Another indie talent has been scooped up by the Hollywood franchise machine. As first reported by the Hollywood Reporter, Adam Wingard—director of such critical hits as You’re Next and The Guest—has signed on to direct Godzilla vs. Kong, Legendary Entertainment and Warner Bros.’ latest entrant in their burgeoning cinematic MonsterVerse. (They jointly released the recent reboots Godzilla and Kong: Skull Island.) Wingard’s addition comes months after Legendary convened a writers’ room helmed by Terry Rossio (Pirates of the Caribbean) to put together a script for the project.
Wingard last directed the sequel Blair Witch and has reportedly been on studios’ minds for some time now, having previously been in the mix for Venom. He’s being welcomed into a new franchise that executives hope can rival the commercially successful empires that Marvel and DC have built by loosely interconnecting a set of blockbusters with iconic movie beasts. Godzilla vs. Kong is set to follow a different Godzilla sequel, King of the Monsters, which is currently in production with Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, and Stranger Things’ Millie Bobby Brown heading up the cast.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Wingard is a huge “creature-feature fan,” rendering Godzilla vs. Kong a natural fit and likely easing the transition from micro-budgeted horror to blockbuster spectacle. Still, one doesn’t need to look too far to see how the shift toward Hollywood has blunted the edge of many great filmmakers. Here’s to hoping Wingard bucks the trend.
Godzilla vs. Kong is scheduled for release in 2020.
