When Mike Dougherty was first hired to helm
Godzilla: King of the Monsters, he was best known for directing Legendary's
Trick 'r Treat films, hardly a similar project in terms of scale and budget. However, each subsequent trailer and TV spot for the sequel to the 2014 Godzilla film has impressed even the most skeptical critique.
Speaking to
CB, Dougherty expressed that while he's trying to put his own stamp on the film and bring heaps of spectacle and awe, he's also trying to respect the classic Toho films.
"Similar to the sounds of the creatures, to me it's really important that the silhouettes of the creatures honor the originals. Like, that's always the basis for any good silhouette of a creature, that's always the basis for any good creature design is the silhouette. In the same way that you need to be able to listen to creature noises and identify it without seeing it, you need to be able to look at the silhouette of your monster, whether it's the Alien, or Godzilla, or Rodan, or whatever, and you need to identify it."
Godzilla: King of the Monsters hits theaters on on May 31, 2019, in 2D, 3D, Dolby Cinema and IMAX. A sequel,
Godzilla vs. Kong from director Adam Wingard (Death Note) will hit theaters the following year.
Following the global success of “Godzilla” and “Kong: Skull Island” comes the next chapter in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ cinematic Monsterverse: “Godzilla: King of the Monsters,” an epic action adventure that pits Godzilla against some of the most popular monsters in pop culture history.
The film was directed by Michael Dougherty (“Krampus”), and stars Kyle Chandler (“The Wolf of Wall Street,” “Manchester by the Sea”) as well as Oscar nominee Vera Farmiga (“Up in the Air,” “The Conjuring” films); Millie Bobby Brown (“Stranger Things”) in her feature film debut; Bradley Whitford (“Get Out”); Oscar nominee Sally Hawkins (“Shape of Water”, “Blue Jasmine”); Charles Dance (HBO’s “Game of Thrones”); Thomas Middleditch (HBO’s “Silicon Valley”); Aisha Hinds (“Star Trek Into Darkness”); O’Shea Jackson Jr. (“Straight Outta Compton”); Oscar nominee David Strathairn (“Good Night and Good Luck”), with Oscar nominee Ken Watanabe (“The Last Samurai) and Golden Globe nominee Ziyi Zhang (“Memoirs of a Geisha,” “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon”).
The new story follows the heroic efforts of the crypto-zoological agency Monarch as its members face off against a battery of god-sized monsters, including the mighty Godzilla, who collides with Mothra, Rodan, and his ultimate nemesis, the three-headed King Ghidorah. When these ancient super-species—thought to be mere myths—rise again, they all vie for supremacy, leaving humanity’s very existence hanging in the balance.
Dougherty directed from a script he wrote with Zach Shields, based on the character “Godzilla” owned and created by TOHO CO., LTD. The film was produced by Mary Parent, Alex Garcia, Thomas Tull, Jon Jashni and Brian Rogers, with Zach Shields, Barry Waldman, Hiro Matsuoka, Keiji Ota, Yoshimitsu Banno and Kenji Okuhira serving as executive producers, and Ali Mendes and Jay Ashenfelter co-producing for Legendary.