Warner Bros. is moving forward with the MonsterVerse, as Dan Stevens has been cast as the new human lead in Godzilla vs. Kong 2. Warner Bros. launched a new cinematic universe in 2014 with a Godzilla solo film and used the next few years to further establish the giant lizard and his monkey counterpart, Kong, before teaming them up in Godzilla vs. Kong in 2021. The long-delayed movie proved to be a solid success for Warner Bros., as it earned nearly $500 million worldwide during the pandemic. It is for this reason that the MonsterVerse is going to continue.
It wasn't too long after Godzilla vs. Kong hit theaters and HBO Max that audiences learned that more of Godzilla and Kong was on the horizon. WB agreed to bring back director Adam Wingard for a direct sequel. The film is currently known as Godzilla vs. Kong 2, although there have also been reports that it could be titled Son of Kong. With production expected to begin in Australia later this year, the lack of announcements on who else will be involved in the movie has been a bit surprising.
Now, a new report from Deadline states that Stevens will play a new human lead and headline Godzilla vs. Kong 2's cast. There are no details about who exactly Stevens will play, but he is the only cast member currently attached to the sequel. Godzilla vs. Kong 2 marks a reunion between the actor and Wingard, as the pair previously collaborated on the cult favorite film The Guest.
Stevens becomes the latest actor to play the seemingly mandatory human lead role in the MonsterVerse films. Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Elizabeth Olsen occupied that role in Godzilla, while Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson were among the human leads in Kong: Skull Island. The last two MonsterVerse installments have seen Millie Bobby Brown take on a lead role as well. It is unknown at this stage if the Stranger Things star or other Godzilla vs. Kong cast members like Rebecca Hall and Alexander Skarsgård will come back for the sequel and join Stevens.
The involvement of Stevens in Godzilla vs. Kong 2 is sure to be an exciting update for many, even if it also speaks to one of the MonsterVerse's biggest criticisms. Much like the Transformers movies, audiences have often found the human characters in the MonsterVerse films to be a bit disposable and unnecessary. Hopefully Stevens' human lead role can help break that trend in some fashion, providing Godzilla vs. Kong 2 with a strong main character that can support whatever story is in place to bring Godzilla and Kong back together.
Source: Deadline