Will King of the Monsters Mark the Arrival of the Next Great Movie Franchise?

Source: Pixabay

Fans that have been eagerly awaiting the release of Godzilla: King of the Monsters will soon be able to cash in their anticipation, with the movie set to hit theaters at the end of May. King of the Monsters promises to take the legendary Godzilla character to a scale previously unseen in Hollywood, as the film introduces some of Godzilla’s most notorious foes from kaiju lore.

Those familiar with kaiju will already know all about Rodan, Mothra and, of course, King Ghidorah. However, King of the Monsters brings these characters to life on a bigger budget than ever before, with a whole new generation of movie fans set to be drawn into the world of Godzilla. King of the Monsters will be a landmark movie in Legendary’s MonsterVerse. If the first Godzilla film and Kong: Skull Island were the equivalent of the first Iron Man and Captain America movies in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, King of the Monsters will be an Avengers-esque clash of classic characters. 

The next decade could see cinemas dominated by these legendary monsters. The distinctive appearance of the Titans will allow them to cross over into other media to great success. There is a reason why these monsters have stood the test of time in Japanese movies. While their depiction in Hollywood will have differences in terms of graphics and scale, the MonsterVerse is still a faithful homage to kaiju. None of this franchise would be possible without the numerous Toho portrayals of Godzilla since 1954.

Source: Pixabay.

The early Godzilla movies have huge cinematic significance, with Steven Spielberg acknowledging how they influenced his work in the Jurassic Park series. Mark Jacobson's 1991 novel Gojiro paid clear tribute to the original kaiju films. Godzilla has also inspired games across a range of platforms throughout the years. One of the more recent examples is the Kaiju online video slot, which takes its visual cues from the classic Japanese films and has been labelled as highly entertaining as a result. Another modern reference in an unlikely place is in Kesha's 2017 song named after the monster, in which she describes falling in love with Godzilla.

King of the Monsters will cause a whole new generation of movie-lovers to fall in love with Godzilla, as well as the wider kaiju lore. The classic Godzilla movies will forever remain a cinematic touchstone, but King of the Monsters could be the film that truly launches the MonsterVerse as one of the world's most popular franchises. In a decade or two, we may even be talking about how books and games have been inspired by the MonsterVerse version of Godzilla.