Godzilla roars in victory in the 2014 'Godzilla' by Legendary Pictures. (Photo : YouTube/ Godzilla)
Michael Dougherty, co-writer and director of the Christmas-themed horror flick "Krampus," has signed on to direct the sequel to 2014's "Godzilla." He is also penning the script along with "Krampus" co-writer Zach Shields.
Legendary Pictures initially brought in Dougherty and Shields to join the writers room that was developing their new MonsterVerse but not to direct the project, Screen Crush reported. Doughtery and Shields have worked with Legendary Pictures multiple times in the past.
The pair first worked under Legendary for the film "Trick 'r Treat," one of Legendary's very first productions. They would later team with the studio again for "Krampus."
This cinematic universe would then expand to include the 2014 "Godzilla," "Kong: Skull Island" which releases in March, "Godzilla 2" and lastly "Godzilla vs King Kong" in 2020. Plans beyond the clash of the two cinematic monsters have yet to be revealed.
Director Gareth Edwards, who directed the first film, was initially going to return for the sequel. This was then changed when he was brought on by Lucasfilm to direct "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story."
It is still unclear if Dougherty will be utilizing story ideas that Edwards crafted. It is also uncertain if the characters from the first film will return in the sequel. The project will be overseen by Alex Garcia, the Executive Vice President of Production for Legendary Pictures, Variety reported.
Although Legendary Pictures has a distribution deal with Universal, the studio decided to partnership with long-time collaborator Warner Bros. Pictures in order to hold the rights for both "Godzilla" and "King Kong." In doing so the two studios will be able to create the planned cinematic universe of these two iconic monsters and their numerous enemies or allies.
"Godzilla 2" is currently scheduled to release on March 22, 2019. The official trailer for the first "Godzilla" movie, which starred Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Elizabeth Olsen, Ken Watanabe and Bryan Cranston, can be viewed below:
