Leaked Godzilla Vs. Kong Footage Is Very Revealing
It's a clash of the kings.
Attendees at CCXP in São Paulo, Brazil, were treated to a very brief clip from the upcoming monster mash-up Godzilla vs. Kong. In it, the two titans are facing off, apparently on the edge of a peninsula — and it's Kong who throws the first punch. (via We Got This Covered)
Of course, fans were technically forbidden from taking video at the event, but that didn't stop a few of them from technically doing it anyway. Legendary Pictures has been busy pulling said clips from the online realm as quickly as they can proliferate, but a few grainy screencaps have survived. The beasts are seen mostly in shadow, with Godzilla backed up to the edge of the peninsula; a couple of structures, one boxy and one more of a towering spire, are visible in the background. Kong is apparently winding up to just sock Godzilla right in the face, and the punch looks likely to land, as the King of the Monsters doesn't appear to be taking any kind of defensive position.
Also noteworthy about this screen cap: the two monsters appear to be virtually the exact same size. Comparisons of the two behemoths as they appeared in 2014's Godzilla and 2017's Kong: Skull Island seemed to reveal that Godzilla is much bigger than his counterpart, but this isn't a retcon — there's actually a good explanation.
It wasn't exactly made clear in Skull Island, but according to Terry Notary, who performed motion capture for the big ape in the film, Kong was basically a pimply teenager during the events of that film. "One of the interesting things about this character is he's an adolescent and he's lonely," the actor told The Hollywood Reporter shortly after the film's release." He's got a burden and a weight on his shoulders and it was kind of like playing a 14-year-old that's trapped in the life of an adult. He's a protector."
Of course, Skull Island took place in the '70s, while Godzilla vs. Kong will take place in the present day — meaning that Kong will now be a full-grown adult, one who will be looking to lay an adult-sized beatdown on his adversary.
Fans were thrilled to get even a few seconds of footage, which is probably all Legendary rightly had to show. Godzilla vs. Kong's release date was recently pushed way the heck back, from March 13, 2020 to November 20, 2020. (via Variety)
Why was Godzilla vs. Kong delayed?
Legendary's MonsterVerse — which, so far, consists of the two previously mentioned films and last May's Godzilla: King of the Monsters — is one of the more critically and commercially successful cinematic universes not fielded by Marvel Studios. Its three interconnected movies have all done well, if not spectacularly, at the box office — but King of the Monsters was a bit of a critical misstep, and its box office performance was also a dropoff from the previous two pictures.
Chief among the complaints: a lackluster human characters and muddy visual aesthetic, the latter of which is pretty unforgivable. Generally speaking, when your movie has monsters the size of skyscrapers beating the hell out of each other, it shouldn't be too much for the audience to ask to simply be able to see what's going on.
As the films seem to be increasing in scale (and, presumably, budget) with each successive release, it makes sense that Legendary would want to ensure that Godzilla vs. Kong, a showdown between the two most iconic kaiju of all time, is as tight as possible. In fact, Toby Emmerich — chairman of Warner Bros., Legendary's parent company — alluded to the tepid fan response to King of the Monsters when he suggested that Godzilla vs. Kong might be delayed at the Produced By Conference this past June. Emmerich promised that the flick "will deliver for fans in the way they were looking for" from King of the Monsters, adding, "It might come out later in the year, so we can deliver an A+ movie." (via Deadline)
With the film now having been pushed back in excess of eight months, here's hoping that Legendary will actually deliver an A++ movie. We'll be keeping an eye out for production news, stills, trailers, or anything else that might come down the pike, and we'll be sure to keep you informed.