New Delhi: Indian audience is set to watch the clash between the ‘King of Monsters’ and ‘King of Skull Island’ in the much-awaited Hollywood movie ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’. The film is set to release in Indian theatres on March 24. The movie is the fourth installment in the Legendary Pictures so-called MonsterVerse.
It is fourth after ‘Godzilla’ (2014), ‘Kong: Skull Island (2017) and the recent ‘Godzilla: King of Monsters’ (2019).
Things You Need to Know About Godzilla vs. Kong
The MonsterVerse mythology
The four films of the series stand on their own. By combining they’re all part of a concerted effort by Legendary to build out its own consistent world. “It’s been important to us,” says Garcia, “that there is a bedrock of mythology that is true to the films as the timelines of the films become more complicated, as we start to build Monarch out as an organization also, and ensure that it feels credible and grounded in the best ways, so that we can still have fun with it and have them be escapist pieces of entertainment. But we want them to also, to have it feel to an audience that if you’re going to truly escape into something, you want it to be grounded and real and to have real thought gone into it.”
NO longer the good guy
The epic monster has very much been cast as a protector of humanity. This will no longer the case in Godzilla vs. Kong. Godzilla is rampaging across the planet and generally behaving erratically.
“When we first meet Madison, she is actively trying to figure out why Godzilla is acting the way he’s acting,” says producer Alex Garcia. “We establish early on in the film that Godzilla’s on a hunt, he’s on a mission. We don’t quite know what it is, that continues during the film. And Madison tries to uncover what that is.”
The Human journey
There have been characters that the audience can empathise with and invest in. One of the strengths of the MonsterVerse up to this point has been the fact that the human drama has really effectively anchored each film.
The Kong’s story
For those who have an interest in monster action, Godzilla vs. Kong director Adam Wingard (You’re Next) seems set to serve up even more than just a straight clash. Some eagle-eyed fans have discovered that the Godzilla vs. Kong trailers point to a bigger giant — possibly ‘Mechagodzilla’ — that has likely been made by a sinister company in the film called the ‘Apex Corporation’.
Apex isn’t always the bad guys
“They’re a corporation that’s taken a huge leap since these creatures have become more prominent,” comments Ashenfelter. They’ve been rebuilding cities and “providing solutions and safeguards” adds Garcia; essentially helping life get back to some kind of normalcy amidst the turmoil.
Cast
The three major cast members from Godzilla: King of the Monsters are returning. Millie Bobby Brown and Kyle Chandler are returning as Madison Russell and her father Dr. Mark Russell, respectively. While, Vera Farmiga is also reprising her role as Dr. Emma Russell who sacrificed herself in the end of Godzilla: King of the Monsters.
Zhang Ziyi who will reprise her twin roles of Dr. Ilene Chen and Dr. Ling, mythologists working for Monarch, the secretive organisation that has been studying “Titans” such as Godzilla and Kong. Van Marten is also returning as Chen’s unnamed assistant.
While the new additions include Alexander Skarsgård (The Legend of Tarzan) as Dr. Nathan Lind, a geologist working for Monarch.
Rebecca Hall (Christine) plays Dr. Ilene Andrews, about whom the only thing we know is that she is the one who has adopted Jia. Played by deaf newcomer Kaylee Hottle, Jia is the young girl from the trailer who shares a unique bond with Kong.
Brian Tyree Henry (Atlanta) portrays Bernie Hayes, a technician who used to work for ‘Apex’ and is now working with Madison and Josh Valentine to expose his former employers. Josh, played by Julian Dennison (Hunt for the Wilderpeople), is a nerd who has just one friend in the world, Madison.
Shun Oguri makes his Hollywood debut as Ren Serizawa, the son of late Monarch scientist Ishirō Serizawa (Ken Watanabe) who appeared in both Godzilla and Godzilla: King of the Monsters. Ren is a scientist and tech engineer in ‘Apex’ who wants to “protect Earth”.
Eiza González (Baby Driver) plays “a very smart woman behind a company,” whose name is Maia Simmons.
Demián Bichir (A Better Life) plays the role of Walter Simmons, the founder and CEO of Apex and also the person who wants to solve the “Titan problem” that plagues Earth.
Hakeem Kae-Kazim (Last Flight to Abuja) plays Admiral Wilcox on Godzilla vs. Kong. While the roles of Lance Reddick (John Wick), Jessica Henwick (Marvel’s Iron Fist) and Benjamin Rigby are still undisclosed.
Tickets
Tickets for Godzilla vs. Kong are available for booking since Saturday in India. The monster movie is available in IMAX , regular 2D, and 4D formats.
Price range of tickets is Rs. 100 to Rs. 800, depending on the various factors like theatre, time, place, seats, etc.
Tickets are live now on BookMyShow, Cinépolis, Carnival Cinemas, Paytm, PVR, INOX among all other participating theatres.
