Legendary Pictures’ MonsterVerse franchise has been building towards a confrontation between Godzilla and King Kong. Now, Warner Bros. has teased the long-awaited showdown by debuting the first official footage from Godzilla vs. Kong at Brazil’s virtual CCXP event.
Legendary’s MonsterVerse film series launched in 2014 with the release of director Gareth Edwards’ Godzilla, a reboot of the Toho franchise designed to exist within a shared universe consisting of other classic Kaiju. Kong: Skull Island and Godzilla: King of the Monsters followed the reboot with the promise that the titular beasts of both sequels would one day appear in the same film together.
The brief Godzilla vs. Kong footage debuted as part of a sizzle reel shown during Warner Bros’ 6-hour panel at CCXP over the weekend. Though the clip is only three seconds long, it provides the first official glimpse at the King of the Monsters and the Eighth Wonder of the World in the highly-anticipated film. The preview opens with a shot of Godzilla swimming in dark blue waters before cutting to a shot of King Kong, bound by chains, angrily roaring with a bright orange sky behind him. Though the context of both shots is unknown, the footage certainly gives the impression that both beasts are barreling towards each other.
Warner Bros. had intended to release Godzilla vs. Kong theatrically in November 2020 before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the studio to reassess its plans. With the likelihood of theaters remaining closed or operating with capacity limitations for at least a portion of 2021, Warner Bros. eventually opted to release 17 films from its 2021 slate on HBO Max day-and-date with U.S. cinemas, including Godzilla vs. Kong. Legendary Pictures had received no advanced notice of Warner Bros.’ decision and is reportedly considering legal action as one of its options to challenge the HBO Max release.
Legendary appears to have ample reason to be concerned about Warner Bros.’ decision to release Godzilla vs. Kong on HBO Max on the same day as theaters. After all, the likely loss of box office revenue could diminish the long-term viability of the franchise and the production company had already received a sizeable offer for the film from Netflix that was blocked by WarnerMedia.
Exhibitors are also understandably upset with Warner Bros.’ release strategy for 2021. In a statement responding to the news, Cineworld Group expressed hope that the studio would reach out to negotiate a new agreement regarding release windows once theaters safely re-open.
Godzilla vs. Kong will be released in theaters and on HBO Max in the U.S. on May 21, 2021.
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