Murphy's Multiverse

Tag: Godzilla

  • EXCLUSIVE: Details on Apple TV’s ‘Godzilla’ Spinoff

    EXCLUSIVE: Details on Apple TV’s ‘Godzilla’ Spinoff

    Apple TV made a big splash last week picking up the rights to Legendary’s MonsterVerse streaming series. The series, written by Chris Black, is set to focurs on the Monarch organization present throughout the recent Godzilla and Kong films. Little info was shared last week about the series, co-created by Matt Fraction, but now we are able to exclusively reveal some new details.

    The Monarch-spinoff is tentatively titled Hourglass, a clear reference to the secret organization’s logo. Casting is currently underway for the series, with production currently scheduled to get underway in May. Cameras are expected to roll until November as the series moves around the globe, splitting time between Tokyo, Vancouver and Hawaii.

    Hourglass picks up “following the thunderous battle between Godzilla and the Titans that leveled San Francisco and the shocking new reality that monsters are real. It’s said to focus on “one family’s journey to uncover its buried secrets and a legacy linking them to the secret organization known as Monarch.”



  • ‘Godzilla’s MonsterVerse Continues In New Apple TV+ Series

    ‘Godzilla’s MonsterVerse Continues In New Apple TV+ Series

    It looks like the Monsterverse will live on, as we’ve been anxiously awaiting an update since the release of Godzilla vs. Kong. Turns out, Apple TV+ has made a massive deal for a new series that takes place in Legendary’s Monsterverse franchise that will explore the aftermath from when San Francisco was destroyed in a battle between Godzilla and the Titans. The story focuses on a family that starts to uncover how their legacy connects to the mysterious organization known as Monarch.

    The project is currently untitled, but Chris Black will serve as showrunner. It seems that Legendary has been searching for a potential buyer to carry on the franchise through a TV series, as they work on a film in the meantime. Apple has been struggling with a lack of IPs, and it seems they were the ones to get their hands on it. What makes this a surprising direction is that the Monsterverse was part of Warner Bros.’ IP, especially with Godzilla vs. Kong releasing simultaneously on HBO Max. Justin Kroll offered some insight into why they decided ended up with Apple TV+.

    Matt Fraction is also a co-creator of the series and will produce alongside Safehouse Pictures’ Tory Tunnell, and Joby Harold. Toho is also involved with Hiro Matsuoka and Takemasa Arita acting as executive producers. Their involvement confirms that the series will include Godzilla in some capacity. It’s great that the franchise will continue, but does raise some questions regarding their relationship with Warner Bros. moving forward, as they are also working on a Dune spinoff series with HBO Max. We’ll see what the future has in store.

    Source: Deadline, Twitter

  • ‘Dune’ and ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’s Legendary Entertainment Open to Sale or Merger

    ‘Dune’ and ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’s Legendary Entertainment Open to Sale or Merger

    It looks like another production company is seeking a potential merger, as Legendary Entertainment is exploring sales options. This news drops right after they unveiled the new trailer for Dune, which has quite a bit of hype behind it. It’s also surprising if you consider its release of Godzilla vs. Kong as one of the few blockbusters during the pandemic era. It even revived the franchise, which was seeing a drop in Box Office since the launch of its first Monsterverse film in 2014.

    It seems that there have been discussions since April. Discussions have picked up in pace in the last few weeks. The timing is quite curious as A24, Imagine Entertainment, and Hello Sunshine are also actively seeking a potential sale. Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer is still getting their purchase by Amazon signed off. There’s also the WarnerMedia and Discovery merger that needs a governmental sign-off. Iit seems very likely that Warner Bros. might be the most interested in purchasing the production company. They’ve worked on most projects in the past, but it’s a free-for-all moving forward.

    Of course, there’s also the chance they would merge with smaller production companies, or a competition purchases them. Variety states that the company has seen a steady cash flow but still would be under the $3.5B it was acquired for in 2016. The pandemic played a key part in many smaller production companies’ development. It would be quite a twist if Disney acquires the company. Godzilla used to appear in Marvel comics. So, it would be quite the twist if they acquire the rights to the characters and he gets to face off against Marvel heroes

    Source: Variety

  • ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’s Adam Wingard in Talks to Direct Next MonsterVerse’s Film

    ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’s Adam Wingard in Talks to Direct Next MonsterVerse’s Film

    It looks like the hashtag movement #ContinuetheMonsterverse worked, as Hollywood Reporter has just revealed that Godzilla vs. Kong‘s director Adam Wingard is already in talks to tackle the next entry in the MonsterVerse franchise by Legendary Studios. As stated by THR, this is a great surprise after Godzilla: King of the Monsters underperformed with only $386M in the worldwide Box Office. Luckily, the latest entry passed $400M globally while releasing simultaneously on HBO Max and during a pandemic. It is the top-grossing movie since the pandemic completely halted the market last year. It also isn’t even opening in all markets, which could add to its performance moving forward. It is uncertain which character’s story he would continue.

    As Godzilla vs. Kong was originally going to end the franchise after it lost Box Office momentum, this is great news for MonserVerse fans. It is uncertain if this project will be fast-tracked, as Wingard is also set to direct a ThunderCats adaptation. Still, according to their report, the director was heavily involved with the development of the Hollow Earth plotline and they have been cooking up ideas since. They even believe that a Son of Kong project might be in the works and could be the one he’ll tackle next. Legendary will try to build on this film’s success and they seem to be looking at spinning off multiple installments. So, we could see Godzilla and Kong splinter off into their own franchises before they get a second showdown. Whatever they decide, we cannot wait to see more Titans in the future.

    Source: Hollywood Reporter

  • ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’: How Monarch Remains the Monsterverse’s Greatest Potential and Its Biggest Crutch

    ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’: How Monarch Remains the Monsterverse’s Greatest Potential and Its Biggest Crutch

    Godzilla vs. Kong has been our first sign that cinemas are recovering. The showdown between these cinema icons has offered an exciting and visually stunning film. An aspect that makes these films stand out from their predecessors is how it deepens its mythology. We explore how these giants can co-exist with humanity. We come to learn in Godzilla: King of the Monsters how these beasts have been hibernating for millennia. It is a great concept that offers our human characters something to do while avoiding getting trampled to death by the mountain-sized Titans. Yet, the latest entry in Legendary’s Monsterverse has revealed how this focus can also drag out a storyline.

     

    Monarch Sciences

     

    To offer a quick rundown, we follow two distinct groups. One ragtag team focuses on uncovering Godzilla’s strange and erratic behavior of randomly destroying cities. The other follows Kong, who is seeking his home in Hollow Earth. In theory, it is a great idea to explore a mysterious world at the center of our planet. Yet, the point of the series is the showdown between Godzilla and Kong. So, we barely scratch the surface of this strange new ecosystem and the Titans that live there. We quickly have to establish Kong, his new weapon, and a way for him to get to Hong Kong.

    The concept is interesting, but it feels more like a pitstop rather than natural worldbuilding. In the intro, Godzilla vs. Kong teases the mighty battles between their ancestors, yet there was no mention of it to this day. They have been building up this showdown for some time, but it feels a bit slapped together in a way. Their only motivation is that two Alpha predators can’t exist at the same time. Yet, they technically have with Kong living on Skull Island all this time. Hollow Earth got teased in King of the Monsters, but it doesn’t match what we witness in its sequel. We got introduced to these two curious concepts of a society worshipping these creatures, but they are nothing more than window dressing for the story. The tribe we met in Kong: Skull Island ended up getting eradicated off-screen since the 2017 film was released. It felt like a waste to skim over that aspect.

     

    Monarch Sciences

     

    In a way, they try to use Monarch purely as an expedition dump. The 2014 Godzilla focused on people that weren’t related to the secret organization, who started gaining center stage with each new entry. Each film needs to explore and explain the history of these monsters. At some points, they try to get the human characters to have an essential role in the Titan’s battle, which feels a bit forced. It creates a bizarre dichotomy of these giants that survived long before us being a bit dependent on human meddling. The problem is that the human characters don’t feel like they have a personal challenge to overcome but rather are cogs to push towards specific story beats.

    Monarch is a great concept to tie the movies together, but it is time to focus on more personal stories as the mythology grows in the background. It got rumored that Monarch might get its own HBO Max spin-off series. It can serve as the mythology-based series that explores everything set up throughout the Monsterverse, while the films can take a step back and offer some new perspectives on a world filled with Titans roaming freely.

  • ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ Roars US Cinema Back to Life With $48M+ Easter Weekend

    ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ Roars US Cinema Back to Life With $48M+ Easter Weekend

    We’ve been waiting to hear the words that the American Box Office was healing. There were many attempts in the last few months to see if blockbuster films could revive the market. We’ve seen some movement in international markets but the local one was still suffering from the pandemic. So, there was some hope the further we get in 2021, we would see the market recover somewhat. It looks like it took for the release of Godzilla vs. Kong to accomplish that task. The latest entry in the Monstersverse opened over the Easter holiday and offered a 5-day opening of approximately $48.5M. It had an overall $32M kickstart to revive cinemas somewhat.

    Of course, these numbers aren’t what they use to be. We’ve seen blockbusters open upward to 200M, but this is a sign that the Box Office is recovering somewhat. Godzilla vs. Kong was well-received and managed to surpass expectations and was on par with another Easter opener, Ready Player One in 2018. We also have to keep in mind that the film is also available for HBO Max owners for free. As Forbes points out, the film is performing similarly to the usual Monsterverse fair in a non-COVID situation, such as Godzilla: King of the Monsters’ $48M opening two years ago. The way the film focuses on Kong as an action-hero facing off against Godzilla may also have played in the film’s favor, as the 50s icon has a stronger following in the West. It’ll be interesting to see how the next films will perform to see if we are witnessing an upward trend to normalcy.

    Source: Twitter, Forbes

  • ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’: Toho Refuses That Godzilla Shows Emotions

    ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’: Toho Refuses That Godzilla Shows Emotions

    Godzilla vs. Kong has just been released in theaters and on HBO Max. The film showed the two cinema icons face off in a battle of the Titans. Yet, some fans might have noticed that Kong got a bit more attention throughout the story. He has an entire arc and shows quite a bit of emotion, while his counterpart seems to be consistently pissed about having to fight the giant monkey. It looks like there is a reason why Godzilla only gets very brief moments to emote. According to the film’s director Adam Wingard, Toho has set strict rules about how Legendary can use their trademarked character.

    One of [the rules], for instance, is (that) they don’t want Godzilla to emote. They see him as like this god-like force of nature, and so to them, it’s out of character if you have him reacting in a normal way to things. But, there’s always ways around it. We definitely have some moments where I think Godzilla is more emotive in this film than he has been in any of the MonsterVerse movies. We just had to get clever with it. And I think that sometimes that stuff is kind of presented to you in a very kind of brick-wall kind of way. But if you just do certain things, and present it to them just right, and if they’re on board with the movie, they seem to give us plenty of leeway.

    It’s certailny curious that they want to avoid the giant to show any emotions. Yet, it makes sense if you consider that Godzilla is a force of nature, whose origins are rooted in Japanese history. So, they would want to avoid the giant lizard being overly emotive. Wingard does tease that they snuck in some moments, which offer a slight glance into the King of the Monsters’ mind. Here’s hoping we get more

    Source: ReelBlend via Dread Central

  • ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ Revives the International Box Office With Massive Opening Weekend

    ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ Revives the International Box Office With Massive Opening Weekend

    We’ve all been keeping a close eye on the international Box Office. Numbers have been down quite a bit since the pandemic hit. It was clear that it wouldn’t change overnight. Studios were looking towards streaming as an alternative to avoid overflooding the market whenever it would heal. Plus, it was uncertain when one could even talk about “normalcy” in the cinema market ever again. Black Widow seemed like the film that would help guide the Box Office back, but Disney decided to give it a simultaneous release on Disney+ and in theaters. It even got postponed. So, the hope lied with the upcoming release of Godzilla vs. Kong to get the ball rolling.

    Well, it finally happened. After various films barely made a dent, the latest entry in Legendary’s Monsterverse has surpassed expectations. The film debut with around $121.8M in 38 overseas markets over the weekend. China was the strongest gainer here with $70.34M. It had the largest opening for a Hollywood title since the pandemic started with $21.5M. On top of that, it also managed to top 2019’s Godzilla: King of the Monsters opening Box Office in China, which was at an unadjusted $66M. It is even tracking ahead of the film by 11% on par with Kong: Skull Island‘s opening.

    Sony’s Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway has also seen some stronger legs in Australia before the Easter holiday. Deadline believes the film might have long legs, which is also very likely for the latest adaptation of the battle between a giant lizard and ape. Hopefully, it is a good sign we’ll have plenty more Western adaptations of Kong and Godzilla in the future. Godzilla: King of the Monsters has struggled a bit fearing for the franchise’s end, but now it may just be a new beginning.

    Source: Deadline

  • ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’: Legendary Reveals First Full Look at Mecha Godzilla

    ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’: Legendary Reveals First Full Look at Mecha Godzilla

    There is a curious thing about leaks in the modern age. At some point, the studio gives up fighting it and accepts that it is out there. Well, HBO Max and Warner Bros. have been facing something similar with the leak of Mecha Godzilla making an appearance in the upcoming film Godzilla vs. Kong. It got briefly teased in a few frames in the first trailer, and everyone noticed it. Images of toys started leaking online. So, people were getting a good look at the design of the mechanized Titan. Instead of fighting, they just accepted that the news is out there and decided to cash in on it. So, they released a tweet that includes merchandise that showcases the man-made Titan:

    It certainly matches the toy leaks that we’ve seen in the past. We still don’t know how exactly he will fit into the story. He may get created by humanity in response to Godzilla’s rampage. We know that Kong is brought to the mainland to defeat him. It may be a response for the team avoiding the activation of Mecha Godzilla. He could also end up being the reason that the once world-protecting giant ends up destroying the world. He might have a considerable role, and it will be interesting to see how they integrate this new rendition of the character. His design is sleeker than past iterations. We can expect a lot more maneuverability from this version rather than relying mainly on missiles like the classics. It’s a great design, and we cannot wait to see it in action once the film releases next week.

     

    Source: Twitter

  • Netflix Unveils ‘Godzilla Singular Point’s King of Monsters Design

    Netflix Unveils ‘Godzilla Singular Point’s King of Monsters Design

    Around four months ago, Netflix unveiled that they are working on a brand new anime focused on Godzilla. The series will follow after their last adaptation, the Godzilla: Planet of Monsters film trilogy. In the announcement, we got a small glimpse at the design of the titular King of Monsters. They pulled in some heavy hitters, as his entire look is created by the legendary Ghibli animator Eiji Yamamori. The first tease already showcased quite a bit of detail that is going into the iconic design. Now, after a long wait, they unveiled our first look at his complete design. They also revealed that Yuji Kaneko colored this design to finish off his iconic look.

    I love the design. It feels like a combination of Toho’s classic with some influence from 2014’s American incarnation. His body shape is interesting, as they went out of their way to make his legs and tail massive. The design makes it look like he is part of a Ghibli film, which makes me wonder what a Ghibli film would look like made by Hayao Miyazaki. I love the design, so I am curious to see him in action. Godzilla Singular Point will also feature the work of Blue Exorcist’s Kazue Kato for the human characters. We did get a trailer last year that teased this design in action. It also confirmed that the monster designs are all going to be in 3D. It is certainly turning into a must-watch for any Godzilla fan out there.

     

    Source: Twitter, YouTube