Godzilla, Kong Team Up Again as Monsterverse Expands
By Movieguide® Contributor
As the Monsterverse heats up for another addition to the franchise, Matthew Modine has been added to the cast for the upcoming movie, joining a list of multiple other newcomers.
In the upcoming movie, Godzilla and King Kong are slated to team up again to face another potentially world-ending event. Beyond that, news of the plot has been kept under wraps. While Modine’s involvement in the movie is yet unclear, it has been confirmed that he will play the role of a general.
Along with Modine, other actors joining the franchise for the first time in the upcoming movie include Kaitlyn Dever, Jack O’Connell and Delroy Lindo. They will join sophomore Dan Stevens, whose character Trapper was introduced in GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE. Fans were thrilled at the news of Stevens’ return as the monster veterinarian was one of the standout characters introduced in the previous movie.
READ MORE: GODZILLA FRANCHISE ANNOUNCES EXCITING RETURN FOR UPCOMING MOVIE
Meanwhile, THE NEW EMPIRE was beloved by fans of the Monsterverse as a whole, having the most box office success of any movie in the franchise, grossing $572 million worldwide. This brought the box office total for the Monsterverse over $2.5 billion since it launched with GODZILLA in 2014. The movie has found success with audiences by remaining family-friendly despite epic action scenes, while also focusing on strong moral teachings and emphasizing family. A portion of Movieguide®’s review of THE NEW EMPIRE reads:
GODZILLA X KONG takes a while to expose the new villain and what’s really happening in Hollow Earth. However, there’s lots of exciting action before those revelations occur, and afterwards. GODZILLA X KONG has a strong moral worldview. The story’s goals are to protect human civilization and restore a fallen kingdom. GODZILLA X KONG also promotes the love between a mother and her adopted daughter. It’s marred, however, by lots of mostly light foul language and intense, scary violence featuring giant monsters.
The next movie in the Monsterverse is set to release on March 26, 2027.
Movieguide® previously reported on the Monsterverse:
GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE had the second-strongest opening weekend this year, drawing audiences in through strong morals and epic battles.
Related: GODZILLA X KONG: THE NEW EMPIRE Lands New Box Office High for Monsterverse
The movie opened to just over $80 million domestically and an additional $114 million from 64 territories internationally. Audiences were eager to see the monsters in full effect as premium formats like Imax and Dolby Cinema accounted for 48% of the movie’s business.
GODZILLA X KONG marks the fifth movie in the “MonsterVerse” franchise, which also had a spinoff TV series on Apple TV+. Despite the IP’s massive fanbase worldwide, the movie’s success was never guaranteed.
“There’s nothing as a filmmaker that can prepare you for doing a movie with characters of 6-foot scale and 300-foot scale working together and all the insane mechanics that go along with making a kaiju movie,” director Adam Wingard told the L.A. Times. “I knew that I wasn’t done with the series because I knew there were untapped reservoirs of potential in terms of what could be done with the monsters.”
Even after the movie was complete, Wingard wasn’t out of the woods, as critics received GODZILLA X KONG lukewarmly, predicting it would only open to $55 million. Audiences, however, have connected with the moral story and the battle of good vs. evil, leading to its blockbuster success.
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