Godzilla last stormed across movie screens in 2014 in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story director Gareth Edwards' Godzilla. That movie rang up a substantial $529 million at the global box office, pretty much guaranteeing that at some point Godzilla would be coming back to the big-screen to deliver more destruction. At this point, not one but two Godzilla movies have been announced, so there will be plenty of the big green guy to go around.
The first of these two new Godzilla movies is scheduled to hit screens in 2019, with Godzilla: King of Monsters. And now we know who will be taking Gareth Edwards' place in the director's chair when Godzilla once again rises from the deep.
Variety reports that Legendary and Warner Bros. have tabbed Krampus director Michael Dougherty to helm the new Godzilla, confirming an earlier rumor about Dougherty possibly being named to direct. Dougherty and his Krampus writing mate Zach Shields were already on-board to script the Godzilla sequel, sharing that credit with Max Borenstein (who also wrote the 2014 Godzilla reboot).
Dougherty first worked with Legendary on the horror film Trick r' Treat, then hooked up with the company again for his well-regarded Christmas-themed horror flick Krampus. Dougherty has experience in the blockbuster realm as well, having worked on the screenplays for X-Men 2 and X-Men: Apocalypse. Godzilla: King of Monsters will be Dougherty's first crack at directing a big-budget event film after helming the above-named smaller horror movies. These new Godzilla movies are also part of a shared Godzilla-King Kong universe called the MonsterVerse. Those two giant monsters are scheduled to appear on-screen together in 2020 in Godzilla vs. Kong, but we'll have to wait and see if Dougherty also gets that directing assignment.
The 2014 Godzilla film was notable for how little it actually featured the title monster, a decision that in some people's eyes was a mistake. Will Dougherty and company hold to Gareth Edwards' idea that Godzilla's presence should be kept to a minimum until the final battle, or will they give Godzilla more screen-time in the upcoming I?
No matter what Dougherty does, he will have a tough act to follow, picking up the baton from Gareth Edwards - who has since gone on to make his mark on the Star Wars universe. We'll see how things go down for the so-called MonsterVerse starting on March 10th of this year, when Kong: Skull Island hits movie screens. How that movie does at the box office, could affect future plans for any and all future Kong and/or Godzilla films.
Source: Variety
