‘Godzilla 2′ Gets a 2018 Release Date

[AsAp]

Legendary Pictures and Warner Bros. have confirmed that filmmaker Garth Edwards will return to direct the followup to his critically/financially successful Godzilla(which released in theaters earlier this year). However, before that, he is going to call the shots on the first Star Wars spinoff movie from Disney and Lucasfilm, for a 2016 launch in mind. As such, Godzilla 2 will be arriving later than other sequels to 2014 blockbusters that’ve been announced so far (the most recent example beingTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2).

The Godzilla sequel (which is currently without an official title) now has a concrete release date: June 8th, 2018. WB also recently claimed March and July 2018 release dates for two new DC universe movies; in addition, the studio’s reserved a May date for an animated feature (reported to be a LEGO Movie franchise installment) and a November date for what may be the sequel to the Harry Potter spinoffFantastic Beasts & Where to Find them (which opens in Fall 2016), that same year.

Edwards’ Godzilla reboot (read our review) has grossed over half a billion dollars worldwide in theaters to date. Its financial success is, no doubt, in part responsible for Universal’s decision to green light fellow Kaiju-based sequel Pacific Rim 2 and to Legendary’s decision to move forward with development on the Skull Island project (an origins movie about King Kong and the eponymous island of extraordinary giant creatures), which is set to arrive in 2016. It’s a good time to be a fan of giant monster movies.

Nothing has been confirmed yet, with regards to the plot of the next Godzilla film. However, back at the 2013 San Diego Comic-Con, Edwards offered us the following insight on how the movie Destroy All Monsters could be a major source of inspiration for the sequel. (As you can see, he even predicted that his answer would be brought up again, in the future.)

“With the exception of the 1954 original, I would say my second favorite film is Destroy All Monsters. I just love the idea of a monster island. Having a world with these creatures in it. I find that fascinating and would like to treat that realistically. I wouldn’t want to limit it to one other foe, I think it’s more fun to – this question will come back to haunt me if we ever do a sequel – but I think multiple creatures make better movies in terms of the image of Gojira.â€

Again, nothing is set in stone yet, but at the 2014 Comic-Con Edwards presented aGodzilla 2 teaser that alluded to the inclusion of such Massive Unidentified Terrestrial Organisms (or MUTOs) as Rodan, Mothra, and Ghidorah in the sequel. Skull Island will be the first modern blockbuster to explore the concept of a fantastical island populated by enormous creatures, but Edwards’ Godzilla sequel could prove to be a more emotionally and logically-grounded take (yet just as impressive, spectacle-wise).

Godzilla 2 arrives in theaters on June 8th, 2018.

 

http://screenrant.com/godzilla-2-release-date-2018/