Gareth Edwards, who is fast approaching the finish line on this year’s Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, is no longer attached to direct Legendary’s monstrous creature feature, Godzilla 2 – which had just recently claimed a new March 22, 2019 release date.
News comes by way of Deadline, confirming that Edwards won’t oversee the King of Monsters’ much-anticipated return. Official details are sketchy at the moment, with sources close to the embryonic follow-up claiming that the filmmaker has opted for some downtime after directing back-to-back juggernauts in Godzilla and this year’s Rogue One. And so, given that Warner Bros. and Legendary are considering the 2019 sequel a priority – with an accelerated production to boot – the result is a somewhat disheartening parting of ways.
Perhaps the overarching shared universe filtered into Edwards’ ultimate decision too, now that Warner has staked out plans for both Godzilla 2 and the sure-to-be-epic Godzilla Vs. Kong in 2020. They’ll follow in the colossal footsteps of next year’s Kong: Skull Island, Jordan Vogt-Roberts’ period piece that features an all-star cast led by Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson. Expect that ginormous domino to fall on March 10, 2017.
For now, Godzilla 2 remains on course to roar into theaters on March 22, 2019, meaning Warner Bros. and Legendary will be scrambling to find a new director to take the reins sooner rather than later. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, meanwhile, makes a beeline for theaters on December 16 of this year.
