Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019 film)
Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019 film)
Godzilla: King of the Monsters[d] is a 2019 American[b] monster film directed and co-written by Michael Dougherty. Produced by Legendary Pictures[a] and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, it is a sequel to Godzilla (2014) and the third film in the Monsterverse. It is also the 35th film in the Godzilla franchise, and the third Godzilla film to be completely produced by a Hollywood studio.[e] The film stars Kyle Chandler, Vera Farmiga, Millie Bobby Brown, Bradley Whitford, Sally Hawkins, Charles Dance, Thomas Middleditch, Aisha Hinds, O’Shea Jackson Jr., David Strathairn, Ken Watanabe, and Zhang Ziyi. In the film, eco-terrorists release King Ghidorah, who awakens other monsters known as “Titans” across the world, forcing Godzilla and Mothra to surface and engage Ghidorah and Rodan in a decisive battle.
The sequel was greenlighted during the opening weekend of Godzilla, with Gareth Edwards expected to return to direct a trilogy. In May 2016, Edwards left the project. In October 2016, Dougherty and Shields were hired to rewrite the script. In January 2017, Dougherty was announced as the director. Principal photography began in June 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia, and wrapped in September 2017. The film is dedicated to executive producer Yoshimitsu Banno (director of Godzilla vs. Hedorah) and original Godzilla suit performer Haruo Nakajima, both of whom died in 2017.
Godzilla: King of the Monsters was theatrically released on May 31, 2019, to mixed reviews from critics, with praise for its visual effects, action sequences, cinematography, and musical score but with criticism to the plot, pacing, tone and characters.[21][22] The film was a box office disappointment,[9][23][24] grossing $387.3 million worldwide against a production budget between $170–200 million and marketing costs between $100–150 million,[12][13] marking it the lowest-grossing film in the