More than a decade has passed since Legendary Pictures secured the rights to Godzilla and other characters owned and created by the Japanese company Toho so they could launch a cinematic universe they call the MonsterVerse – and they also secured the rights to the King Kong character so he could be part of their MonsterVerse as well. Things got started with Godzilla in 2014, and since then the universe has expanded with Kong: Skull Island, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Godzilla vs. Kong, the animated series Skull Island, the live-action series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. A third Godzilla / Kong mash-up is now on the way – and cast member Kaitlyn Dever (The Last of Us) has confirmed that filming has begun!
Speaking to 7 New Australia on the red carpet at a The Last of Us season 2 premiere event, Dever said the Godzilla / Kong movie is currently filming in Queensland, Australia.
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As Collider points out, this is the fourth MonsterVerse film to shoot in Queensland, following Kong: Skull Island, Godzilla vs. Kong, and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire. The project is set up at Village Roadshow Studios, “where production will inject an estimated AUD$93 million into the local economy and employ over 400 cast and crew.”
Dever is joined in the cast by Jack O’Connell (Unbroken), who is said to be playing Dever’s brother in the film, Delroy Lindo (Get Shorty), Matthew Modine (Stranger Things), Alycia Debnam-Carey(Fear the Walking Dead), and Dan Stevens, who is reprising the role of Titan veterinarian Trapper, the character he played in Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.
Godzilla vs. Kong and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire were both directed by Adam Wingard, but he has decided to return to his roots with the gonzo action horror thriller Onslaught rather than return for another round of monster brawls. The new sequel is set to be directed by Grant Sputore, who previously directed the Hilary Swank sci-fi thriller I Am Mother. Sputore will be working from a screenplay by Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse writer Dave Callaham.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire was the franchise’s highest-grossing installment and the highest-grossing Godzilla film of all time, pulling in $571.9 million at the worldwide box office. Kong: Skull Island was the previous MonsterVerse record holder, having made $568 million. Deadline hears that the next entry is described as a continuation of the franchise centering Godzilla, Kong, and an assortment of other Titans. It will feature several new human characters alongside Godzilla and Kong as they face off against a cataclysmic world-ending threat.
Are you glad to hear that the new Godzilla / Kong movie is now filming? Share your thoughts on this one by leaving a comment below.
