After plenty of rumors and fan hopes, Legendary and Warner Bros. have agreed to make Godzilla vs Kong a reality. But the announcement not only confirms the epic matchup between two classic monsters, it confirms the shared universe that will create a trilogy of films.
In a partnership between Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros., there will be three movies that will tell the shared story of Godzilla and King Kong.
The first film will be Kong: Skull Island that stars Tom Hiddleston. This film will give the origin of Kong as a group of adventurers stumble upon Skull Island.
Godzilla 2 will be second and as was announced back during Comic-Con 2014, Godzilla will be joined by Mothra, Rodan and King Ghidorah. And the third film will be the aforementioned Godzilla vs Kong.
The announcement that the reinvention of monsters continues was made by Legendary CEO, Thomas Tull and Kevin Tsujihara, Chairman and CEO, Warner Bros. The initial trio of films are 2017’s KONG: SKULL ISLAND, GODZILLA 2 in 2018 and then GODZILLA VS. KONG, arriving in theaters in 2020. While Legendary maintains its new home at Universal Pictures, the GODZILLA films remain in partnership with Warner Bros., who will now also distribute KONG as a part of this franchise.
“Audiences really responded to Godzilla,” stated Tull. “Today, I’m excited to reveal that film was only the beginning of an epic new entertainment universe. As a lifelong fan of these characters, I’ve always wanted to see the ultimate showdown, and today we’re pleased to be announcing that and more.”
Godzilla was a massive hit for Legendary, drawing in $196 million at the worldwide box office ($93 million domestic) in its opening weekend immediately pushing Legendary to make a sequel with more Kaiju.
And when Kong: Skull Island was announced at Comic-Con 2014 and was going to be under the same studio as Godzilla, it led to many fan outpour for the two to meet.
“Working with our partners at Legendary, we enjoyed tremendous creative and commercial success with `Godzilla,’” said Tsujihara. “It’s great to be able to revisit these characters and help create a franchise with so many creative possibilities for filmmakers. Fans love these big, globally iconic films and it doesn’t get any bigger than this.”
So fans of both monsters will be happy to know that they will see a reimagining of King Kong vs Godzilla when it drops in 2020.
But we want to know what you think of the shared universe in the comments section below.
