LOS ANGELES 鈥� The original 1950s Godzilla movies stomped into
But don鈥檛 fret about finding a message amid the mayhem as the towering radioactive lizard clashes with that instantly-recognizable giant ape in "Godzilla vs. Kong," debuting Wednesday.
"It鈥檚 about two big guys bashing each other around," laughed actor Rebecca Hall, who plays a researcher studying King Kong. "There is a sense that the less that humans meddle with stuff, the better, is a general theme.
鈥淏ut yeah, it鈥檚 mostly a big fight," she said.
Director Adam Wingard鈥檚 clash of the titans caps Legendary Entertainment鈥檚 鈥淢onsterverse鈥� series, which includes 2014's 鈥淕odzilla鈥� and 2017's 鈥淜ong: Skull Island.鈥� While not all were winners with critics, they鈥檝e grabbed plenty of cash at the box office 鈥� more than $1.4 billion worldwide.
All four films take their central creatures seriously 鈥� both within the stories and by pouring money into nuanced special effects 鈥� while often winking at audiences with self-aware references. The films have featured performances from top-
In the newest entry, the returning Millie Bobby Brown and Kyle Chandler are joined by Hall, Alexander Skarsg氓rd, Brian Tyree Henry and Eiza Gonz谩lez, among others. No matter the scene, the actors always knew who was filling the top spots on call sheets during production 鈥� Godzilla and King Kong.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e divas, that鈥檚 what鈥檚 so difficult. You go on to set, they don鈥檛 look at you in the eye. It is in their contracts. Whatever. I found it really difficult to work with specifically Kong, just because he thought he ruled the roost,鈥� cracked Brown. 鈥淵ou just want your close-up. And Zilla is like 鈥榬awr鈥� and you鈥檙e like, 鈥楤ro, calm down.鈥欌��
Wingard said he focused on keeping the humans 鈥渁s close together as possible鈥� with the monsters throughout his film, including an 鈥淓.T.鈥�-evoking moment with deaf actor Kaylee Hottle.
But when the titular showdowns start, 鈥渋t was really important to me to do what the original films did. Like if you look at all the Showa-era films, when the monster battles happened, it just stays with the monsters. ... We wanted to make sure the monsters were able to do their thing and just get into it.鈥�
That includes a fight on and underneath an aircraft carrier in the middle of the ocean, with Kong struggling and Godzilla moving smoothly and realistically through water. Later, shattering neon highlights an eye-popping clash among and through the skyscrapers of a heavily-stylized Hong Kong.
Skarsgard, whose character leads a human team following Kong to the film鈥檚 most fantastical location, said Wingard鈥檚 approach was to 鈥渞eally lean into the craziness of it. And his take on it was, well, if you鈥檙e going to go big, go really big. Go crazy, let鈥檚 have fun with it, we haven鈥檛 seen these titans go toe-to-toe in 50 years, 60 years. So let鈥檚 really enjoy this.鈥�
Godzilla鈥檚 atomic breath and Kong鈥檚 chest-thumping were crafted for maximum sensory impact, but viewers can also see it on the small screen. A pandemic-disrupted rollout has the film debuting Wednesday both at
鈥淭hese are extraordinary times that demand extraordinary measures,鈥� said Demi谩n Bichir, who plays an overreaching tech mogul. 鈥淭his is one of those films that will be seen in every corner of the planet. And that alone makes me very, very happy.鈥�
Henry, the 鈥淎tlanta鈥� series star who plays a conspiracy-theorizing podcast host, said the film鈥檚 extravagance feels right for this moment in the pandemic.
鈥淧eople need something to just like celebrate and cheer and have fun and see millions of dollars of special effects,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 like we shifted what we do in summer blockbusters to the spring because it鈥檚 like we just need something to break out, something to have fun with.鈥�
Legendary and distributor Warner Bros haven鈥檛 announced any future "Monsterverse" installments after "Godzilla vs. Kong." Wingard said he鈥檇 be happy to return to a 鈥減hase two鈥� of the franchise, envisioning a 鈥渘early silent film where we just watch the monsters do their thing."
鈥淭here are enough characters that are well-enough defined where we can imprint whatever we want on them,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 think audiences are ready. And I think the special effects world is up-to-date to be able to handle that."
___
Follow AP Entertainment Writer Ryan Pearson on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ryanwrd
Ryan Pearson, The Associated Press
