Godzilla vs. Kong director eyeing new MonsterVerse sequel, codenamed ‘Son of Kong’

When Ken Watanabe said in 2014’s Godzilla, “Let them fight,” we knew it was on. And so, the Legendary MonsterVerse was born. In 2017, the movie gods gave us Kong: Skull Island. And fans flocked, and critics went: “Hey, not bad.” Then in 2019, we received Godzilla: King of the Monsters, which critics and audiences alike said: “Meh.” It was a body blow to the MonsterVerse; almost a fatal one.

But even though the franchise appeared to be down for the count, it had not yet thrown in the towel. Since a follow-up film, Godzilla vs. Kong, was already in postproduction when King of the Monsters hit theaters to thunderous indifference, the film series was not only still alive, but poised to thrive. And with Godzilla vs. Kong delivering a knockout punch in global ticket sales despite a pandemic, the franchise lived to see another day. 

Now, there seems to be no stopping this beast. Following the monster success of Legendary’s latest, the studio is in talks with Godzilla vs. Kong director Adam Wingard to helm another giant monster smackdown, according to The Hollywood Reporter. And apparently one title that's being kicked around is Son of Kong.

Godzilla vs. Kong has currently made $406 million globally, making it the highest grossing Hollywood movie released since the COVID-19 pandemic, and the second most financially successful film in the Warner Bros./Legendary MonsterVerse franchise, following 2017’s Kong: Skull Island, which grossed $566 million globally.

Considering Godzilla: King of the Monsters nearly killed all hopes of a franchise due to underperforming at the box office and receiving less-than-stellar reviews, it’s impressive that its follow-up has completely reversed the film series’ fortunes, and seemingly revived the possibility of more kicky-punchy-fire-breathy monster movies.

If Son of Kong (or whatever it ends up being called) gets greenlit with Wingard at the helm, then he certainly will have a full plate. In February, it was reported that the director would be remaking John Woo’s 1997 action film Face/Off for Paramount Pictures. And last month, we heard roars of him writing and directing a ThunderCats movie for WB.

When asked during a recent Reddit AMA who he’d nominate to make a future MonsterVerse film, Wingard let it be known he was very much down to direct another when he responded, “Well, selfishly I would like to nominate me again ;)”. Clearly he wasn't kidding.

Godzilla vs. Kong is currently showing on the big screen, and is available to stream on HBO Max until April 30. The film will then continue to screen in theaters until its wide home video release.