Following the global success of Godzilla in 2014 and this year’s Kong: Skull Island, comes the next chapter in Warner Bros. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ cinematic MonsterVerse: an epic action adventure that pits Godzilla against some of the most popular monsters in pop culture history.
The film which began its principal photography three days ago is being directed by Michael Dougherty (Krampus) and stars Oscar nominee Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air, The Conjuring films). Ken Watanabe (The Last Samurai) and Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine) both reprise their Godzilla roles. The other cast includes Kyle Chandler (The Wolf of Wall Street, Manchester by the Sea), Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things) in her feature film debut, Bradley Whitford (Get Out), Thomas Middleditch (HBO’s Silicon Valley), Charles Dance (Game of Thrones), O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Straight Outta Compton), Aisha Hinds (Star Trek Into Darkness) and Golden Globe nominee Zhang Ziyi (Memoirs of a Geisha, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon).
The new story follows the heroic efforts of the crypto-zoological agency Monarch as its members face off against a battery of god-sized monsters, including the mighty Godzilla, who collides with Mothra, Rodan, and his ultimate nemesis, the three-headed King Ghidorah. When these ancient super-species — thought to be mere myths — rise again, they all vie for supremacy, leaving humanity’s very existence hanging in the balance.
Dougherty directs from a script he wrote with Zach Shields. The film is being produced by Mary Parent, Alex Garcia, Brian Rogers and Thomas Tull, with executive producers Barry H. Waldman, Zach Shields, Yoshimitsu Banno and Kenji Okuhira. Alexandra Mendes is co-producing for Legendary.
Behind the scenes, Dougherty’s creative team includes director of photography Lawrence Sher, whose past credits include War Dogs and Godzilla, for which he handled additional photography; production designer Scott Chambliss who has previously worked on Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Star Trek Into Darkness; Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, and Transformers films’ editor Roger Barton; costume designer Louise Migenbach (X-Men and Hangover films); and VFX supervisor Guillaume Rocheron (Godzilla, Ghost in the Shell).
Filming is taking place mainly in Atlanta, Georgia. The film is currently scheduled for release in March 2019, with the distribution being handled by Warner Bros. Pictures.