Kong: Skull Island, the second entry into Legendary and Warner Bros.’ interconnected MonsterVerse, opened to a mighty $70 million at the Chinese box office this past weekend, bringing its global cume within touching distance of $400 million. And though it’s not quite on the level of, say, Beauty and the Beast or a tentpole Marvel movie, Legendary’s shared universe is shaping up nicely.
Thanks to the inclusion of a post-credits sequence, Skull Island also sets the stage for Godzilla: King of the Monsters, Michael Dougherty’s 2019 sequel that has already drafted in the likes of Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things) and Kyle Chandler of Bloodline and Manchester By the Sea fame. When pulled together, it makes for quite an exciting roster of talent, and Variety has learned today that O’Shea Jackson Jr., one of the many breakout stars of hit rap drama Straight Outta Compton, is the latest actor in contention for a leading role.
Negotiations are ongoing, according to the outlet, and there’s nary a mention of the character that O’Shea Jackson Jr. is actually attached to. One thing’s for sure, though, barring the return of Ken Watanabe’s Monarch veteran, Godzilla: King of the Monsters is set to feature a whole new cast of humans under the mighty shadow of Gojira. And considering that the original drew flak for its wafer-thin characters – not to mention the questionable decision to kill off Bryan Cranston so early on in the movie – news that Legendary is going for a total refresh ought to please those that felt short-changed by Gareth Edwards’ 2014 reboot.
As the pieces begin to fall into place, Godzilla: King of the Monsters is making serious headway ahead of its release on March 22nd, 2019. Still no word of when production will kick off in earnest, but one would assume Legendary and Michael Dougherty will get the cameras rolling early next year.
