By now every news entertainment outlet from Deadline, to the Hollywood Reporter to Entertainment Weekly has reported on Skull Island's move to Warner Brothers and the potential Godzilla/King Kong crossover they're planning. Including ourselves.
Before that minor news outlets tried to throw gasoline on flames with Godzilla crossing into Pacific Rim based on cherry picked quotes from old articles. In a modern Hollywood ravaged by crossovers and cinematic universes it's not hard to get people to believe that different properties will fold into each other for larger worlds and, more importantly to studios, larger box office returns.
But lets step back and take a breather. While Godzilla and Pacific Rim rumors will continue to fly no matter how little basis there is, some outlets are reporting that a new King Kong vs. Godzilla is now a foregone conclusion. But is it really?
The entire argument that a new King Kong vs. Godzilla is happening is based on this paragraph by Deadline:
“In a movie move that portends a clash of giant monsters, Legendary Pictures’ Thomas Tull is moving his untitled Skull Island film to Warner Bros. This is being done to unite the property with Legendary’s other giant franchise, Godzilla. In what would be a pretty epic pairing, the Godzilla sequel that is in the works will be followed by a movie that pits the giant ape versus the giant fire breathing reptile. I’m told this is happening very quickly with moves going all the way to Japan, where Godzilla rights holder Toho is based.”
Deadline is pretty reliable. There's no doubt that people are trying to get this idea off the ground because it would make a ton of money. No one cares if fans think King Kong isn't a match for Godzilla and they care even less about how tall King Kong usually is in comparison. The problems between their match-up is fixed with a few quick screenwriting choices and bam, King Kong and Godzilla are fighting each other because movie makers want it to happen. Deal with it.
But right now the problem lies not in the fictional match-up or even the potential of the project, but how conclusive its existence is. Variety reported that Legendary declined to comment on the potential crossover. The likely reason is they don't know if it will exist or not. So why say one way or another? No doubt there are suits with aspirations of making this happen, but since when has any studio with tentpole franchises made an official announcement about a project “possibly” happening? There will be no official confirmation that talks are going on. Studios will either unveil it in their own psudeo-Steve Jobs revelation or won't announce anything at all.
This is Hollywood's showbiz machine; you either get the call that you got the job or you never hear anything. The same will apply with fictional characters with different owners--Which leads us to the major glitch from Deadline's original article:
“King Kong is in the public domain, while Legendary got the Godzilla rights from Toho.”
King Kong is not public domain. The 1933 film's novelization, written by Delos W. Lovelace, is in public domain, but Universal has owned the rights to King Kong since late 1976.
That means however Thomas Tull intends to work on Kong: Skull Island at Warner Brothers it will include Universal in some capacity. And that's another studio that will have to work with Toho. While Godzilla's parent studio has always wanted another entry with Kong and their Beast from the East, three juggernaut studios and an ultra-successful production company only promises a lot of red tape.
Another point to factor in is the success of Legendary's next wave of monster movies. What if Godzilla 2, Pacific Rim 2 and Kong: Skull Island all flop at the box office? It wouldn't exactly be worth the time and resources of Warner Brothers, Legendary and Universal to push for a monster extravaganza.
And what are we to make of Pacific Rim's possible entrance into Godzilla or Kong's world? There's no real hint of a plan to pit Jaegers against Kings, but obviously the idea has been tossed around by filmmakers before. Is Pacific Rim 2's possible delay indicative of some re-tooling that could lead to the franchise's inauguration into a Godzilla/Kong battle-worn world? Or are there complications keeping it from pressing forward? Some can't help but worry, remembering how Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 4 was cancelled merely two weeks before shooting.
Whatever the ideas for a cinematic universe are we may not see it in motion very soon. Kong: Skull Island, Pacific Rim 2 and Godzilla 2 have all yet to begin shooting. Claiming their paths my cross is a naive assumption for various reasons. But to set the record straight, let it be known:
Is Legendary currently developing a greenlit King Kong vs. Godzilla movie? No, there is no official confirmation of such.
Is Legendary in talks about possibly developing a King Kong vs. Godzilla movie? Again, there's no official confirmation, but if some reputable sources are to be trusted it seems likely. (And even obvious. The project could potentially break the bank.)
Is Legendary planning to cross Pacific Rim into the Godzilla-verse? There seems to be even less indication of that, with filmmakers merely musing at the prospect. Much of this is fan conjecture.
Is anything about Godzilla, King Kong or Pacific Rim crossing into each other official or certainly happening? Nope.
Everything is based on assumption right now. Hype for potential is one thing, but hype for a train that never comes? Right now I think it's best to put our hopes in what we know is greenlit:
Godzilla 2016 hits Japanese theaters Summer of 2016.
Kong: Skull Island hits theaters March, 10th 2017.
Pacific Rim 2 hits theaters August, 4th 2017.
Godzilla 2 hits theaters June, 8th 2018.
Stay vigilant for more rumors, more hype and, hopefully--Eventually, more official announcements.
*Godzilla vs. King Kong thumbnail by SteveIrwinFan96
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