a reboot of the Godzilla franchise, followed by Kong: Skull Island (2017), a reboot of the King Kong franchise. The studio is also planning a fourth follow-up film, entitled Godzilla vs Kong, which is set to be released sometime in 2020, and should bring the franchise to a cathartic finale. Kong: Skull Island, which was released earlier this year, introduced a bunch of monsters to the universe, including Mother Longlegs, Sker Buffalos, Mire Squid, Leafwig, Psychovulture, Spore Mantis, Ramarak, and the Skull Crawlers, and the post-credits scene brought Rodan, Mothra and King Ghidorah into the MonsterVerse. It looks like fans are going to be spending more time hanging around for post-credit scenes, in the hopes of glimpsing more exciting insights into the follow-up films.
The film stars Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air, The Conjuring), Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai), Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine), and Kyle Chandler (The Wolf of Wall Street), along with Bradley Whitford (Get Out), Thomas Middleditch (Silicon Valley), O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Straight Outta Compton), Aisha Hinds (Star Trek Into Darkness), Zhang Ziyi (Memoirs of a Geisha, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) and Charles Dance (Game of Thrones), and features Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things) in her feature film debut.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters is currently scheduled for release in March 2019, and will be distributed in both 3D and 2D.
