Less than one week ahead of Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire arriving on digital platforms, the next installment in the franchise just got an exciting update. The Hollywood Reporter announced that Dave Callaham, who penned the screenplay for Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings alongside director Destin Daniel Cretton, will write the script for the next MonsterVerse movie. With the latest success of Godzilla x Kong, the MonsterVerse franchise has officially grossed more than $2.5 billion at the worldwide box office, making it one of the most profitable franchises of all time, behind other industry titans such as the MCU ($11.7 billion) and Star Wars ($5 billion).
In addition to receiving a striking 4K UHD Collectors Edition box, which will feature all five films to date, Godzilla X Kong is poised to finish its theatrical run with roughly $550 million worldwide on a reported budget of between $135-$150 million — an impressive profit margin. The film has been a mixed bag among critics and audiences, landing with a “rotten” score of 54% from critics but a much-improved 91% rating from general audiences on the aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes. It continues the series trend of holding a lower approval rating from critics, but still experienced quite a drop-off from the last installment, Godzilla vs. Kong, which critics approved of at a 76% rate.
What Do We Know About the Next ‘MonsterVerse’ Movie?
Aside from Callaham signing on to pen the script, little is known about the next Godzilla/Kong movie at this time. The report claims that franchise distributor Warner Bros. is interested in Godzilla X Kong director Adam Wingard returning to direct the sixth installment, but that no official deal has been reached. Wingard currently has his sights set on Onslaught, an upcoming A24 action-horror thriller which his commitment to may very well force WB to find a new director. Wingard‘s only two directorial credits since 2018 are on both Godzilla vs. Kong and Godzilla x Kong, so his interest in taking on different projects in other genres is certainly understandable. Fortunately for Warner Bros., audiences have proven to be interested in monster-smashing action, regardless of who sits in the director’s chair.
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is still playing in theaters ahead of the film’s digital release on May 14. Get tickets below and stay tuned to Collider for future updates on the next installment in the MonsterVerse franchise.
via Collider