If the promos for Godzilla: King of the Monsters are any indication, it’s hard to believe there will be anything left for him and King Kong to fight over in the next movie. The new trailers have done a great job of laying out the stakes while also giving us some breathtaking looks at Godzilla, Rodan, Mothra, and King Ghidorah. To help punctuate the drama, the new trailers have been smartly paired with delicate pieces of music like Debussy’s Clair De Lune and Somewhere Over The Rainbow from The Wizard of Oz.
Following the global success of “Godzilla” and “Kong: Skull Island” comes the next chapter in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ cinematic Monsterverse: “Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” an epic action-adventure that pits Godzilla against some of the most popular monsters in pop culture history.
The film was directed by Michael Dougherty (“Krampus”), and stars Kyle Chandler (“The Wolf of Wall Street,” “Manchester by the Sea”) as well as Oscar nominee Vera Farmiga (“Up in the Air,” “The Conjuring” films); Millie Bobby Brown (“Stranger Things”) in her feature film debut; Bradley Whitford (“Get Out”); Oscar nominee Sally Hawkins (“Shape of Water”, “Blue Jasmine”); Charles Dance (HBO’s “Game of Thrones”); Thomas Middleditch (HBO’s “Silicon Valley”); Aisha Hinds (“Star Trek Into Darkness”); O’Shea Jackson Jr. (“Straight Outta Compton”); Oscar nominee David Strathairn (“Good Night and Good Luck”), with Oscar nominee Ken Watanabe (“The Last Samurai) and Golden Globe nominee Ziyi Zhang (“Memoirs of a Geisha,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”).
The new story follows the heroic efforts of the crypto-zoological agency Monarch as its members face off against a battery of god-sized monsters, including the mighty Godzilla, who collides with Mothra, Rodan, and his ultimate nemesis, the three-headed King Ghidorah. When these ancient super-species—thought to be mere myths—rise again, they all vie for supremacy, leaving humanity’s very existence hanging in the balance.
Dougherty directed from a script he wrote with Zach Shields, based on the character “Godzilla” owned and created by TOHO CO., LTD. The film was produced by Mary Parent, Alex Garcia, Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni and Brian Rogers, with Zach Shields, Barry Waldman, Hiro Matsuoka, Keiji Ota, Yoshimitsu Banno and Kenji Okuhira serving as executive producers, and Ali Mendes and Jay Ashenfelter co-producing for Legendary.
Behind the scenes, Dougherty’s creative team included director of photography Lawrence Sher, whose past credits include “War Dogs” and “Godzilla,” for which he handled additional photography; production designer Scott Chambliss (“Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2,” “Star Trek Into Darkness”); editors Roger Barton (“Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales,” the “Transformers” films), Oscar nominee Richard Pearson (“United 93,” “Kong: Skull Island”), and Bob Ducsay (“Godzilla,” “Star Wars: The Last Jedi”); costume designer Louise Mingenbach (the “X-Men” and “Hangover” films); and Oscar-winning VFX supervisor Guillaume Rocheron (“Godzilla,” “Ghost in the Shell,” and part of the Oscar-winning team behind “Life of Pi”).
A presentation of Warner Bros. Pictures and Legendary Pictures, in association with Toho Co. Ltd., “Godzilla: King of the Monsters” hits theaters beginning May 31, 2019. It will be distributed in 3D and 2D and IMAX by Warner Bros. Pictures, except in Japan, where it will be distributed by Toho; and in China, where it will be distributed by Legendary East.