The Godzilla X Kong Sequel Has Taken A Big Step Forward With Some Shang-Chi Talent, And I’m Excited About This MonsterVerse Hire
The MonsterVerse has another success on its hands! Sure, although critical reception towards Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire was mixed (CinemaBlend’s Godzilla x Kong review was among the positive ones with a 4/5 stars rating), the latest movie in this Titan-filled franchise has collected over $548 million worldwide at the time of this writing, making it a commercial hit. So it’s hardly surpassing to hear that Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Entertainment are wanting to move forward with a sequel, and I’m excited about the Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings talent who’s reportedly come aboard the project.
Nearly a month and a half after Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire was released onto the 2024 movies schedule, THR has learned that Dave Callaham, who co-wrote the 25th of the Marvel movies in order, has been tapped to pen the next MonsterVerse movie. This won’t be Callaham’s first time working within the franchise, as he received a ‘Story By’ credit for 2014’s Godzilla, but assuming this news is accurate, then now he’ll be putting together a full script for the next Godzilla/Kong team-up. In addition to Shang-Chi, his other credits include Wonder Woman 1984, Mortal Kombat, and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and he’s also writing the upcoming Masters of the Universe movie and Disney’s live-action remake of Hercules.
As far as the MonsterVerse’s previous movies starring both Godzilla and Kong go, Godzilla vs. Kong was written by Eric Pearson and Max Borenstein, and based off a story by Terry Rossio, Michael Dougherty and Zach Shields. Terry Rossio, Simon Barrett and Jeremey Slater wrote Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, with the former two hashing out the story with director Adam Winged, who helmed both movies.
THR’s article mentions that Legendary would like Wingard to sit in the director’s chair again for the Godzilla x Kong sequel, and he’s previously teased he has plans for a third Godzilla/Kong movie. However, the filmmaker’s return isn’t necessarily guaranteed. In addition to being set for the Face/Off sequel, he’s also wanting to make an original movie called Onslaught for A24 before working on any other projects.
Still, the news of Dave Callaham working on this sequel is most welcome. Because if it wasn’t already clear from me going over his body of work, the man knows his way around genre material. That isn’t to say that another writer won’t come aboard later down the line and either work with Callaham on the project or polish his script, but what Callaham comes up with forms the overall backbone of this MonsterVerse movie, then it has the potential to be something great.
We’ll keep our eyes and ears out for more news concerning the Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire sequel. Don’t forget that the MonsterVerse will also keep going with Monarch: Legacy of Monsters Season 2 and other spinoff shows being developed exclusively for Apple TV+ subscribers.
