Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire: Adam Wingard says the movie has a buddy-cop dynamic in the vein of Lethal Weapon

Last Updated on February 13, 2024

Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire didn’t release a big game TV spot during the Super Bowl. However, a new trailer for the film is set to premiere sometime this week. Until then, Empire has teased us with a new unseen image of the two gargantuan monsters as they team up against a new threat. Godzilla vs Kong brought our favorite movie monsters to a head-to-head rumble, and since the release of the teaser trailer, the money shot of Godzilla and Kong running side-by-side on the attack is a memorable image that fans have been gushing over.

The end of Godzilla vs Kong saw the two join forces when a greater threat surfaced and MechaGodzilla was revealed. The final moments between the two saw them give each other respectful glances. Adam Wingard returns to direct Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire and he confirms that they are still united against a new villain, and yet, they still aren’t getting along. Wingard explains, “There’s a bit of a truce — Godzilla’s in control of the surface world and Kong is down in Hollow Earth. It wasn’t, ‘Okay, give me a call when something goes wrong, Kong. And I, Godzilla, will rush to the rescue!’ The buddy-cop dysfunctional relationship dynamic is probably the best one to describe Godzilla and Kong.” Wingard cites the most famous buddy-cop relationship of them all, Lethal Weapon, as his inspiration for their working relationship. “My influences are always embedded with the ‘80s, and the ‘80s were prime for [that] storyline. There’s a lot of misunderstanding – the way that the monsters communicate isn’t straightforward.”

Empire has also released an exclusive image of our two beasts that aren’t too old for this…stuff.

Wingard also teases that there are character arcs and evolutions for both Godzilla and Kong. The previous film put Kong in a more sympathetic role while Godzilla was more of the aggressor. Here, Wingard reveals Kong will have a self-discovery in the film as it explores his origins and his family, “There’s a personal journey that Kong’s going through.” Additionally, those who have noted Godzilla’s pink glow in the last trailer will discover the purpose behind it. Wingard explains, “This is his version of a training routine. I’m really big into Shaw Brothers martial arts. Those films are always about, ‘Here’s a big threat, and you have to do all these things to pump yourself up so that you can take on that threat.’ You’re gonna see lots of different versions of Godzilla in this movie.”