Adam Wingard’s MonsterVerse entry Godzilla vs. Kong will reportedly do the majority of its filming in Atlanta, Georgia. Director Wingard promises Godzilla vs. Kong will be dark and intense, and yes the epic monster showdown will have a definitive winner. Kong and Godzilla first clashed on screen in 1962’s classic Toho entry King Kong vs. Godzilla.
Legendary kicked off its MonsterVerse with 2014’s Godzilla (though no one knew at the time that the MonsterVerse would become a thing). Directed by future Rogue One helmer Gareth Edwards, Godzilla brought in $529 million at the worldwide box office. That healthy box office take encouraged Legendary to move forward with 2017’s Kong: Skull Island. Directed by Jordan Vogt-Roberts, the Vietnam-era-set Skull Island pulled in $566 million worldwide. The MonsterVerse will continue with Godzilla: King of the Monsters, directed by Michael Dougherty (Krampus). Millie Bobby Brown, Sally Hawkins, Vera Farmiga and Kyle Chandler head up the movie’s impressive cast.
The recently wrapped King of the Monsters largely filmed in Atlanta, with some work done in Mexico City. Omega Underground reports that Legendary and Adam Wingard have also chosen Atlanta as the home base for Godzilla vs. Kong. No word has yet arrived about a possible production start date. Legendary has targeted a 2020 release date, so prep should get going shortly.
Unlike Universal, who stumbled in setting up their Dark Universe and ended up looking silly, Legendary has done a good job gradually rolling out their MonsterVerse. Kong: Skull Islandproved to be a key piece in two ways. Firstly, it introduced Kong as the hero. Secondly, it teased future appearances by classic monsters Rodan, Mothra and King Ghidorah via a post-credits scene. Legendary now rolls into Godzilla 2 with several major kaiju on the roster, setting up loads of possibilities. Alas, Pacific Rim and Godzilla likely won’t get a crossover, but that’s about the only thing off the table at this point.
The way things are falling into place, Godzilla vs. Kong feels like it could deliver an epic payoff. Whether it works as a climactic clash between kaiju good and evil will of course depend a lot on how Godzilla 2 comes off. Shared universes are tricky things in that they’re always one bad movie away from looking like a really terrible idea. No matter what happens with the MonsterVerse, at least it can say it outlived the Dark Universe.
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