Godzilla: King of the Monsters may not have been the critical hit Warner Bros. was hoping for, but there’s no denying the film delivered on the spectacle. Watching the Big G team up with Mothra to take on Rodan and King Ghidorah made my inner ten-year-old self scream with joy and nearly made up for the movie’s weaker human-driven elements. If anything, we can all agree that the third outing in Legendary Pictures’ MonsterVerse has successfully built anticipation for next year’s Godzilla vs. Kong, though now it seems we’ll have to wait just a bit longer to watch them fight.
According to Warner Bros. boss Toby Emmerich, in a new interview with Deadline, the king-sized crossover event might need a few extra months to marinate:
“[Godzilla vs. Kong] will deliver for fans in the way they were looking for [in the latest Godzilla]. It might come out later in the year, so we can deliver an A+ movie.”
It sounds like Emmerich is well aware that most critics were disappointed that King of the Monsters focused too much on human drama and not enough on the actual kaiju. It was overstuffed with plot, exposition, poor character choices, and unwelcomed fan service, but damn if the action sequences weren’t thrilling. Those behind the camera on Godzilla vs. Kong know that the fight scenes will have to outdo the previous movie’s, even if the giant ape is somewhat of a step down from a three-headed alien dragon.
Of course, any extra time needed for production will likely benefit the final film. Whether that means Warner Bros. is reworking the pic to directly address the response to King of the Monsters is unknown, but it’s likely they’re taking it into consideration. After all, Godzilla’s latest outing didn’t exactly light up the box office.
Considering KotM’s lackluster reception, there’s a lot riding on Godzilla vs. Kong when it comes to the future of the franchise. There’s also a good chance that pushing it back from a highly competitive March release to a later fall or winter weekend would help guarantee that we’ll see a Godzilla 3 in the future.
Until Warner Bros. officially pushes back Godzilla vs. Kong though, it’s slated for a March 13th, 2020 release.
