The Monsterverse franchise looks to get even bigger, with its sequel greenlit and the addition of David Callaham, a scribe who has notably written a few Marvel movies in the past.
With its popularity gaining traction with its release over the past few months, it’s no surprise Godzilla x Kong: The Empire will get a potential trilogy completed in the future under director Adam Wingard.
Now, the main question is when?
That might be a while, as Wingard has a project or two he plans to work on before stepping on the Godzilla x Kong sequel, like a live-action adaptation of the 1980s cartoon Thundercats, which is under active development.
In the meantime, Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros have taken the first step by bringing in a new writer into the fold.
Godzilla x Kong: Adds Writer Dave Callaham for Sequel
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With the success of 2024’s Godzilla x Kong: The Empire and even last year’s Oscar-winning Japanese flick, Godzilla Minus One, the Godzilla franchise is coming back in full force.
As of now, it is unclear if director Adam Wingard will be returning for the sequel, but it is certain Legendary wants him back. Wingard’s next film will be an original movie from A24 called Onslaught, so the timeline may be delayed on his behalf if they intend to have him stick around. This is on top of Thundercats and other potential projects that could be in line for him in a year or two.
Likely, the next Godzilla flick in the trilogy won’t be Wingard’s next project, as the development for the next big Monsterverse movie may take a while. As expected with its earnings so far, The New Empire will eventually get a sequel, as confirmed by the addition of MCU writer David Callaham.
As expected with its fan appraisal and despite some mixed reviews by critics, Godzilla x Kong grossed close to $555 million globally as of this past week and is one of the big hits this year, according to the Hollywood Reporter. Even among its predecessors, it has been more profitable in the period it has come out, debuting back on March 29.
Among the five movies total in the franchise, The New Empire is close to 2017’s Kong: Skull Island, which peaked at $568 million at the time of release. However, in comparison with the budgets, this iteration of Godzilla has been more commercially successful, costing around $135 million, while Skull Island had a budget of $185 million, according to IMDB.
Godzilla x Kong: MCU’s Callaham is known for Action Sequences
With David Callaham joining the fray of with the undisclosed Godzilla x Kong sequel, I would expect his expertise to come in handy with action sequences.
His most recent works include co-writing 2023’s Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, among other writers that won an Oscar. In 2021, he co-wrote Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, along with the Mortal Kombat reboot.
Callaham was also a co-writer for 2020’s Wonder Woman 1984 and 2019’s Zombieland: Double Tap. He is most well known for being the creator of The Expendables franchise with his story, working with Sylvester Stallone in 2010.
The screenwriter and producer have had a mixed bag of the films he’s worked on, mostly Marvel and MCU-related, but it’s been mostly positive. At least in terms of the action the movies he’s helped with have brought onto the screen for major studios, now working with Warner Bros on the next Monsterverse blockbuster.
Godzilla x Kong: Marvel Writer has Experience with Monsterverse
The untitled sequel for Godzilla x Kong: The Empire isn’t David Callaham’s first rodeo tackling the kaiju fighting machines. For Legendary’s 2014 Godzilla, he was a writer with fellow scribes Max Borenstein and Frank Darabont.
Although it was Gareth Edwards directing, it is good to know someone familiar with the movie that kicked off the Monsterverse will be working on the new film, whether Wingard is back or not.
According to Fresh Voices, their Screenwriter Profile on Callaham mentions he pitched his idea of a Godzilla film in 2010 and is set to write the first draft. However, once Edwards was brought on, the script was revised and rewritten by a different writer, David S. Goyer. In 2011, Borenstein joined on to help write the script, which was then polished by writer Drew Pearce in 2012. The final rewrite was done in 2013 once Darabont was added as the finishing touch before the movie was released in 2014.
While that film is very divisive and mixed between Godzilla and Monsterverse fans alike, it is good to know that perhaps the next chapter will go back to its roots with the hire of Callaham.
The future of Godzilla movies seems to be in good hands, as the hit TV series on Apple TV from 2023, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, was renewed with a second season and possible spin-offs to the Monsterverse franchise.
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