Michael Dougherty, director of Trick ‘R Treat, in talks to direct Godzilla 2

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

So, I wasn't the biggest fan of the 2014 Gareth Edwards-directed GODZILLA remake. While Godzilla himself looked cool, he was only in the movie for like five minutes (they even cock-blocked the big fight scene at the Hawaii airport like assholes!) But, honestly, that'd all be okay if the human drama worked, but it didn't. Aaron-Taylor Johnson was a blank piece of wood in camo (don't even remember his name), and Elizabeth Olsen just moped around looking sad the whole time. They're not bad actors, they were just given nothing to do. But at least they weren't wasted like f*cking Bryan Cranston was! Holy shit! So, yeah, I didn't really like it. Hell, I prefer the goddamn '98 version. At least I remember the main character's name was Nick.

But, besides the awesome design of the '14 Godzilla, I'll also give the remake this: it looked f*cking epic. The fights, what little there were, had weight to them, and you felt the consequences of each punch and attack. Godzilla for the first time felt like some Elemental God of Destruction. So while I wasn't engaged for most of the film, if you could take those fights and that creature design, and pair them with an actually good script, you'd have something truly amazing.

Which brings us to Michael Dougherty – screenwriter of X-MEN 2, TRICK 'R TREAT, KRAMPUS, and more – who, as has already been reported, signed on to co-write the GODZILLA 2 script with Zach Shields (who co-wrote KRAMPUS with Dougherty). However, ScreenCrush has now confirmed that Dougherty is indeed in talks to direct the film.

This is great news, in my opinion. I loved TRICK 'R TREAT and KRAMPUS, as I felt they were able to merge humor, horror, and real human pathos amongst the craziness of each respective film. They also both had great production values, especially considering their lower budgets – so it will be nice to see how Dougherty deals with all that fat blockbuster cash. Most importantly, Dougherty can write and direct characters, which Edwards has yet to prove he can do (here's hoping ROGUE ONE proves me wrong). So I hope this deal goes through.

Anyway, this just got me more excited for GODZILLA 2! Here's hoping Mothra makes an appearance before Godzilla moves on to fight King Kong. And if so, I wonder if the tiny women who summon Mothra will be part of the new canon?  

So what do you guys think? You think Dougherty's got the goods?