The sixth movie in the Monsterverse, titledGodzilla X Kong: Supernova, could be shifting its structure a bit by taking some notes from the most critically-acclaimed Godzilla movie of all time. The first five movies in Legendary’sever-expanding connected universe of massive monstersare not short on action, but are famously thin on quality human stories.
The human characters in the Monsterverse have historically acted as comic relief or as exposition machines, serving an important function in the greater context of each Titan-centric tale but lacking in overall development. On top of that, the human cast has changed with each movie, leaving little opportunity for any character to grow or change over time.
However,Supernovastar Delroy Lindo provided some insightinto how his character has been developed for the upcoming sequel. If his comments reflect a greater overall focus on the human characters in the Monsterverse, then it seems clear that director Grant Sputore and the Legendary team could be taking a cue from one of the most celebrated movies of the last decade.
Godzilla X Kong: Supernova Could Be Borrowing From Godzilla Minus One
Godzilla Minus One Sets A Great Human Story Against A Godzilla Backdrop
IfGodzilla X Kong: Supernovaplaces an emphasis on a meaningful human storyline, then it would skew farther from the over-the-top Titan action ofGodzilla X Kong: The New Empireandcloser towards the real human drama of Toho’s Academy Award-winningGodzilla Minus One.
The acclaimed Godzilla movie shocked audiences and critics alike with its powerful and moving human story, whichplaced Japan’s post-war trauma at the forefront, accented by themes of guilt, shame, hope, and redemption. That did nothing to dull the ferocity of the movie’s iteration of Godzilla, which was considered by many to be the scariest version since the 1954 original movie.
It would be inappropriate to claim that Grant Sputore and his team are “copying” what director Takashi Yamazaki and his team did forGodzilla Minus One. However, it makes a ton of sense that they would at least take note ofhow Yamazaki was able to balance intense monster/disaster action with a gripping human story.
A Well-Developed Human Story Could Take Supernova From Good To Great
The Monsterverse Has No Shortage Of Monster Fun, But Stakes Are Lacking
The Monsterverse has expanded in both scope and scale since its origins in 2014with Gareth Edwards’Godzilla. In comparison to that movie’s family drama that accented Godzilla’s ground-based one-on-two battle with some overgrown bugs,Godzilla X Kong: The New Empirefeatured Godzilla and Kong in a zero-gravity tag-team battle against dark reflections of themselves.
2014
$160 million
$529.1 million
76%
66%
2017
$185 million
$568 million
70%
2019
$200 million
$387.3 million
42%
83%
2021
$470.1 million
91%
2023
86%
77%
2024
$150 million
$572.3 million
54%
89%
As exciting and fun as that final battle was,there was still a shortage of coherent story and character development, which is what has historically kept the Monsterverse movies from ever crossing into “great” territory. Several of the movies have solid enough scores from critics, but none of them have ever even approached universal praise–there is always plenty to nitpick.
Obviously, the intention of the Monsterverse is not the same asGodzilla Minus One. They show two completely different sides of the ultra-adaptable character of Godzilla, so a direct comparison doesn’t even make any sense. However,Godzilla Minus One’s greatest strength–its human drama–is something that the Monsterverse should look tofor the next step in its evolution.
Godzilla X Kong: Supernova’s Cast Confirms That The Human Story Is Important
There Are Several Heavy-Hitters In The Supernova Cast
The already-announced cast forGodzilla X Kong: Supernovalends even more credibility to the notion that a shift in character development could be in store. Virtually all the biggest names have science fiction experience,but most of them also have legitimate dramatic acting experience as well.
Kaitlyn Dever (The Last of Us), Sam Neill (Jurassic Park), Matthew Modine (Stranger Things), Delroy Lindo (Da 5 Bloods), Jack O’Connell (Sinners), and Alycia Debnam-Carney (Fear the Walking Dead) are all set to join the returning Dan Stevens forSupernova. Each has legitimate dramatic experience in their filmography, andfrankly seem perfect to bring a grounded perspective to a fantastical movie universe.
On top of that, these are some of the hottest names in Hollywood.It seems extremely unlikely that Legendary would cast such heavy-hitters only to have them play background rolesor get a few sparse lines or jokes. This caliber of cast points toGodzilla X Kong: Supernovagiving more time, and potentially more weight, to the human story that accompanies the inevitable Titan clash.
