While Godzilla 2 sadly won’t feature Gareth Edwards in the director’s chair, it has nonetheless moved to bring some writers with real monster-making experience on board in the form of Michael Dougherty and Zach Shields.
Dougherty’s name is the one that commands the most recognition, having written and directed the brilliantly chilling Xmas horror Krampus and inventive anthology scarer Trick ‘r’ Treat. They may not be the kind of monsters who could go toe-to-toe with Godzilla, but it’s still relevant transferable experience that he can bring to the table. Coupled with time on the writing teams for both Superman Returns and X-Men: Apocalypse, and it looks like he could be a good fit.
Also on board is Shields, who worked with Dougherty on Krampus, and while he has less experience on the writing side than his Godzilla 2 partner (among his other credits is sountrack work on The Conjuring 2), his experience reflects the determination to reunite an effective team.
While a director and additional cast members are yet to be announced (there’s no word on whether Aaron Taylor-Johnson or Elizabeth Olsen will be reprising their roles, or indeed who the new director will be), Godzilla 2 represents a change of direction in that it will share a universe with the upcoming Kong: Skull Island, with the eponymous ape due to be sharing a movie with him at some point (that point being 22 May 2020). While our thoughts are mixed on the whole mixed-universe trend that is permeating cinema (it works for some and not for others), we wouldn’t be entirely honest if we said we weren’t ever-so-slightly looking forward to the prospect of the two facing off on the big screen. Let the games begin…
Godzilla 2 will be released in cinemas on 22 March 2019. For all the latest movie news, pick up the new issue of SciFiNow.
