Adam Wingard’s Godzilla vs. Kong has faced a rocky road to the big screen, and that would be putting it lightly. The latest installment in Legendary’s MonsterVerse initially kicked off shooting a full two years ago and wrapped in April 2019, before a disastrous early test screening set alarm bells ringing at the studio. The director then embarked on an extensive set of reshoots that were rumored to have greatly improved the quality of the final product, but since then, the epic face-off between two of cinema’s most iconic monsters has remained in stasis.
Godzilla vs. Kong was scheduled to hit theaters in March of this year, before being pushed back eight months to November. It was then delayed even further until May 2021, and now it appears as though it might not even arrive on the big screen at all. The latest reports indicate that the clash of the Titans is destined to head straight to streaming, with Netflix said to have offered Legendary $200 million to secure the project.
The latest development didn’t go down too well with Warner Bros., though, who hold the theatrical distribution rights to the MonsterVerse, and the outfit have apparently blocked the move in favor of putting together a deal to send Godzilla vs. Kong to HBO Max instead. Either way, it appears that the blockbuster will be the latest major title to skip cinemas altogether, and you can check out some of the reactions to the news below.
I’m up for a lot of movies moving to streaming but moving GODZILLA VS KONG to streaming is a HUGE mistake.
— 🔪🇬🇧Chris Martin🇬🇧🔪 (@Chris_Martin_95) November 26, 2020
https://twitter.com/ericjschuster/status/1331831813615071238
It would be real funny if Godzilla vs. Kong dropped on streaming before even a single trailer for it did.
— TyrantisTerror (@tyrantisterror) November 26, 2020
https://twitter.com/lachlanowers1/status/1331818262007476225
Kong: Skull Island netted over $375 million. Pushing Godzilla vs Kong to streaming (Netflix or HBO Max) for anything less than $275m is a tacit admission that they expect the movie to fail.
Good for Netflix in Asia.
Legendary is a car wreck. https://t.co/5CSgxWAb9e
— David Poland (@DavidPoland) November 26, 2020
I really enjoyed the #GodZilla and #kingkong movies that came out, but I didn't get a chance to see Part 2 of Godzilla. Now that GodZilla vs. Kong is going streaming, I may have to play catchup pic.twitter.com/l730msKogc
— duniyadnd (@duniyadnd) November 26, 2020
If Godzilla vs Kong comes out on streaming I'll live stream a reaction cam of me watching it
— Darkmoon 🎄 (@Darkmoon_1999) November 26, 2020
Godzilla vs. Kong going to streaming has kind of felt inevitable. Especially since WW84 is coming out on HBOMax. I'd gladly watch it first on streaming and again on the big screen but like most folks I'd prefer the movie theater for this one
— Andrenn (@Andrenn) November 26, 2020
https://twitter.com/BigHefty_/status/1331798808871772160
Give me Godzilla v King Kong on streaming services
— 𝕾𝖙𝖊𝖊𝖟𝖚𝖘 𝕮𝖍𝖗𝖎𝖘𝖙 (@LordDi666) November 26, 2020
Godzilla vs Kong going to streaming…good. They deserve it. See you in hell Monsterverse.
— MiSTer Miracle (@thelicoricekid) November 26, 2020
Considering how I hated King of the Monsters, I hope Kong v. Godzilla is buried deep within the streaming sphere. Ol' milquetoast ass Godzilla films (I liked Skull Island, tho).
— I'm just here for the lols. No, really. (@Film_Wanderer) November 26, 2020
https://twitter.com/SithDerrick2000/status/1331946301039071232
The slow death of cinema by a thousand streams: Kong v Godzilla latest blockbuster to potentially be released on streaming services https://t.co/9oWJ2oDio6
— Follow me on M@stodon: [email protected] (@olimould) November 26, 2020
https://twitter.com/ReeceAllingham/status/1331908233498333184
After Godzilla: King of the Monsters disappointed at the box office when it earned about $386 million, a far cry from the previous two installments that had both raked in over half a billion dollars each, there were already concerns about the long term viability of the MonsterVerse. And while sending Godzilla vs. Kong straight to streaming guarantees one huge lump sum of revenue, it also gives off the impression that the studio has admitted defeat.
