Start packing rations and reinforcing your underground bunkers now, because Legendary and Warner Bros. Pictures have announced the reunion of Godzilla and King Kong and the results will be explosive. After the success of 2014's GODZILLA and the buzz surrounding the upcoming KONG: SKULL ISLAND, the companies have decided to pull a Marvel, merging the two properties and announcing a slate of titles that will last us until the end of the decade.
These upcoming titles will all be linked by the Monarch organization introduced in GODZILLA:
KONG: SKULL ISLAND: We already know about this one. Starring Tom Hiddleston, Brie Larson, and Samuel L. Jackson, this flick will rampage into theaters on March 10, 2017. Production begins on October 19th.
GODZILLA 2: With a release date of June 8, 2018, this sequel to 2014's GODZILLA features returning director Gareth Evans and screenwriter Max Borenstein. It will also feature the return of the Monarch organization.
GODZILLA VS. KONG: Set for 2020, this is the big'un. Both franchises will collide in an epic rampage.
As for the other monsters in Toho's vast pantheon? King Ghidorah, Mothra, and Rodan, may soon be making appearances in Legendary's slate, to join this monster conglomerate.
Says Kevin Tsujihara, chairman and CEO of Warner Brothers:
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.
Kaiju is the new black, y'all. Maybe all this buzz will get a PACIFIC RIM 2 going again, huh? OK, I won't hold out hope for that one, but a man can dream.